Profile for DeafScribbler

They do that with the ASL section seats at regional Broadway roadhouses too. For example, at the ASL interpreted show of Mary Poppins, half of the ASL section was full. The other half went on sale on the same day of the performance (1pm matinee show). I found it funny that those poor hearing people who took the seats must have felt VERY uncomfortable to be stuck in the middle of a signing frenzy (Two of those awkward-feeling hearing folks DID move to other seats at intermission, though.)

Read all 10 pages of this thread and I would like to take the time and answer some questions previous posters have brought up: Before I continue, would like to let that poster who asked for a Deaf perspective to type up - and here I am! I am Deaf and fully bilingual-bicultural in ASL/English. For a potential video recording, I would strongly recommend that closed captioning and/or subtitles be used. Sometimes there are "sign accents' that get in the way (variations of regional signs, for inst...

FindingNamo: Yes I do - www.thecreativepensieve.blogspot.com - there are several theater-related posts and ASL deconstructions of show tunes. I plan on adding more in the future now that there seems to be interest in this kind of perspective of a theatergoer that is Deaf : ) Reginald, thank you for those kind words. It's not often I see something like this aside from the eyebrow-raising or scoffing that a Deaf person might even be remotely interested in musicals. Back on track - I thought of ...

Since many of my favorites have already been suggested, I will add those that have not been mentioned yet. Since I'm Deaf, and rely much on visuals, my examples are more visual-oriented rather than auditory-oriented. But "Circle of Life" from THE LION KING gets me every single time. The parade of animals, the birds flying, the African drums, everything. ASL interpreters too. The Deaf West production of PIPPIN, "Magic to Do" was goosebump-inducing, especially with the hands coming out of the s...

Michael Seelbach majored in sign language interpreting. Saw him as Fiyero in "Wicked" back in 2007 (Chicago sit-down production). Even while he performed onstage, I could tell that he had ASL knowledge from his gestures and facial expressions :)

Recently, a friend (who is Deaf) asked me if I knew which performers on Broadway knew sign language (ASL or any of the other English sign systems such as SEE). Any ideas? Not counting Deaf performers such as Phyllis Frelich and Tyrone Giordano, which we know DO know ASL). From the top of my head - Gwen Stewart (confirmed, signed with her at the stage door while everyone else was screaming). Andy Richardson (from Newsies) Richard Griffiths (he's a CODA - child of Deaf adults) Anybody else? Any...

Chicago and Minneapolis-St.Paul. I've heard (I'm a former local here) that MSP actually has the most theater per capita after NYC - but has the best in terms of accessibility (ASL interpreting, Captioning, Audio Description, etc) that actually beats NYC's level of accessibility at the theater. Don't believe me? Compare the calendars at handson.org (NYC) and vsamn.org (MSP). One can see that, for the month of March, NYC has 14 and MSP has 70+. (Yes NYC has five theaters with the handheld capti...

As per request, updating the list of sign language interpreted and captioned performances by venue/organization, and again as per request, posting it here should any of you have a fellow Deaf theatergoer that might need information or a guiding point in the right direction. However, it is far from complete - if you know of any local/national/international organizations or venues that reguarly promote those shows (not just "on a case by case basis or by request only", but actually scheduled fu...

While the production was not the best done, I still found it enjoying and fun to watch. I wrote up a review which can be read here: http://thecreativepensieve.blogspot.com/2014/12/faith-trust-and-pixie-dust-reviewing.html

Team Interpreters or Team Captions? Here's my response to the interpreter/captioning debacle for Broadway shows as requested - "ASL Interpreting or Captioning at Broadway Shows: A Deaf Patron's Perspective" - please do read it here: http://thecreativepensieve.blogspot.com/2014/11/asl-interpreting-or-captioning-at.html Discuss away!

West End shows are also welcome :) I've seen some websites dedicated to scheduled BSL interpreted shows over there as well. Hmm... musing over a post discussing the differences (pros and cons) between sign interpreted shows and OC using my experiences with "Mary Poppins" (I cracked down and went to both performances so I could compare the differences, and it was a show I knew well so I had that advantage as well.) Perhaps I will do just that! :)

Yes, you are correct about Aladdin - Disney does a great job in providing at least ONE interpreted performance per month, on a rotational basis - ie Aladdin one month, The Lion King the next, and so on. Right now I *think* they are the only ones who does... So many shows I tried to see (ie Rent) were only interpreted once and never again so if I missed it, too bad to me. TDF's TYA program does interpreted shows twice a year for the K-12 crowd, and I've outgrown my high school ID - ha. Other t...

I was cleaning out my "theater box" and came across something that I thought I would share. I wrote to Julie Andrews and dropped the card off with her manager during one of her book tours. (I did mention being on Oprah with her during the Sound of Music reunion - didn't think she would remember me). About two months later, I got a response. Keep in mind, I did send one five years earlier and got a form letter with a pre-signed picture). This time, I got a unsigned picture (she had already sig...

I wrote a blog post on theater accessibility from the perspective of a Deaf theater aficionado - link here: http://thecreativepensieve.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-view-from-row-tales-of-deaf-theater.html My question, which will address the line in the post regarding not seeing shows in NYC despite countless attempts to do so - which shows have you seen ASL interpreters and/or open captioning at? I know many if not most of you don't have hearing loss or know someone who does - but I'm sure you've...