Sami (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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accessibility_fail2009-07-30 11:36 pm
sami) wrote in accessibility_fail2009-07-30 11:36 pm
Accessibility WIN at the Blue Room Theatre
So, tonight I went to the Blue Room Theatre in Northbridge, Perth, Western Australia, to see a young comic named John Robertson do standup comedy.
The Blue Room Theatre is, as far as I can tell, wheelchair accessible, but that's totally not the win here, because the win is that - by fluke - I went along on AUSLAN NIGHT.
This standup comedy show had, to one side of the stage, an interpreter, called Mike, who did a running sign language translation of the entire performance.
This in itself provided some incredibly funny interplay between John and Mike - it was discovered that some of the jokes are actually funnier signed, and Mike does his best to mimic the comic as closely as possible, which he did brilliantly - and generally added to the enjoyment of the evening even for audience members like me (hearing, completely ignorant of sign language, currently unable to learn it because one arm doesn't work properly), and - as it turned out in the Q&A with the performers after the show - was a truly wonderful occasion for some of the audience.
There were a couple, one hearing one deaf, who said that it was the first time they'd ever been able to go to something together and both enjoy it equally.
A young woman expressed her joy that, for the first time, she'd been able to bring her dad to a comedy event. (She noted that he has some visual impairment, as well as being deaf, and was very pleased that the part of the stage where Mike was standing was very well-lit, so her father could see him just fine.)
Out of the audience discussion, too, came some ideas that I hope will be carried out - several people from the local theatre/comedy community were there, and the idea was discussed of making a regular event, every month or two, of having (affordable) comedy nights with local comics accompanied by an interpreter, for more events that can be shared by hearing and deaf people alike.
"Would there be much interest in the deaf community, do you think?" one guy asked.
"Definitely!" Someone noted that the deaf community in Perth is small, it was pointed out that we were in a 50-seat venue, and this is something which doesn't have to be supported solely by the deaf community - after all, it's something that the hearing can enjoy too. (One woman in the audience, who's learning AUSLAN right now, pointed out that it could be really good for students of the language, too.) Some jokes are improved by it even for the hearing, and it's just an awesome, positive experience for the event to be something that can be shared.
Seriously, hearing/seeing the people who were sharing this kind of experience with a loved one for the first time ever - who could be around that kind of joy and not be moved?
So, even though it was sheer fluke that I went tonight of all nights (I only found out about the show and decided to go today, and I only got a ticket because of a late cancellation), I'm really, really glad I went on AUSLAN night, it was brilliant. More standup comedy performances need sign interpreters - it's a wonderful, wonderful addition.
The Blue Room Theatre is, as far as I can tell, wheelchair accessible, but that's totally not the win here, because the win is that - by fluke - I went along on AUSLAN NIGHT.
This standup comedy show had, to one side of the stage, an interpreter, called Mike, who did a running sign language translation of the entire performance.
This in itself provided some incredibly funny interplay between John and Mike - it was discovered that some of the jokes are actually funnier signed, and Mike does his best to mimic the comic as closely as possible, which he did brilliantly - and generally added to the enjoyment of the evening even for audience members like me (hearing, completely ignorant of sign language, currently unable to learn it because one arm doesn't work properly), and - as it turned out in the Q&A with the performers after the show - was a truly wonderful occasion for some of the audience.
There were a couple, one hearing one deaf, who said that it was the first time they'd ever been able to go to something together and both enjoy it equally.
A young woman expressed her joy that, for the first time, she'd been able to bring her dad to a comedy event. (She noted that he has some visual impairment, as well as being deaf, and was very pleased that the part of the stage where Mike was standing was very well-lit, so her father could see him just fine.)
Out of the audience discussion, too, came some ideas that I hope will be carried out - several people from the local theatre/comedy community were there, and the idea was discussed of making a regular event, every month or two, of having (affordable) comedy nights with local comics accompanied by an interpreter, for more events that can be shared by hearing and deaf people alike.
"Would there be much interest in the deaf community, do you think?" one guy asked.
"Definitely!" Someone noted that the deaf community in Perth is small, it was pointed out that we were in a 50-seat venue, and this is something which doesn't have to be supported solely by the deaf community - after all, it's something that the hearing can enjoy too. (One woman in the audience, who's learning AUSLAN right now, pointed out that it could be really good for students of the language, too.) Some jokes are improved by it even for the hearing, and it's just an awesome, positive experience for the event to be something that can be shared.
Seriously, hearing/seeing the people who were sharing this kind of experience with a loved one for the first time ever - who could be around that kind of joy and not be moved?
So, even though it was sheer fluke that I went tonight of all nights (I only found out about the show and decided to go today, and I only got a ticket because of a late cancellation), I'm really, really glad I went on AUSLAN night, it was brilliant. More standup comedy performances need sign interpreters - it's a wonderful, wonderful addition.
Yay!
a simple concept, but sometimes it requires a little planning.
It sounds like the interpreter had time to practice with the comic -- do you know if that's the case? I did artistic interpreting exactly once, cold, and it was terrifying. OTOH, watching well-rehearsed terps working with performers is thrilling. It provides this magical window where even the sign-impaired can feel like they're "getting" the sign language.
Re: Yay!
John goes pretty fast, but with the familiarity he had, Mike could keep up - he made a joke at the Q&A about it helping when John took a breath, but John was co-operating in that - just keeping half an eye on Mike, and every so often pausing - but working that into the performance, timing these pauses so they were themselves funny - like, he'd get to the end of a long, involved, and rapid bit of exposition, and pause at a part where what he'd said would be tricky/complicated to translate, or where he "wanted to see" how that translated (like when he mentioned Chuck Norris or superheroes, whose sign language names are awesome, or had made an obscene joke, or when he teased Mike for cheating on "subcutaneous").
It really didn't come off like he was treating sign language as a joke, so much as just integrating pauses for the 'terp to keep up into the show, so it didn't drag, and appreciating the way that jokes which were funny because of how they were delivered carried that over into the sign version - like, when John was doing funny voices, Mike was doing funny expressions and body language that perfectly conveyed the different characters.
I personally know only a few deaf members of the audience's individual reactions: one didn't get some parts of it but found a lot of it really, really funny, one found it brilliant start to finish, and another really enjoyed it generally but I didn't talk to her personally. But a big part of what they appreciated was being able to *share* the evening with loved ones.
Which is what, I think, is lacking. The deaf community has its own stuff, that's good. The hearing community has its own stuff, that's good. But there isn't nearly enough stuff that can be *shared equally* by families/friends who contain both deaf and hearing members - and there should be, and suddenly, because of last night, that's something that's on the agenda for people in the local comedy/theatre scene, which is bloody brilliant.
Re: Yay!
Re: Yay!
Re: Yay!
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