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Anna Marck 

HC 100- Maroon Group

12 October 2012

Giving Me a Sign:

 Linking the Deaf and Hearing Communities through Theatre

Introduction:

As I sat in the cozy, black box theatre waiting for the play to begin, I noticed excessive

movement across the audience. Hands maneuvering about in space, patrons who were adept at

American Sign Language. They were signing to friends seated on the other side of the house,

chuckling at the conversations they were creating, feeling the surprise, confusion, humor, excite-

ment that exists in any other conversation, but these ones were silenced. It was incredible. Never 

 before had I seen so many people signing inside of a theatre before... I paused and thought about

that: Never before had I seen so many people signing inside of a theatre before.

I couldn't help but think about the purpose of theatre: to communicate, to teach, to inspire

the public about important themes via a live threshold. How long had the deaf community been

cut off from this experience? How long were they forced to read lips? How often did they wait

for the DVD of the movie, so they could watch it with subtitles? Was this play-- "Police: Deaf::

 Near: Far"-- their first experience with a live performance?

I went home and YouTube'd deaf theatre. I was amazed at how much was out there. Final-ly, after watching about six videos, I thought, maybe I was the one that was cut off from the deaf 

experience. The truth is that neither community is cut off from art, the problem is that we are cut

off from each other's art. Pieces like "Police: Deaf:: Near: Far," TerpTheatre (a form of live ASL

interpreting onstage called shadow interpreting), and the only deaf-blind theatre, Nalaga'at, in Is-

rael seem to be the few crusaders attempting to bridge these separate worlds.

Plan:

• The goal is to create artwork that is created by the deaf and the hearing communities, that is

about the deaf and the hearing communities, and that is understood whether you can or cannot

hear.

• This artwork must  be mass-produced because at the current moment, the forms of artwork that

do bridge this gap are so few and far between that their message is not reaching masses.

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Methodology:

• First, psychological research must be done on the deaf and hearing communities-- Asking

questions like: What are their biggest concerns with one another? What are their fears? What do

they want to know? It is important to gather as much information as possible in this step.

• Using the public's opinion, and working with a team of deaf and hearing writers to produce

 plays/ musicals that appeal to and can be performed in such a way that both audiences appreciate

the message.

• Finally, putting the production together and simply using the guess and check method. Were

these performances successful? If so, how? If not, why not? Did they reach a large audience?

Materials Needed:

• The people: Artists to write the material, Deaf and hearing actors, a passionate faculty and pro-

duction staff, interpreters, producers, etc.

• The money: For researching, hiring, and putting on a musical... for an extended period of time.

• The technology: YouTube, Facebook, email, film spots, theatrical design: needed for mass-pro-

duction.

Time Frame/ Rationale:

This is a long-term project. Because of the many contributing factors, there is guaranteed

to be time stretching. However, a rough estimate may look something like this:

• Researching deaf and hearing communities: 2.5 dedicated years

• Writing and composing plays and musicals about the deaf and hearing: 2.5 dedicated years.

• Play/ musical production, includes hiring a staff of directors and designers, casting the actors,

 pre- and post-production, and everything else it takes to get the show on it's feet: 2 years.

• Audience reaction/ response time: 1 year.

• More artistic responses and piggy-backs: 5 years.

• Conclusion:

All in all, this would take about 13 years from start to finish, however this project's goal

is not only to help link the deaf and hearing communities, perhaps it will open up more theatrical

experiences for the blind, the physically handicapped. Creativity is not only in creating the con-

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tent of the art. Creativity is presenting your art in a way that everyone can understand it. Asking

yourself, how will the deaf community realize the message? The blind community? The deaf-

 blind? When audiences are not discriminated against, neither are humans. The gift of being al-

lowed to learn whatever you wish is the most beautiful gift on the planet and that is the sign of a

thriving world.

References:

"Police: Deaf:: Near: Far" performed at Oakland University. Studio Theatre. Directed by Karen

Sheridan. 4 October 2012.

TerpTheatre. Shadow Interpreting of Michigan. www.terptheatre.com

 Nalaga'at Center. Deaf-Blind Theatre Troupe in Israel. www.nalagaat.org.il/home.php

Deaf West Theatre. North Hollywood, California. www.deafwest.com

YouTube for the guide to deaf theatre and Nalaga'at

Resources:

Oakland University Music, Theatre, and Dance Department

The Kresge Library at Oakland University

Garrett Zuercher and Daniel Durant, deaf actors in the production of "Police: Deaf:: Near: Far"