One of the things that hearing people don’t know about ASL [ American Sign Language ] is that names aren’t generally spelled each time.  Most

membersof the Deaf community have ‘sign names‘ – unique signs that identify an individual.  Each sign name is really specific to one person.  This means that two men with the name “John” will have two different sign names.  [ Usually.  It is possible that they would have the same name, but it would just be a coincidence. ]  Sign names are governed by linguistic rules, and they are complex enough that books are written on the subject.

Fingerspelling is not easy to read from far away.  In most cases, we try to avoid it.  The problem? In the Deaf community, you first should fingerspell your name, and then show your sign name.  Since that doesn’t usually work on stage, TerpTheatre develops sign names for the characters in a show, and then we print information about the names in an insert that is included in the program book for the night of the interpreted performance.

Here is a vBlog of the sign names for Bells Are Ringing.  You’ll see the name, sign name, and the actor playing the part!   This was recorded Monday, February 7 – at the theatre where the performance will take place – the Performing Arts Center at Eisenhower High School.  [ The show is NOT performed on the OU campus. ]  The Performing Arts Center has more than 600 seats, and is state-of-the-art.  Buy tickets ahead of time – there may be long lines at the box office on the night of the show!

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izRsO8_pjfc&hd=1

Bells Are Ringing

PLEASE: Buy your tickets ahead of time. There WILL be long lines to buy tickets ‘at the door.’

Saturday, February 12, 2011

TIcket Information and Performance Details on TerpTheatre’s Website

Danny McDougall

Danny McDougall, PhD, CSC — “Dr. Danny” — owns and manages TerpTheatre. Since 1986, he has interpreted in hundreds of plays, musicals and other performances on stage – most in the shadowed style. He teaches and lectures on the theory and practice of theatre interpreting. Danny is the chair of Sign Language Studies at Madonna University, and holds a PhD in Translation and Interpretation from Heriot-Watt University – where his dissertation explored the relationship between space and meaning during interpreted theatre performances.