Stagetext has been selected as one of 17 organisations to receive support from Essex County Council’s Cultural Development Project Fund and Creative Industries Project Development Fund which are dedicated to developing local talent and growing Essex’s creative industries.
The funding will enable Stagetext to deliver Deaf Awareness Training to 120 arts and culture professionals working and volunteering across Essex’s cultural landscapes. This will help ensure that the 1 in 3 people who are deaf, deafened or hard of hearing are warmly welcomed into cultural spaces. It will also support the upskilling of local captioners, meaning more theatre shows across the county can be made accessible.
Melanie Sharpe, CEO of Stagetext, said: “We are thrilled to receive this funding and thanks to Essex County Council for including us in this round. Deaf audiences can experience barriers to their enjoyment of cultural activities, making them less likely to return. Our deaf awareness training will provide people with the skills and confidence to engage with deaf audiences, and help them become advocates of inclusive practice within their venues and organisations.
The captioner upskilling will enable existing Stagetext captioners to use our new software, Stagetext+ which we are rolling out over the next two years. This will mean Essex will be one of the first regions to use this innovative and flexible software, which will enable audiences to experience captions in a variety of ways as well as on the caption units that they are familiar with.
We are looking forward to working with Essex creatives over the next year. Keep an eye out for further information on how to take part in the free deaf awareness training workshops we’ll be offering.”
