Happy Theatre Captioning Patrons in Canberra

Here’s A Selection Of What Theatres & Patrons Say About Our GoTheatrical! Service:

The Bell Shakespeare Company has been delighted to have The Captioning Studio provide theatre captioning for its productions. The Go-Theatrical! technology has impressed us greatly as it offers features not found in theatre captioning systems used elsewhere in the world. We would certainly recommend The Captioning Studio’s theatre captioning service and technology for the delivery of a high-quality theatre captioning service.
Lynne Emmanuel, Marketing Manager, The Bell Shakespeare Company.

I am really pleased to be able to offer this captioning service to the Wollongong community. The GoTheatrical! system is the best solution I have seen and I believe it will rapidly become a standard feature in venues across Australia.
Simon Hinton, Merrigong Artistic Director/CEO.

Theatre should be inclusive. By offering the Go-Theatrical! service, we make theatre accessible and enjoyable to so many people who would not otherwise attend.
Andrew McKinnon, Theatre Producer.

We wanted to gauge how many people use captions, so I stood at the back of auditorium and I was amazed just how many people were turning their heads to look at the screens. Patrons frequently call us after a captioned performance to enquire about ‘more performances with those screens’.  GoTheatrical! has been an incredibly successful access initiative.
Gill Hugonnet, Programming Manager, Canberra Theatre Centre.

The Captioning Studio embraced the challenge of providing theatre captioning and developed their own patented theatre captioning system, which has proved to be superior to other theatre systems used across the country.  The Captioning Studio pride themselves on providing the highest quality service and both Canberra Theatre Centre and The Captioning Studio have received a number of awards that recognise this service.  But most importantly, the community, both deaf and hearing impaired, has embraced the service as well as the broader audience.  Canberra Theatre Centre is recognised by theatre venues, peak disability service bodies and theatre companies as a ‘Best Practice Model’ for other performing arts centres.  These successes can be largely credited to our successful partnership with The Captioning Studio.  Live theatre timeframes are non-negotiable.  The curtain must go up at the scheduled start time. The Captioning Studio have always delivered and have had no problems in working in this unique atmosphere.  The Captioning Studio have worked seamlessly within the theatre environment working across the board with theatre staff from management to technicians as well as with the production companies, backstage crews and performers.
Emma Dykes, former Programming Manager, Canberra Theatre Centre.

While the captioning experience at Glen Street benefits all theatergoers, it is particularly designed for audiences with hearing impairment and people for whom English is a second language so they can access both the sights and sounds of live performance. The captioning service is offered on selected Glen Street Theatre performances and is displayed on one or more screens in the auditorium to complement a number of accessibility initiatives already in place such as wheelchair access and hearing loops. The new theatre captioning technology displays performance text in its entirety including actors’ dialogue, ad libs, asides, song lyrics, musical descriptions and all other sound effects. Glen Street Theatre is honoured to receive this award and continues to work tirelessly to bring the world of theatre to as many community members as possible.
Dick Persson Warringah Council Administrator in a Media Release following Glen Street Theatre winning the Best Event Captioning Award for its captioning service.

Being able to attend captioned performances has changed my life.  Not only can I follow the dialogue but I can follow the lyrics of songs too, something which I hadn’t been able to do for a long time.
Now-Subscription Ticket Holder & Hearing Impaired Patron, Canberra.

I had been really impressed with my first captioning experience at the Royal Shakespeare at Stratford a few years ago and had been disappointed with other experiences until this one – the Go-Theatrical! captioning of Scarlett O’Hara At The Crimson Parrot at the Arts Centre in Melbourne. It was just as good.
Margaret Robertson, hearing impaired patron, Melbourne.

I would like to thank The Captioning Studio for producing the live captioning at the Playhouse Theatre in Canberra on Saturday.  Fifteen of my Better Hearing Australia Canberra group members, all who have a hearing loss, attended and had a wonderful afternoon.  Many of my members had not been to the theatre for years because they could not hear well enough to follow the dialogue.  I even noticed my friends who have good hearing looking at the captions now and again when they missed what was being said, so we all benefited by having the live captions.  I look forward to many happy hours enjoying live theatre again this season at the Playhouse Theatre.  Thank you to The Captioning Studio and The Canberra Theatre Centre!
Ms Sue Daw, President, Canberra Division, Better Hearing Australia.

I just thought I’d let you know how very much I enjoyed attending the captioned performance on 26 February.  I was just so delighted to be able to attend live theatre again.  I thought the captioning was 100%!  Thank you for the time and effort you so obviously and enthusiastically give to an area much neglected.
Ms Suzanne Mitchell, hearing impaired patron.

Oh, woe is me!
But hark! In Canberra recently,
On yonder wall did I see
A billboard
Extolling a show – for me!
Live theatre with captions?
Can it be?
This surely was something that
I must see.

For the first time in years, I can honestly say I didn’t miss a single word of a performance, thanks to captions. And I now understand more about Shakespeare’s play than I ever did.  How can this be? With the magic of captions, theatre came alive and accessible again.
Ms Rosslyn Werner, hearing impaired patron, SA.

The Captioning Studio use different coloured texts to differentiate between actors.  They position the captions on the screen to correspond with where the actors are standing on the stage.  If an actor is on the left of the stage, the captions appear in phrases on the left of the screen; if the actors is stage right, the captions appear on the right of the screen; and if the actor is centre stage, the captions are centred on screen.  The feature I like most about the captions is that they don’t scroll upwards, which I have always found tiring and sometimes confusing to read as I have often lost my place as they scrolled up.  The Captioning Studio’s theatre captions appear on screen one line at a time, eight lines being the maximum on the screen, and then the screen clears and the new captions start again.  The captions also never pre-empt any of the dialogue being delivered by the actors.  The different caption colours, the placement of captions on the screen, the presentation of the captions and the varying number of caption lines on the screen give variety to reading the captions, which makes them interesting and very easy to follow.
Vice-President, Services & Training, Better Hearing Australia.

We were very fortunate to have our beautiful Civic Theatre selected for a live captioned performance of Andrew McKinnon’s production of the highly acclaimed Dickens Women at the Civic Theatre in October. The theatre was packed and it was not only the hearing impaired people that loved the captioning but other members of the audience as well who may have had some difficulty with some of the pronunciations and accents.  The live captioning was excellent, thanks to the wonderful work of The Captioning Studio.  We have heard that the Civic management was so impressed that they are hoping to offer more captioned performances in the near future.
Karen Dempsey, hearing impaired patron, Newcastle.