Hey you guys, it's Ruthie! I'm here at the Ambassador Theatre where
Broadway's Chicago plays, to teach you guys all about the new accessible technology that's available
coming this season to all of Broadway's theaters for
Hearing impaired visually impaired and closed captioning services. It is going to revolutionize Broadway. Are you guys ready to see it?
Let's take a look inside
Hey there, so I'm here with Matt Crabtree now inside the Ambassador Theatre to show you all of the new technology available
Thanks to the Broadway League's commitment to accessibility
For audiences with visual impairment hearing impairment and who need audio description and possibly captioning
So what have we got as our options here at the audio kiosk when they come in?
This is where we want to get everything we can from you
This is where you want to be at every Broadway theater
We also we always have closed captioning assisted listening as well as audio description.
Perfect
So if you're visually impaired we have audio description
We also have if you're hearing impaired closed captioning as well as our infrared listening device
So show me the infrared listening device that if I'm just slightly
I guess
Audio impaired that's my best option. Okay, great. Let's see that.
Alright, so what you would what you would do
You have your infrared listening device here the volume on the back right hand side so that just slides up and down
so it gives you the volume that you need
self control
I need self control
and then all you will do, you will wear them like like a stethoscope
Underneath your chin, make sure this number faces this stage
And if you're using a listening device, you have to take it out and turn it off
Do I have to pay for this Matt?
This is free!
Free! And all you need to do is leave us with a driver's license a state issued photo ID, passport
because you're gonna give me that back when I give you this back at the end of the show
That's the only way you get your ID back.
Okay, perfect. So that's one option
Another option is you told me I have an R4 device. Show me
we have an R4 device
Which is our closed captioning device as well as our audio description
So our R4 device it's a little larger than your cell phone and what we actually have here we have caption or descriptive
And that's going to follow along with the dialogue of the show
With the lyrics of the song so you can read and know what everyone is saying?
Yeah, absolutely. As soon as the show begins, you'll see it here in front of you.
Perfect
So this is really good to know for people who need the technology
but also if you see these devices
You know that these are totally sanctioned and they're not gonna bother you during the show
and we have one more too
Oh my god three options because it's the magic number
three options if you have a smart phone
There's a new app called Gala Pro.
Alright, I have seen this app. It is very cool.
It is amazing
It has closed captioning. So you have closed captioning on your phones. You don't have to actually get a device from us
You have it with you already. All you need to do is download the app
So once I download Gala Pro, then what?
You come in, you open the app
Takes a moment. You can see all the services on the shows that we have available from Chicago, School of Rock Phantom of the Opera,
Come From Away, Bronx Tale, Dear Evan Hansen
Perfect.
See them all here. But we're at Chicago.
So let's go
And once you're on the screen you'll have to choose your services. We have closed captioning as well as
Translation services, here's English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, and Hebrew.
Alright. Well, let's go with closed captioning for today
Closed captioning just for you. So
Next thing you do. You have to turn the phone on airplane mode
So that's how we know there are gonna be no mistaken phone calls or text messages.
That's correct. So it goes on airplane mode when you come back to the screen you hit next
Step 2 - you have to sign on to our Gala Pro Wi-Fi. So you go back to your settings
Gala Pro, Chicago, and we type in the password
Universal. Gala Pro.
So any of the Broadway theaters, it's Gala Pro 1. Y
es
Once it signs on
We head back to Gala Pro
And you are connected.
And there's the upcoming dialogue for Chicago.
That's correct. You can also make it larger
You can make it smaller and you can make it brighter or darker
and even
change the color if you like in our settings
it's really not going to disrupt the people next to me because I can barely see this and
I'm in the seat next to you.
No problems at all.
By June 1st 2018. All of these theaters will be equipped. So get ready