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Answer Box By Thomas H. FreemanInstant Subtitles in TuscanyHow a small Florence theatre company used moderntechnology to reach its international audienceFlorence International Theatre Company production of Agnes of GodThe Florence International Theatre Company (FITC)was created to marry the techniques of Americanand Italian theatre traditions. Creating works ofart, primarily in English, and sharing this work withthe Tuscan community, FITC explores the differencesof world cultures as they come together in a theatricalcontext and plans to develop projects and productionsthat bridge cultures and language, while connecting thecommunity it serves.Among the productions for its debut season, FITCchose John Pielmeier’s Tony award-winning play Agnesof God. Even though most of the company’s plays arepresented in English without translation, the companywanted to subtitle Agnes of God’s English dialogue withan Italian translation projected onto the set. However,as a small company, it was not feasible to budget for aseparate video/projector operator.Aaron Craig, co-founder of FITC and also the directorof Agnes of God, chose Rosco’s Keystroke for this task. TheKeystroke is a hardware/software solution designed forsmall technical teams and allows audio and visual cues tobe automatically triggered from the lighting desk.Keystroke is a DMX trigger that allows a lighting consoleto control virtually any software program running on anexternal computer, including visual products like PowerPoint,Keynote Quicktime or Windows Media Player and audio playbackprograms like ProTools, iTunes, Garageband and SFX.When Keystroke receives a predefined value at therequired DMX channel address, the Keystroke hardwareconnects via USB and electronically listens to DMX channels1–512, which are user-assigned in the software to thecommands that the slave PC is required to execute.For Agnes of God, the subtitles were programmed intoa PowerPoint presentation, then Keystroke automaticallyadvanced the “slides” on cues from the lighting desk. It wasa good solution for the company, as just one person wasneeded for complete control of all the required elements.Additionally, there was no need to worry about operatingextra faders or buttons.“Keystroke was a great help in running our slide showfor the subtitles,” said Craig. “With over 90 cues on an80-minute show, you can imagine how important it was forour lighting op to be able to keep both hands on the lightboard and have everything centrally located.”Answer Box Needs You!Every production has its challenges. We’d like to hear how you solved them!Send your Answer Box story and pics to answerbox@stage-directions.com.44 December 2007 • www.stage-directions.com