For those of you who don’t know or understand ASL, here is the English version:
Today was the first day of rehearsals with the cast, arts director, interpreters and a friend who came to consult on ASL for one of our performers. I felt that today’s rehearsal was a successful one because we had opportunities to discuss and analyze our characters such as why they behave the way they do, what cultures were present and how they influenced the dynamics within family members.
With my role as Billy, I’ll be speaking most of the time. This means I’ll have to read lips with the others. When we did the walk through, it was a challenge that I had to keep my eyes on the scripts and the characters to be sure I’m on the right track. Even though there were interpreters involved, I’d still have to get used to the others lipreading because the interpreters will not be on stage. Some people on the cast have told me that usually the first day of rehearsals are usually the toughest because that is when everyone would sit down and walk through the entire script to get the feel and sense of how our characters are. This, for me, felt like a “run” through because I had to keep up with track with the script while lip reading. After the “run” through, we discussed further on our characters, what recurring themes have come up for us and how they resonated with us.
During the process, we didn’t hold anything back and were open to feedback and adjustments as necessary on how we can find ways to make things work better for us. I’m confident things will get better the next day. It was a challenge for me to keep up with the lip reading and everyone speaking but it’ll get better as we learn during the process.
I’m aware we can work with the interpreters here but for the acting parts, we’ll have to work together and learn how to communicate with each other on stage. So, this is my goal with the cast. With the interpreters present, it’s useful to use our time and resource when having group discussions about the play. For the acting parts, I’d like to practice with the actors and actresses as how we will be on stage.
It was also helpful to have a friend who is also Deaf that was here today to help out especially when we did the “run” through with the script. Somewhere halfway, I was already exhausted trying to keep up. When I was reading through the script, she would help out by watching the interpreters and guide through where everyone was by pointing on specific lines in the script. That was extremely helpful for me. This allowed me time to catch up. There were pauses. It wasn’t ideal but it was a start for us. And a learning process!
Another thing I enjoyed was discussions about culture, particularly Deaf culture, with the cast. I enjoyed the discussion with them and sharing my background from an academic and personal background on Deaf culture with the cast. Also, how my family communicates with me. This was similar to how my experience resonates with my character as Billy and his family goes through. These issues are relevant to many families who have Deaf children. Parents often decide on what they believe is best for them and their Deaf child. Some themes we discussed were: otherness, identities, norms, expectations, relationships and cultural exchanges, etc. I truly enjoyed having these discussions.
Today’s rehearsal was a productive process. I felt we accomplished a lot today. Like I have said earlier a few times, I think, we held nothing back and asked whatever came to mind. I enjoyed the discussions we had the rehearsal today!
So, come on out and watch us! I guarantee you I’ll give my best during the rehearsals. I believe this play has a great story to share with everyone!
Until then, I’ll see you all again tomorrow!
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Tribes performance dates will be between October 19-29, 2017.
ASL Interpreted performances are on October 21, 2017 & October 26, 2017.
The performances will be at the Winnipeg Jewish Theatre (Berney Theatre) on 123 Doncaster Street
You can purchase tickets through www.wjt.ca