I wrote to this app and asked if they where able to be used for films
and they said no. they are just for live performinces. From Mich.
*From:*[email protected] <[email protected]> *On Behalf
Of *Tony Sweeney
*Sent:* December 11, 2024 4:24 PM
*To:* [email protected]
*Subject:* Re: GalaPro - a fantastic new experience when attending a
live performance
Alison, you are correct to highlight the fact that audio-desccription
is fairly wwidely available for films but not GalaPro as I statted.
I attended an AD film performance once or twwice with my wife who is
sighted and it was a lovely experience indeed as we both had access
and noting what you wrote herlierr.
It isn't fully operational I would admit but GalaPro when it arrives
in these shores hopefully will be.
Tony
On 11/12/2024 21:04, CJ & AA MAY wrote:
Yes, I’m pretty sure you are right, Tony, in that the theatre
mentioned was in Canada.
Alison
*From:*[email protected] <[email protected]>
<mailto:[email protected]> *On Behalf Of *Tony Sweeney
*Sent:* 11 December 2024 21:04
*To:* [email protected]
*Subject:* Re: GalaPro - a fantastic new experience when attending
a live performance
Alison,
I don't think that it is yet available in the UK or Ireland but
the app is certainly available on the Ireland app store so fingers
crossed.
On reflection I feel the London mentioned in the article may well
be in Ontariono Canada and not as I previously thouught, the UK.
The GalaPro people certainly have to be applauded for their
initiative for sure.
Tony, Dublin Ireland
On 11/12/2024 20:56, CJ & AA MAY wrote:
I was interested to read about this. I have heard about it,
but not actually had a chance to try it out.
But it has to be simpler than queueing to borrow special
headphones which only work if you are sat in the right area of
the cinema or theatre and which the theatre or cinema has to
keep clean and in good repair.
Also almost every time I have used the headphones, they have
varied and I’ve needed to be shown where the controls are.
I do hope this service becomes standard.
Alison
Actuial *:*[email protected] <[email protected]>
<mailto:[email protected]> *On Behalf Of *Sieghard Weitzel
*Sent:* 09 December 2024 21:38
*To:* [email protected]
*Subject:* GalaPro - a fantastic new experience when attending
a live performance
Hello,
I wanted to share a recent experience I had attending the
musical "The Lion King" at the Princess of Whales theatre in
Toronto which is one of several theatres operated by Mirvish
Productions.
And before people press delete or post irate messages why I am
posting this to the Viphone list, I am doing so because the
main point of this post is to review and make people aware of
an app called GalaPro which provides audio descriptions for
live shows/musicals in a number of cities in the US, in London
and for Canada in Toronto at the Mirvish Productions theatres.
Below is the description from the Gala Pro website
<https://www.galapro.com/>:
Entertainment For Everyone
Imagine travelling to a new city and enjoying a local event or
show in your native language. Now, imagine enjoying closed
captions or audio description
at any performance you would like to attend without having to
wait for the one scheduled accessible show. Our revolutionary,
patent pending, app enhances
the audience experience by delivering individual closed
captioning and audio description to the user's own mobile
device. All content is provided in real
time, using speech recognition technology, developed
specifically for live performances and shows. With GalaPro
everyone can enjoy the show at every single
performance.
Our technology is designed to provide an inclusive experience
that is discreet for the user and does not disturb the
surrounding audience members. Our
product is used in the leading Broadway theaters and has been
enjoyed by thousands of users across North America. GalaPro is
a solution for everyone, from
seasoned opera and theater lovers, to travelers who need
accessible solutions, for film festivals or films on your own
TV, to exhibitions and museums or
even live concerts, GalaPro’s innovative technology will
provide all content on demand. Go ahead and see any show in
the GalaPro portfolio! GalaPro will make sure you understand
it all.
When I bought my tickets which I did by phone because Mirvish
Productions also offers a complimentary free ticket for a
companion, in my case my wife, I was told about this app. It
is a straight forward process, you download the GalaPro app
and follow the simple instructions when you get to the
theatre. These instructions basically are that when you are at
the theatre you open the app, select your city and the show
you are attending, in my case "Toronto" and "The Lion King".
Then you are instructed to turn on Airplane mode, but leave
Wi-Fi enabled which happens by default anyways.
Then you go to Settings > Wi-Fi and connect to the GalaPro
network and enter the password which is provided in the
instructions, I think in my case it was simply "galaPro1".
Once you are connected you go back to the app and tap "Next",
I think at thgis point I hd to select if I wanted audio
descritions or one of the other options which are subtitles
and I think there is also an option to hear the dialogue in
other languages (didn't really explore that).
Once you complete the steps a page loads and your phone does
display this in landscape mode even if you have orientation
locked, but essentially it only has a "back" button, it then
says "Audio on" and there was one other thing I can't
remember, but you now have nothing more to do except wait.
As soon as the show starts, audio descriptions automatically
start and I can only say it was an amazing experience.
One more thing I'd like to mention is that it will at some
point say that this only works with wired headsets, Bluetooth
is not supported. Of course you also want to listen to the
music and everything else so as usual, I just used my wired
Earpods and I just put in the right earbud lightly which
allowed me to hear the audio descriptions but this also did
not block the sound from the stage significantly. Just as in
movies audio descriptions are of course not constant,
sometimes minutes go by with nothing until a new scene or
background is described.
I did find that while some costumes were described, there
could have maybe been more detail and I provided some feedback
to Mirvish Productions regarding this. Below are two replies I
received today, we were at the show last Thursday evening, but
I didn't write to them until the weekend since we had an
almost 12 hour travel day to fly back to Vancouver and up to
our little town in Northwestern BC on Friday. In the first
email the rep I spoke with previously thanks me for my
feedback, in the second email she gives me a bit more
information and a link where apparently I can hear a lot more
details about the scenery and characters.
I included her two emails below and here is what is said about
this on the website under the “audio descriptions” section:
In an effort to be economical with audio description during
the performance, we provide pre-show notes that describe the
scenery and characters in detail.
These pre-show notes are played on loop in the 30-minutes
prior to the performance.
They did not do this at the Princess of Whales Theatre, but as
you can read in her email, they will make sure this will
happen in the future. Anybody who wants to listen to this and
get a sense of what it is like can do so by clicking this link
<https://lionking-com.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/LionKing_BroadwayOnline.mp3>.
I certainly encourage anybody who may plan to attend a musical
to check with their theatre if they offer audio descriptions
via the GalaPro app. Supported cities at this point are:
New York
London
Washington DC Metro Area
Toronto (only city in Canada, supported shows are "Come from
Away", Moulin Rouge" and "The Lion King")
Richmond
Baltimore
Philadelphia
Providence
Los Angeles
Seattle
Boston
San Francisco
Des Moines
Pasadena
Dallas
From: [email protected] [email protected]
Sent: Monday, December 9, 2024 12:09 PM
To: Sieghard Weitzel [email protected]
Subject: RE: Feedback on GalaPro and audio descriptions [CSE:
aFS10V, TKT: TbXUTg]
Hello Sieghard,
Thank you for taking the time to share your wonderful
experience attending The Lion King and for your thoughtful
feedback about the GalaPro audio description service. We are
delighted to hear that the technology enhanced your theatrical
experience and made the performance more accessible.
Your observations about the audio descriptions are incredibly
valuable. We appreciate your specific suggestions regarding
more comprehensive costume descriptions, which we have passed
along to our production team and the GalaPro service
providers. Your insights can help improve the experience for
future visually impaired audience members.
We are proud to offer technologies like GalaPro that make our
performances more inclusive and enjoyable for all patrons.
Your enthusiasm and appreciation mean a great deal to us, and
we're thrilled that you and your wife have made Mirvish
productions a part of your Toronto visits.
Thank you for being such a wonderful patron and for helping us
continually improve our accessibility services.
Warm regards,
Becky
Audience Services
Mirvish Productions
322 King Street West
Suite 325
Toronto, ON, M5V 1J2
________________________________________
Hello Sieghard,
Right after I had responded to you, I heard back from our
GalaPro representative.
She advised that you can access a recording of pre-show notes
that describe the scenery and characters in detail.
You can access it here on this page -
https://lionking.com/accessibility/
Please scroll to the section for Audio Description.
The link is here
https://lionking-com.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/LionKing_BroadwayOnline.mp3
I will also make sure that this recording is running pre-show
at our theatre.
Thank you again!!
Warm regards,
Becky
Audience Services
Mirvish Productions
322 King Street West
Suite 325
Toronto, ON, M5V 1J2
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