Orlando Fringe Partners With Subly to Increase Accessibility

Orlando Fringe, producers of the nation's longest-running independent Fringe theatre festival, announced today that they have entered into a partnership with the global startup, Subly.

Founded in 2019, Subly makes content simple by automatically transcribing and adding subtitles to audio and video. So creators and organizations, like Orlando Fringe, can create and share more content that people love. Subly has over 30,000 users globally, including enterprises, creators, schools, agencies, charities, and individuals. The partnership with Subly will assure that future Orlando Fringe online events will be captioned for the deaf and hard of hearing, as well as people who have their sound turned off.

"Orlando Fringe was founded on being 100% accessible," said Orlando Fringe Festival Producer Lindsay Taylor. "Since we are producing more and more content online due to the pandemic, we wanted to make sure that it was accessible by all."

Orlando Fringe began offering ASL interpreted performances at the 2019 Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival. Before canceling the festival this past May due to COVID-19, there were plans to expand the program. In 2020, the organization formed an Inclusivity, Diversity, and Accessibility committee that continues to brainstorm ideas to make the festival experience equitable for all.

"I looked at many different companies that could help us caption our online video content, and Subly stood out among others," adds Fringe Marketing Director Brian Sikorski. "Their software is very intuitive and always improving. As a bonus, their team is accommodating and personable. They've been a pleasure to work with."

"We're delighted to be partnering with Orlando Fringe, the longest-running Fringe Theatre Festival in the USA. A Festival focused on community, creativity, culture, and committed to being 100% accessible - all values we share. We can support the Orlando Fringe team with the accessibility goal by making automatic subtitles possible for all video content," said Holly Stephens, CEO, and Founder at Subly. "The partnership also supports our mission to empower every creator and organization to maximize their content, and enable everyone to access subtitled and translated content globally."

Subly's subtitles will be available at the upcoming 5th Annual Orlando Fringe Winter Mini-Fest, with online performances streaming January 7-14 and in-person events scheduled for January 7-10.

For more information about the Orlando Fringe, you can visit their website at orlandofringe.org. If you are interested in Subly, visit getsubly.com.

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