Breaking the Language Barrier with Mobile Titles and Translations
On Site Opera uses LiveNote to deliver titles and translations via their mobile app to patrons’ devices. We talked with Executive Director Piper Gunnarson to learn why they chose to deliver mobile titles and how the audience has responded.
Piper Gunnarson, Executive Director for On Site Opera
Can you tell us a little about On Site Opera?
On Site Opera produces site-specific, immersive opera productions. We always match each opera to a venue that somehow resonates with its content or setting or theme. We’ve performed in botanical gardens and historic homes, several museums, the zoo, a soup kitchen. We’re always on the hunt for interesting venues that can really bring an extra element to an opera story.
What business challenge prompted you to look at LiveNote?
One of the big challenges for producing site-specific opera is the question of where to put supertitles. Presenting titles is a pretty common need. Opera is often performed in a language that most of the audience doesn’t speak. So, presenting titles is a way to help the audience understand what’s happening throughout the performance.
“In most traditional opera houses with a proscenium stage, titles are projected above the stage or maybe on the back of the seat in front of you. But in site-specific opera, we have a completely different challenge. ”
Sometimes, our audiences are seated in-the-round or in an alley set-up. Sometimes, the audiences are on multiple sides. We also have the performers going in and out around the audience to create an immersive experience. That presents the challenge of audience members facing in different directions. You can’t really project the titles in one place like you would in a traditional theatre setting.
The secondary problem with titles in a site-specific production is the venue itself. Sometimes there are no flat walls on which to project the titles. Sometimes, our venues don’t have enough power sources for us to use projection equipment.
“That led us to consider: what are some alternative ways to present titles to our audience members without traditional projections?”
And then we came across LiveNote, which lets us put the titles right in our audience’s hands. That’s very convenient for them. It works with all of our spaces, and it brings a unique element to our productions.
How well has LiveNote worked for delivering titles?
LiveNote has really helped a lot. We’re able to present the titles not only in English but also in multiple languages, if we want. We recently had a production of Murasaki’s Moon, which is a Japanese story. The opera is sung in English. So the titles were in English, but we also commissioned a Japanese translation. Audience members were able to toggle back and forth between English and Japanese or stick with whichever language they preferred.
On Site Opera delivered titles in English and Japanese for Murasaki’s Moon.
We’re very excited that, unlike a traditional opera house where projected titles will only be in English (or whatever is the common language of the audience), we’re able to give our audiences the choice of which language they want to experience.
Have you had any challenges in implementing LiveNote?
The biggest challenge we’ve faced with implementing LiveNote hasn’t really been too much of a challenge. It was the question, “Will our audiences and our peers in the opera industry be opened to the idea of asking audiences to use a mobile device during a performance?”
There is some resistance to that, but we didn’t really see that as too much of a challenge. For one thing, we’re always doing productions that challenge our audiences and artists to think differently from the normal way of producing opera.
When projected titles were initially implemented, there was resistance to that, too. People were concerned about asking their audiences to look up above the stage and back and forth all the time. You got used to it. It became a really important part of the performance experience.
“We just said, ‘Let’s take the leap and ask people to come with us on this journey.’”
For the most part, everyone has been really open to it. Even the people who resisted have mostly come around. We had some audience members, who said: “Oh, no. I don’t want to use that. I don’t like the idea of people having their mobile devices out during a performance.” And slowly but surely, some of them start to use it.
Sometimes when I’m in the audience myself, I’ll use it. I notice that the person next to me starts to look over every once in awhile to see what the text says. Afterwards, people say that they really enjoyed it.
Example: On Site Opera’s intro slide for The Turn of the Screw.
One of the big points of resistance to using a mobile app for titles is that people are worried it will be a distraction during the performance. And it really isn’t.
The app itself has a black background with white text, which means that there’s really no light pollution during the performance. We ask the audience members to turn their volume all the way down before the performance. So it really hasn’t been a distraction.
So, it’s less about the reality and more about the perception going into it.
Oh, absolutely! People’s perception going into using LiveNote is changed after they actually use it.
We’ve had the great fortune of having several opera industry peers come to our dress rehearsals and things. They’re curious to learn about our app. They’re very hesitant about the concept of it. But once they use it, they really appreciate it and understand it’s value - particularly for our organization doing such unique productions.
How do you see your use of LiveNote expanding or changing?
I’m really excited that we can experiment a bit more with the use of different languages based on the audiences coming to the show. We’re interested in maybe doing a little research to find out: who’s coming to the show, what’s the demographic, what languages would they like to see presented in the app?
“I’m also interested in exploring features that focus on context and information about the show. I see so much potential to create a track that gives them information about particular scenes in the opera.”
Maybe there is a way to include information for the young people in our audience. “Here’s what a soprano sounds like. You’re listening to a soprano right now, and that means it’s in this vocal range.”
There are a lot of options we could give to the audience to help enhance their experience of connecting with the opera’s libretto, with the content, or with the concept.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
This year, On Site Opera received a two-year innovation grant from Opera America, which will support using LiveNote in our performances. We’ll also acquire some mobile devices to offer to audience members, who either don’t have a smartphone or aren’t comfortable using their own devices for this purpose. We’re really grateful to Opera America for giving us the support we need to get this technology into our productions.
Would you like to learn more?
Let’s talk! We would love to discuss delivering titles and translations to your audience with LiveNote.
Are you a LiveNote client? Contact Lena.
Would you like to learn more about LiveNote? Contact David.