Deaf West Theater: Deaf and Hearing Audiences Together

Many years ago, when I was a teacher at the New York School for the Deaf (Fanwood) just north of NYC, Ed Waterstreet came to the school as the artist in residence. I'm sure he doesn't remember me but I certainly remember him. I recall that he was a very impressive person, very open, warm, friendly and a true artist who shared his gifts with the students expertly. The theater company he founded, Deaf West reflects that openness by mounting productions that have Deaf and Hearing audiences sitting side by side....

If you're in the Los Angeles area, make sure you stop by and see a Deaf West show. Do it for me, who is here on the East Coast and then leave me a comment.

See you in the floodlights!

Cindy

Are Theater Sign Language Interpreters Acting?

Photo Credit Jack May on Flickr

Often, when ASL interpreters are out in the local community interpreting theater or concerts, non-signers believe that we are acting. Here is a good explanation of that from Chloe Veltman writing for Theatre Bay Area:

After a recent American Sign Language (ASL)-interpreted performance of Russell Lees's play Nixon's Nixon at San Jose Repertory Theatre, interpreters Charlotte Toothman and Joe Quinn were standing in the theatre lobby chatting, when a female audience member approached them. "You guys were so expressive," she said. "You looked like you were really acting."


As the founders and codirectors of Stage Hands of the Bay Area, a local ASL-interpreting service for live theatre, Toothman and Quinn are used to receiving this kind of feedback from non-deaf theatregoers. After all, a signed performance certainly looks like acting to the untrained eye. In Nixon's Nixon, Toothman (interpreting the role of Richard Nixon) and Quinn (as Henry Kissinger) appeared to be as involved in the action as the actors on stage. Often signing their lines to each other rather than out to the audience, they seemed to be engaged in a heated conversation. When the actor playing Kissinger became over-animated, Quinn's gestures appeared larger than life. When the onstage Nixon raced through half-finished sentences, Toothman interrupted her signed phrases. When both actors paced about the stage in thought at one point, the interpreters, seated on stools directly in front of the stage on the far right, pensively rubbed their chins.




In some ways, the process of preparing for an ASL-interpreted performance is similar to that of an actor. Toothman and Quinn begin by familiarizing themselves with a play or musical by reading the script and/or listening to the music. They divvy out roles and rehearse together. They even work with a "director" (a bilingual native ASL expert known in Stage Hands parlance as the "sign master") on refining their performance. But despite the theatrical setting and the expressiveness of their work, ASL interpreters consider themselves to be translators, not actors. Every gesture and facial expression serves a linguistic function. "We're not performing, we're providing a service," says Toothman. "We try hard to make sure we're not too obtrusive. Everything we do is in service of the show." While Toothman considers stage presence to be a positive quality for an interpreter, language skills are more important. "When we hire interpreters, we're looking primarily for translation skills," she says. "Some interpreters come from a theatre background, but having a deep fluency in sign language is more important than having a stage background." (See the full article)

The next time you see us interpreting a show, remember, if you are a non-signer, it may look like acting but it's not.

See you in the floodlights!
Cindy

Meet the Sign Language Interpreters who brought interpreting to Broadway

Sadly, Alan Champion recently lost his battle with cancer. Here's a lovely tribute to Candy and Alan the pioneers who brought ASL interpreting to Broadway Theater.

The Manifesto of Hands Up Theater

Photo Credit: Lea, Cletus Kennelly, & ASL Interpreter At The Folk Festival (Takoma Park, MD)

Our hands are our communication, they are our language, they are our art.

We will use our hands to artfully interpret and applaud theater.  The acting belongs to the theater company. We will communicate their story through our hands.

Our hands will be up to interpret and our hands will be up to applaud.

Welcome to our world.

Welcome to Hands Up Theater.