Deaf Theater Video Analysis

Audism is defined as "The notion that one is superior based on one's ability to hear or to behave in the manner of one who hears." The documentary Audism Unveiled gives audiences’ a glance at the lives of Deaf minority groups that have to deal with oppression, racism, and sexism on a daily basis. The documentary opened up with a quote that said “The voice I don’t need, I even sing in silence,” this quote really captured my attention because it had a strong meaning behind it. At first, when watching this documentary the tables were turned when there was no sound, just sign language and English captions. This was interesting because I’ve never watched a movie that had no sound, nor signing. Minority group’ don’t have many rights as individuals

For example during the first few minutes of the play, when Young Will was in bed, the bed got wheeled out and the whole place looked like a little kids room. I really thought that was pretty impressive. They made it look so realistic, almost like his room wasn’t even on a stage. I am huge fan of the way the assembled the props, and used them to make the play more interesting. An example of what I am talking about is that little river type thing in front of that stage. In the beginning of the play, there was a spotlight on it and it looked awesome with fish popping its head up every few seconds. Then the scene with the fisherman and all the fish flying out of the river, using that prop not just once but twice to catch the audiences attention. I can’t speak enough on how good of a job this crew did with the on stage props; it was truly a masterpiece in my

Using certain shapes of materials and color helped the audience understand the scenery of the play, being able to understand what time period this took place. The lighting through the play was great, being able to clearly see in detail for each scene. For example, when the Stage manager introduces the people in Grover's Corner, is was clear and easy to see what type of life style they live. Grisel Torres did an excellent job with the angles, colors, and shadows throughout the play, really emphasizing the emotion and lighting for each scene. Allison Mortimer, the costume designer, did a good job figuring out what each character should wear and allowing the audience to decide which class each character fits in society. The costumes looked like they were somewhat middle class and even looked vintage at times. I wasn't sure if they were recreated or not. Changing costumes for different scenes made it easier to understand the aspect of the scene and allowing the audience to understand what will happen.

Each element gave the stage a different feel that matched every scene , complementing each brilliantly. The only element that lacked for me was lights, although very bright ; in my opinion the reoccurring blue wasn't the best option. I feel if the lighting designer would have had more warmer colored lights against the already vibrant set pieces, it would have made the stage pop more. But one thing i did particularly fancy, were the costumes the characters wore and how they fit each character. Each character's’ costume showed the dichotomy between the personalities and tastes of each individual. For example Ilona played by Jane Krakowski was dressed in a scarlet / pinkish dress with a high slit up the left side; showing her seductive character type. Meaning when i saw Ilona on stage, I immediately knew who i was looking at . Lastly the sound effects included , like the door jingle sound or The bike bell , added to the whole idea of being inside and outside of a retail building. These effects gave the stage an outdoorsy feel , drawing you in , giving the audience illusions of really being in 1930’s

The sponsoring organization for the Pomona deaf event was called Deaf Nation. Their purpose for the event was so that people could have connection meeting other people who are deaf and people who want to learn more about the deaf culture of American Sign Language. The membership was free admission anyone who was interested in the Deaf Expo could attend for more information about the deaf culture. The event was located in Fairplex building 7, there was a large amount of people. The event was on May 7th on Saturday. It started at 9am, but I came late. There were Deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing people in the building. The building was ginormous and people were really welcoming. The purpose of the event was to help the deaf community people to interact with other people and people who could hear learn more about the culture. It is hosted by Deaf Nation every year in Pomona and also in other three

What can I say, the Deaf Literacy Center is awesome! I cannot begin to express how great the program, and the people who are part of it are. The fear of coming out of my comfort zone is still pretty much prevalent; however, I feel more comfortable attempting to speak to others within these events.

“the main purpose of Verbatim theatre has always been to challenge audiences into a confrontation with real events and concrete facts, an to prevent their escapism into theatrical fantasy.”

“Audiences today want a real experience in their live performance, because they can get great script based entertainment at home, through various new media sources. Traditional theatre, which appeals on a mental, and hopefully also emotional level, has not been enough to compete with other media, and audiences have been declining. Physical theatre, by contrast appeals to the audience on a physical and emotional level, providing a much more immediate experience than traditional theatre” ~ (Artmedia Publishing in Zen Zen Zo’s “The Tempest” Teacher’s Notes)

To begin with, the scenography mimics the aspects of Upper West Side New York during the 1950’s to allow the audience to understand the setting of play. Most of the sets depict an urban setting in which the audience can clearly see that the story takes place in a well-developed city. As for the representation and perception of the stage, most sets were seen as abstract Some of the sets created entailed Doc’s restaurant, The Playground, and Statue of Liberty. Furthermore, the relationship between the audience space and performers space were definitely separate: meaning the audience were strictly viewing the play while the performers were telling a story. Interestingly, the play at times had an amber lighting dispersed across the set to give off a warm tone or vibe symbolizing good feelings or nice moment. Some parts of the play were set in a dimmer background enticing that the play at times was very serious.

Jerzy Grotowski created a unique type of acting style in the 1970s. His ideas about poor theatre became very popular in a short period of time. His work influenced a large amount of acting back then, and still does to this day. I strongly believe that Grotowski’s intentions when performing poor theatre were simply to entertain and educate. Any sort of performance is made to entertain an audience. Therefore Poor theatre was seen as a type of entertainment. Grotowski believed that his work needed to change the mindset that people had about props and costumes. He wanted to show that you didn’t need to rely on any objects while acting. Poor theatre is the best example where acting is more about the movement and gestures you do, rather than costumes

I want to begin with my opening statement about deaf issue. How come it is difficult for disabled people especially myself to have access to closed captioning on all video sites on the interest. Like for instance, people are required to watch a one hour first-aid educational video clip before taking an exam that allows a person to gain a state certification and the chance to be hired at the Texas Health Center. However, the Texas Health Center would not hire a person with a hearing disability due to failure on the exam because the video clip does not provide closed caption. People that are affected by non-captioning made a complaint to the Texas Health Center. But the problem is, the Texas Health Center still has not responded to this issue.

The lighting of any production is the most important part in my thought. the lighting puts you in the mood that you have to be in, in order to fully understand that part of the show and to actually live it like they do. For example, when they were in the park and it was raining, they had their umbrellas, and the background effects of rain made it really seem as if it was raining in the theatre. The lighting was always focused on every part of the stage, especially on those who were the main parts in that scene.

There are several elements in a play that make it successful. These elements consist of the writer’s plot, theme, characters, dialogue, music and the “Spectacle”. The Spectacle refers to the visual elements that make up a play: sets, costumes and special effects. Although costumes are only one small component in a play, I believe they are very imperative for the overall feel of the audience. The costumes worn by the performers portray the personality of the character along with the period of time of the play. According to a Canadian designer, Judith Bowden, “The main job of costume design in a production is to provide physical and emotional support to every actor through the clothing he or she will wear to enhance characterization” (“The costumes designers role”). There is an extensive history of Costume design in Theater, an each century has importance.

Bauman and Murray (2010) defines Deaf Studies as “interdisciplinary approaches to the exploration of Deaf individuals, communities, and cultures as they have evolved within a larger context of power and ideology” (p. 210). In other words, Deaf Studies refer to a specific academic field that studies deaf individuals and their unique communities and culture and may include constructs from anthropology, linguistics, bilingual education, disability, audiology, etc. Within the context of Deaf Studies, deaf individuals are no longer defined solely by their lack of hearing, but by their cultural, linguistic, and sensorial ways of being in the world (Bauman & Murray, 2010). That is why we hear people educated with Deaf Studies saying ASL kids to refer to deaf kids who use American Sign Language (ASL) system as their mode of communication or see them writing “Deaf” instead of “deaf” to give reference to the universally-recognized culture of people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

The message in this video is that learning how to help people who are deaf in ways that most wouldn't think of, can make a major impact on their life. This video opened my eyes, I feel like once I really think that I understand what it could be like to be deaf I learn something that never would have crossed my mind. I have never grown up knowing someone who is deaf or seen people use sign language. So this is something completely new to me, because of this I think it's easy for me to forget the little things and assume what I shouldn't.