In response to numerous requests from arts organisations outside New York, the not-for-profit Theatre Development Fund (TDF) developed the National Open Captioning Initiative. The initiative targets regional areas where captioned theatre is not in use, and provides organisations with the skills to provide the captioning service and raise awareness of the value of open captions.
Using a Samsung smartphone or tablet, viewers watch captions or subtitles at any session at participating cinemas via the MovieReading app, which uses the device’s microphone to recognise the audio track of a film and synchronise captions accordingly. Currently nine Space Cinema locations across Italy offer the service, including in Rome, Milan and Naples.
The instructional CaptiView video is two and a half minutes long and has instructions in American Sign Language (ASL) for the set up and operation of the personal CaptiView cinema captioning screens.
Part of the City of Perth Winter Arts Season, Rising Water is the world premiere of writer Tim Winton’s debut play.
Audio description will be available for the performance on Saturday, 16 July at 2:15pm at the Heath Ledger Theatre, State Theatre Centre of Western Australia. A tactile tour, allowing patrons to get a hands-on feel of the stage, costumes and scenery, is yet to be confirmed so please check when booking.
