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  • 1.  ASL for stage

    Posted 04-19-2016 11:34

    Loved the article the other day in Teaching Theatre Mag about ASL on stage.  

    I've been involved with a few productions that used 2 sets of actors for each role (one spoken English and one ASL) some of the best theatre of my life!!!

    Anyone have any experiences or suggestions???  Positive experiences or challenges to share???  Any plays that worked well with ASL???

    btw - I got my sign name last time we did an ASL integration piece

    "drama dan"  

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    [Drama] [Dan] []
    [Drama Teacher/Director]
    [Dublin Coffman HS]
    [Dublin] [Ohio]
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  • 2.  RE: ASL for stage

    Posted 04-19-2016 13:48

    We actually use ASL for one night during our musicals. The ASL teacher on campus finds it difficult to do the straight plays (everything is interpreted by the ASL students) but the musicals have worked out really well.  We make sure to tech the appropriate differences in the lighting and spacing to accommodate the interpreters so everything runs pretty smoothly and a section of the audience is reserved for the hearing impaired to allow them the best possible access to see the interpretation.

    I highly recommend doing this if at all possible. Just be ready for some lighting and spacing challenges when you start this process. It's pretty smooth now but we had some technical difficulties working around placement of the interpreters the first 2 shows. The kids who have been involved in the process before are really helpful to the newer faces as they learn how to work in this type of environment. It's really wonderful to provide this sort of opportunity though. This community is frequently overlooked and they are always appreciative of the effort we make to include them. 


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  • 3.  RE: ASL for stage

    Posted 04-20-2016 14:00

    Every year, my level II drama class reads Children of a Lesser God and we do our scenes in sign language.  The students look up ASL and the expectation is that they sign or sign and speak their lines.  I find that this project is one that really reaches my students who are not natural-born performers because it allows them to perform extremely complex characters and a range of emotions with their physical body and not their voice.  The shy kids shine and the gregarious students are forces to look and react instead of just spouting off lines they memorized.  

    The students really get excited about learning ASL, in the limited capacity we are able to do.  And, I believe that forcing them to communicate differently builds empathy and helps students to have patience with one another.  It's a great equalizer to make them perform in a language that is not their own.

    As a side note, several years ago, I saw a production of Medea at VCU where Medea used ASL.  There was one scene that I remember so vividly where she and a male character where arguing and I could not only see, but I could feel and hear the intensity of their argument. I could see them shaking, sweating, trembling, and I could hear their bodies forcefully, desperately signing... I connected with that production on a visceral level.  It was true theatre genius!  

    Sorry, I got a little carried away there, but I am a huge supporter of incorporating ASL in the classroom!


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  • 4.  RE: ASL for stage

    Posted 04-21-2016 12:38

    We had a huge deaf education program at my college, and it carried right into the theatre department, where we did a show pretty much using deaf actors and crew every semester. Oh, and the director, who was a faculty member, was deaf too. It worked really well.

    I designed the set for one of these productions, and quickly found out that there was a communication problem in the shop, where I would show the crew how to build something, but they had to look at the interpreter instead of at what I was showing them. We got through it, but the next semester I took a class in ASL. So the next show I was able to communicate with them (to a point), but at the same time the deaf kids were helping me with my ASL. It was so much fun it was pitiful. :-)  Then we took one of the shows on tour locally, and I discovered that ASL works really well backstage too, even when talking with a hearing crew member who knows ASL. I ended up taking a second semester of ASL.

    What blew my mind was what the director did with Snoopy, which was a musical. We had the interpreters and all, but we also gave blown-up balloons to audience members who were deaf. By placing their fingers lightly on the balloon, they could actually feel the music.

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    George F. Ledo
    Set designer
    www.setdesignandtech.wordpress.com
    www.georgefledo.net

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