Festival of Short Ten-Minute play in ASL-American Sign Language
Deaf Spotlight will partner with ACTLab to present their first-ever short play festival developed by Deaf artists and performed entirely in American Sign Language (ASL). The festival will run February 15-17, 2019 with a preview performance on February 14. The festival was created by Deaf Spotlight with the goal of providing local Deaf artists more theatrical work and visibility. “We want audiences to see the unparalleled artistry of the Deaf community and American Sign Language,” says Executive Director Patty Liang, “and we want to give Deaf theatergoers the fully inclusive experience they deserve.”
Each performance will feature six ten-minute plays written by Deaf artists and starring Deaf actors. English captions will be used for all performances and there will be a DeafBlind-interpreted performance to ensure accessibility for all audiences. The plays will be directed by acclaimed Deaf theatre artists Jules Dameron, Monique Holt, and Ryan Schlecht. Dameron is an award-winning film director and company member of The Deaf Gang, an organization founded by Joshua Castille that is dedicated to training Deaf actors. Holt is a recent contributor to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and Schlecht earned a Gregory Award nomination for his role as Nick Bottom in Sound Theatre Company’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Based on the sheer joy of watching Sound Theatre Company’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, I would heartily recommend this play festival to everybody, sign language communicates at a different level than speaking and sometimes it is more profound and amusing.
Short Play Festival. produced by Deaf Spotlight and ACTLab in American Sign Language (ASL) February 14-17, 2019 ACT Theatre 700 Union, Seattle 98101 ( Downtown) Parking in the Convention Center Parking Garage. Info: www.acttheatre.org Tickets: (206) 292-7676