Deaf theatre-goers review Spring Awakening

[JBroadway]

Posted: 11/1/15 at 3:05pm

Thought I'd share this interesting piece from The Guardian. Deaf theatre-goers (and one hearing ASL interpreter) shared their thoughts on the show. Really interesting to read their critiques of the show, particularly about the signing of the hearing actors. 

 

http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/oct/29/spring-awakening-broadway-deaf-viewers-give-verdict?CMP=share_btn_fb

 

"it was very clear that the play was designed for a hearing audience with a secondary intention of being accessible to the Deaf."

[dramamama611]

Posted: 11/1/15 at 3:06pm

Lol...I meant to post this when or saw it yesterday.  I found it very interesting.

[macnyc]

Posted: 11/1/15 at 3:21pm

Such a great idea to gather opinions from deaf audience members. I saw the show in early previews, and a lot of the nuances went over my head. I'm trying not to be hard on myself, because a lot is happening onstage at any given moment, and it's hard to take it all in. So I'm enjoying reading anything I can about the production. 

 

Also, on today's Theater Talk, several cast members appeared with the director to discuss various aspects of the show and how it was executed. If I can find a link, I'll post it later. I think PBS will repeat the episode also. 

[haterobics]

Posted: 11/1/15 at 3:59pm

Am I missing something or are they suggesting that at some point the deaf actors would be acting out the scene, the hearing actors would be singing, and yet a third round of deaf actors would be signing the song? That would be quite the huge cast...

[JBroadway]

Posted: 11/1/15 at 4:11pm

Not exactly. They are suggesting that the hearing characters be played be two people, in the way that the deaf characters are - but the reverse. So Melchior, Hanschen, Ilse, Anna, Georg, and Camryn Manheim's characters would all have another actor signing whatever they're saying/singing. So yes, it would make the cast noticeably larger. 

Updated On: 11/1/15 at 04:11 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/1/15 at 6:41pm

I agree that having the hearing actors signing as well was distracting, but only for the reasons mentioned by the Deaf people interviewed. Watching the translation of the original text into ASL through the Deaf actors was really fascinating and while it was done to a lesser extent with the hearing actors who also signed, I think that their mission to make this completely accessible to Deaf audiences as well would have been served better with that. 

 

Also, while "Mirror Blue Night" was one of the more visually stunning things I've seen on stage in a long time, I was very distracted that there seemed to be no translation of the song, not through signing or by projections, which were so wonderfully used throughout. 

[c0113g3b0y]

Posted: 11/1/15 at 8:51pm

Thanks for making this thread JBroadway. I noticed that all of the people interviewed said they disliked the fact that some actors signed and sang at the same time, although one praised Leusta Rodriguez for expressing her emotions properly while signing. I think it's unfair to judge the actors (I think one reviewer pointed that out that's it's more the fault of the director I think) especially for Austin mckenzie whose solos are mostly fast paced ones .

i can understand WHY arden chose to have Krysta and Austin to sign while singing though . It separates the two between Moritz and wendla as in knowledgable vs ignorant , worldly vs naive etc

[GreenSharpie]

Posted: 11/1/15 at 11:38pm

Austin McKenzie, who plays Melchior, has said the following in a Playbill interview:

 

"It constantly feels like it two shows happening at once inside my head," he admitted. "There's one show in sign language, and there's one in English — and I'm constantly back-bending into either one and thinking in sign language and in English because you have to imagine the signs are often completely backwards. It's quite bizarre."

 

And he was already fluent in ASL before this show and has studied to become an interpreter in college.. Plus he's so young, and this is his theatrical debut, I guess with everything going on perhaps he forgets and his facial expressions naturally want to show what he is speaking rather than signing. Also regarding the issues with translations, I remember reading that the ASL masters sometimes didn't translate literally because much of the book is very abstract, whereas ASL is a more straight forward language. So instead they often found other ways to express the lyrics (instead of describing 'where the figs lie' down there in ASL, the deaf actor reaches down and just conveys everything with his expression and movement). Same with Mirror Blue Night- the lyrics to that song aren't essential anyway in my opinion- the only line that matters, 'I'm a man and a child,' is visible to the audience if I recall correctly..  but the gist is that Melchior is masturbating in this scene and that is plenty obvious in this production, while the lighting and choreography ably convey the whole vibe of the song, better than a literal translation would in my opinion.

 

Nitpicking aside, either way I think it's safe to say this production is still a vast improvement for deaf audience members over basically all other mainstream productions out there, which don't bother to be accessible to them at all. it's a little strange that this article focuses so much on the negative..

"It constantly feels like it two shows happening at once inside my head," he admitted. "There's one show in sign language, and there's one in English — and I'm constantly back-bending into either one and thinking in sign language and in English because you have to imagine the signs are often completely backwards. It's quite bizarre." - See more at: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/playbill-on-opening-night-it-is-practically-a-new-show-says-duncan-sheik-as-spring-reawakens-anew-364528#sthash.blD6dnfy.dpuf

"It constantly feels like it two shows happening at once inside my head," he admitted. "There's one show in sign language, and there's one in English — and I'm constantly back-bending into either one and thinking in sign language and in English because you have to imagine the signs are often completely backwards. It's quite bizarre." - See more at: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/playbill-on-opening-night-it-is-practically-a-new-show-says-duncan-sheik-as-spring-reawakens-anew-364528#sthash.blD6dnfy.dpuf"It constantly feels like it two shows happening at once inside my head," he admitted. "There's one show in sign language, and there's one in English — and I'm constantly back-bending into either one and thinking in sign language and in English because you have to imagine the signs are often completely backwards. It's quite bizarre." - See more at: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/playbill-on-opening-night-it-is-practically-a-new-show-says-duncan-sheik-as-spring-reawakens-anew-364528#sthash.blD6dnfy.dpuf

"It constantly feels like it two shows happening at once inside my head," he admitted. "There's one show in sign language, and there's one in English — and I'm constantly back-bending into either one and thinking in sign language and in English because you have to imagine the signs are often completely backwards. It's quite bizarre." - See more at: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/playbill-on-opening-night-it-is-practically-a-new-show-says-duncan-sheik-as-spring-reawakens-anew-364528#sthash.blD6dnfy.dpuf

Updated On: 11/1/15 at 11:38 PM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/1/15 at 11:41pm

I love this production, but I had been wondering about Mirror-Blue Night since I saw the footage from LA. It struck me as dark when I saw it on Broadway, but I only have two semesters of ASL on me, so I wasn't sure how someone much more fluent would take it. I guess my suspicions may be correct!

[c0113g3b0y]

Posted: 11/1/15 at 11:53pm

I hope that cheoreographers can use this (and Deaf West's previous effort, Big River) as a template for future ASL-incorporated performances. 

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 11/2/15 at 3:04pm

I understand the critiques of these theatre-goers. Sim-com, when hearing people talk while signing, isn't as effective as it would seem to the hearing community. English and ASL don't line up exactly, and so much of ASL is communicated through facial expressions that don't always fall in the same places as the inflections in English; plus, the use of the mouth to talk or sing limit the amount of facial expression available to the person communicating. It's a fascinating, eye-opening point of view.

 

As a person who can understand ASL at a certain level, I personally loved the integration of the Deaf culture and language in this production. I thought it actually illuminated the text. While I agree with the qualms of these Deaf viewers, I think this is the best example I've seen of a musical integrating ASL and the Deaf community into one cohesive experience for all.

[Jersey Girl2]

Posted: 11/2/15 at 8:58pm

Theater Talk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtePovMsKJg&feature=youtu.be