Stagetext Ambassador

Volunteer opportunity: Stagetext Ambassador

Do you love theatre? Have you ever used captions to go and see a
performance?

Or perhaps visiting a museum, gallery or heritage site is more your thing?
Have you ever used subtitles to enjoy a talk, tour or exhibition?

Why not become a volunteer Stagetext Ambassador to spread the word about
accessibility through captions and subtitles. Together we can make more
cultural venues accessible to caption users.

Role: Stagetext Ambassador

Location: Online, home-based, anywhere in the UK, with the opportunity to attend
occasional in-person events run by Stagetext. We are particularly looking for new
Ambassadors who live outside London.

When: Ongoing, flexible – do as much or as little as suits you.

Introduction

Stagetext is a deaf-led charity that advocates for and provides accessible captions at
live events in theatres, museums and galleries, and for all kinds of cultural content
online.

We champion captions and subtitles that are fully accessible to deaf, deafened and
hard of hearing people. This means the captions match exactly what is being said,
word for word; they appear in time with what is being said; and they include extra
information such as descriptions of sound or music.

All kinds of people use captions – whether to support concentration, aid literacy or
because they are one of the 12 million people in the UK who are deaf, deafened or
hard of hearing.

The Role

Stagetext are seeking caption users from around the country to become
Ambassadors. Ambassadors help us raise awareness of captioned culture, both with
audiences and the cultural sector, and give valuable feedback to Stagetext, as well
as supporting us for occasional events. Being an Ambassador is a voluntary, unpaid
role.

Sharing your experiences of captioning is one of the best ways to show the value of
accessibility. We ask Ambassadors to share their stories in whatever way feels
natural. This could be:

•  Posting on social media
•  Talking to Stagetext so that we can use your quotes or be part of a case study

• Talking to people (individually or in groups) about Stagetext to spread the

word – this could be in person or online, and we would provide training and
materials

In addition, Ambassadors:

• Meet online around 3 times a year to get updates on Stagetext’s work, and

give feedback to the Stagetext team. This 2 hour meeting called the
Ambassador Panel.

• Support Captioning Awareness Week each November.
• Support Stagetext at in-person or online events
•

If they feel comfortable, Ambassadors sometimes speak on panels run by
Stagetext, or speak to the media. Full support is given!

All Ambassador Panel meetings and events run by Stagetext are made accessible
with live subtitles, produced live by a speech-to-text reporter.

Being an Ambassador is not the same as working for Stagetext. If you ever came
across an issue at a captioned event, for example, the best thing to do would be to
talk to Stagetext about it and we would take it forward on your behalf.

Who we’re looking for:

Caption users who regularly go to accessible events – and who would like there to
be more!

Most of our current Ambassadors are deaf, deafened or hard of hearing, but we are
happy to welcome people who use captions for any reason. We are actively seeking
to expand the membership of the Ambassador Panel outside of London.

This is an open opportunity. You don’t need to commit to being an Ambassador for a
set length of time, it is up to you how you’d like to be involved. We ask that all
Ambassadors join the Ambassador Panel meetings so that you are up to date with
our work.

How to express an interest in becoming an Ambassador:

Please write a short statement on why you’d like to get involved and email it
to Rachel Jele, Stagetext’s Head of Advocacy and Engagement:
Rachel@stagetext.org