The Real Thing

Episode 130  The Real Thing

This episode deals with the actual experience of interpreting for an epic Shakespearean play - a combination of Richard III and hip-hop music in a fantastic production that (IMHO) is greater than the sum of its parts.  The Real Thing touches on the actual process of theatrical interpreting, the importance of preparation, and the joy of the human element.

00:00 Intro
01:55 Awesome, not intense
03:24 Initial doubts
06:47 Comments by the artistic director and director
 09:52 Just standing there with no Deaf audience?
11:30 Finally - an audience!
12:57 Importance of confidentiality
14:25 More about preparing for theatrical interpreting
19:20 Comparing interpreting to jazz improvising (feeling the signs)
21:13 Overall purpose of an informed ASL sign language interpreter
24:31 Conclusion
26:00 Sources
27:00 Outro

Transcript

00:00 Intro

GREENSLEVES EXCERPT

Welcome to Celebrate Poe.  My name is George Bartley, and this is episode 130 - The Real Thing

Now over the past few months, the cast and crew of the Indianapolis Shakespeare Company have been working furiously as a group of incredibly talented actors and skilled designers have worked together to produce a unique blend of Shakespeare’s Richard III and hip-hop music in Ricky 3.

And I have been going over and over the script - translating it into American Sign Language so that the play will be accessible to deaf people.  This is Deaf Awareness Month - a time of the year that highlights the importance of making all events accessible to individuals who happen to be deaf.

But first - a little bit of info to put this into perspective - time wise.  In the episode last week, I talked about my illness and why there were several weeks without an episode.

And by the time this podcast episode drops, Richard III will have completed its run at the Taggart Ampitheater in Indianapolis, Indiana.  So this episode is a bit overdue,

01:55 Awesome, not intense

Now I was fortunate enough to interpret the play into ASL on Thursday, July 28 on what I thought would be a challenging but enjoyable experience - howeverI had no idea that interpreting Richard III i that night would be the most awesome experience of my life.  When I first decided to do a podcast episode about the experience of interpreting Richard III, I thought I would call it The Most Intense Experience of My Life.  But somehow, the more I thought about it - I realized the word intense just didn’t quite cut it.  Oh sure, it was an extremely intense experience that you just can’t put into words - maybe that is part of the point.  But a better way of expressing it might be to say that interpreting the play was the most awesome experience of my life.  Interpreting the play for the deaf was totally awesome - for sure - but showed me that I was in the presence of greatness. It gave me a feeling a reverence for the talents on the stage behind me and the opportunity to help communicate a profound story with some of the most beautiful words in the English language - perhaps in ANY language.

Besides the word intense might be a better word to describe a dentists needle in your mouth - certainly not at all what the kind of emotions that Ricky 3 engendered.

3:24 Initial doubts

To be honest, at first I had my doubts - a cast combining Shakespeare and hip-hop.  I was afraid it would be like an ear-splitting hip hop concert and my ears would be ringing.  You see, years ago, I stood in front of a huge speaker and interpreted a production of The Who’s Tommy.  I know that at one time The Who held the record for having the loudest concerts and Pete Townsend is now classified as legally deaf. At the time I thought it was really cool, but it really did a number on my hearing.

I mentioned this the other day to a younger friend, and she looked at me with a blank expression and I began to realize she had never heard of the Who.  I think the rest of the conversation went like - you know, the Who?
Who? 
The band named The Who -
Yes, but what is the name of the band?
The Who?
Yes, but what is the name of the band?

I said, ‘This is beginning to sound like Abbott and Costello’s Who’s on First.”

She gave me a totally blank expression, and I realized I was REALLY old.

But anyway, I went to a dress rehearsal and was afraid that I was going to see a big mess.  The stage was outdoors and I expected some very loud music. .But I left the play deeply moved and very impressed.

The rap music was like a strong background that never seemed to get in the way - the cast took some huge risks, and they all seemed to really pay off.  For example, Richard is usually played as a grotesque, almost stereotypical villian - but I thought this Richard of this production came across as less cartoonish - the combination of a group of emotions - and as a person who has been stomped on and is just trying to get by - and ultimately far more human.

And let me stop here and apologize if you in the cast or production team has heard me say any of these things before - I just wanted to put them all into some kind of context.

I had majored in Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature in grad school, and have seen hundreds of live plays, videos/DVD of plays by Shakespeare, as well as audio versions - probably way too much Shakespeare for my own good!  Well, the morning after that dress rehearsal, I came to the conclusion that, IMHO, this was the best production of a play by Shakespeare that I had ever seen.  With its excellent sets, incredible music, and awesome lighting, I hoped I could do the play justice as far as communicating the words - and even music - to any deaf people attending.

Richard is an extremely entertaining story - and also a play of ideas,

06:47 Comments by the artistic director and director

In the program for the production, the artistic director, Ryan Artzberger wrote - Like all good plays, this play operates on multiple levels.  The play can be a GAME OF THRONES kind of political intrigue with bloodbath on the side.  It can also serve as political commentary about the treachery of seeking power without concern for the harm caused in the search. From another political angle it questions us the audience saying, “why do you sit back and watch atrocities or even abuses of power happen? Do you recognize your complicity?

On yet another level it speaks to us as people. We can see ourselves in Richard’s constant striving for something that won’t ultimately fulfill him and the anxiety he feels to try to keep that unfulfilling thing. Almost immediately after being seated on the throne Richard asks, “But shall we wear these honors for a day/ Or shall they last, and we rejoice in them/  This speaks to us bout the deeply human tendency to be unsatisfied no matter how much we get.

The director of the play, the Mikael Burke, also wrote in the program - How do tyrants find their way to power?
How do they get away with it/ Is it their charisma?  Their ability to seduce us with wit, charm, and enviable certainty as they chart their course (and ours. It is their uncanny pinpointing of our greatest fears?Or good and evil? Their refusal to let the pesky nuances of lies alter their vision? Or is it their unstoppable confidence in themselves? A certainty they they, along, can lead us to the happiness and security we so desparately need. Why do we buy into it/ Why don’t we stop it?

Although it was written more than four centuries ago, Shakespeare’s Ruchard III is a casebook study of  the many demagogic icons of the modern era. Richard is determined to be King, and, he manipulates, kidnaps, and kills all who stand between him and his goal, using brilliant words, and dark charm to conceal his dismantling of government and justice.

So I was not only help make an epic production accessible but attempting to get across some very profound ideas.

09:52 Just standing there with no Deaf audience?

At first, I was just standing up there - just below the left side of the stage with a camera and some lighting focused on me so that the interpreting could be live streamed.  But I really didn’t see anyone I could focus on - having an audience always helps a great deal.  To be completely honest, the thought went through my head that I doubt that anyone really knew if I was signing what the introductory speaker was saying.  I got that sinking feeling that while those behind the play were attempting to make the play accessible to the deaf, there just might not be any deaf people in the audience.  Sure, the presence of an interpreter is always good for deaf awareness, and there might be some hearing people in the audience who are inspired by the presence of an interpreter to enter the field of deaf studies,  And in many cases, the event might need to become established before deaf people comfortably attend - this was basically the second play that had been given in the present location. My heart still sank at the distinct possibility of not signing to any deaf folks at all.   But then again, Shakespeare can be a hard sell to hearing, as well as deaf people

Then I saw two very attractive people signing to each other a few feet away.  It turned out the lady signed very well, and the gentleman was a Deaf individual from Mexico.  They were very affectionate, and it was obvious they were very much in love.

11:30 Finally - an audience!

I began signing specifically to them and they responded.  We seemed to almost instantly hit it off - as though the deaf people were saying, “Here is someone to help me understand the play.”  And we began a sort of dialog thoughout the play that is quite common in the Deaf community.

Probably the closest comparison I can think of is the dialog between the speaker and audience in many churches meeting the needs of African Americans.   The black audience keeps up a constant response of Amen, brother and Amen, sister to whatever the speaker says.  And if, for some reason, the speaker starts going off topic or speaks too long, members in the audience might say “Bring it on home, brother” or “Bring it on home, sister.”

12:57 Importance of confidentiality

Now, before I go any further - I want to emphasize that confidentiality is extremely important to a professional interpreter - for example, an interpreter would lose any credibility in the deaf community if he or she divulged any subject matter regarding most matters - especially in legal, medical, or counseling situations - you wouldn’t want everyone to know your business.  Even in the case of a deaf person buying something as seeming mundane as a car, it is definitely forbidden for the interpreter to talk about the results - after all the deaf person should be able to share the news themselves.  But the interpreter has a little bit more leeway in a public situation - where hundreds or even thousands of peop[e see the interpreter performing a service.   So that is why in this episode, I don’t feel any compunction discussing MY feelings regarding Richard IIi and the interpreting process, but I would NEVER give any substantial identifying information regarding the individuals I am interpreting for.

Just wanted to be clear about that.

14:25 More about preparing for the interpreting

Now remember I believe I mentioned in an earlier episode, that I recorded the edited script used in the production. I would play the first half of the play on headphones while walking the 2 miles to the gym at a good pace- then the second half on the 2 miles back.  This kinda gets the physical component in while I “mentally interpret’ the recording. (For example, when I hear the line where Margaret is referred to as “well struck in years,” I mentally think “old.”  The idea is to go over and over the translation until it becomes second nature.

One more example, Richard has a line in the second part where he says, “I am NOT in the giving vein.”  In ASL - and this is a rough gloss - that line might be signed don’t want - All in one motion - then give give give  while he moves his body around to show that me means giving to those around him - giving mood - or giving vein - stuff that you really could not hesitate and try to figure out the first time you heard it.   And it really looks cool to sign a relatively complex construction while members of the cast are saying those words or concepts behind you.

It is hard to express- but is an incredible feeling.  Hearing the music behind you - and Richard says that line “I am NOT in the giving vein.” and you simultaneously sign the ASL concept - something that would be impossible to do without preparation.

Or when a character says “Soft” in a play by Shakespeare - during Shkespeare’s time, the word meant “wait” - so when I heard soft, I instantly signed “wait. 
Signing ” - the sign for “soft” - as in the opposite of hard - would be totally wrong in this situation.

I think it gave me an almost sadistic pleasure - well I don’t mean sadistic as in cruel or callous - pleasure in seeing that the language was clearer to the deaf audience than the hearing audience.

At the very beginning of the play there is a courtly dance - except that the characters writhed their bodies and got down to a funky beat - the cast was in a circle and say, the  actor playing Hastings would come to the center of the circle and dance - it was very infectious.  Right then it hit me - I don’t know why iit did not occur to me before - but when each character would reach the center of the circle and the cast would say - Go Hastings or go Elizabeth -_I would introduce the corresponding name same - a practice common in the deaf community - a shorter way of referring to that character later on in the play - for example, the letter H with the root sign for royal - or the name Elizabeth with the sign for royal.  Sure, an interpreter would probably spell the name in full in a classroom or teaching situation but using a name sign is a lot faster and much easier in a play. besides being easier to see in contrast to fingerspelling each letter of a proper name.

But it was when I saw the deaf individuals react to the acting, that I really perked up.

I would compare the interpreting that night to improvisational jazz from a person who has had a great deal of practice and experience - not that I was improvising any of the words - far from it - I had studied for hours, and knew EXACTLY what the language meant before I started signing.  And I have been doing this stuff for years, and gotten over being nervous years ago.

Now I certainly not placing myself in the category of the great jazz improvisers - giants such as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, or Charlie Parker - jazz musicians who might not be familiar to many listeners today, but knew their instruments so well - whether it be a saxophone or trumpet or the human voice - that they could compose incredible music on the spot.  I felt of bit of that - that the movement and meaning of the word or sign was coming through your body - a feeling of tremendous peace as well as responsibility.  In the process you are accomplishing more than you ever felt possible - and it all feels exactly right.   I have interpreted for years, but this was the first time I felt that not only the words, but their meanings were coming through my body.

21:13 Overall purpose of an informed ASL sign language interpreter

Of course the primary purpose of an interpreter is to help bridge the communication gap - to allow the Deaf individual to fully participate in society while recognizing the uniqueness of deaf culture. - but I have learned over the years that there are times in theatrical interpreting for the deaf when the creative expression of the heightened emotions that can result from the theatrical experience allow allow deep personal insights as well as an increased understanding of the world around you.

In Shakespeare’s comedy A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream - a play performed by IndyShakes last year, the character of Bottom says, “The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen, man’s hand is not able to taste, his tongue to conceive, nor his heart to report what my dream was.”  The line “The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen” - like much of Shakespeare, can be interpreted in many different ways that the Bard may not have even intended at the time is was written - such as a deaf individual communicating in sign language - in other words - utilizing the eyes to hear.

In conclusion, when I attended the American Shakespeare Center (affiliated with Mary Baldwin University,) I was fortunate enough to study under Dr. Ralph Allan Cohen.  In Shakesfear and How to Cure it, Dr. Cohen has written that when we value Shakespeare works, we often perpetuate our own language and cultural norms, while suppressing other languages and cultures - that “in teaching Shakespeare we are imposing the granddaddy of DWEM's – dead, white, European males – on students who are not dead, may not be white, may not be of European extraction, and may not be male.”

From the perspective of a Deaf individual experiencing a play, Shakespeare is often perceived as just another HEARING, dead, white European male, who is often viewed as the ultimate hearing - and unaccessible - figure because of his mastery of the English language.  Therefore the optimal purpose of an informed ASL sign language interpretation of a play by Shakespeare is

1) To make the greatest writer in the English language accessible and meaningful to Deaf individuals
2) Communicate non-verbally to hearing individuals that Shakespeare is relevant to ALL people.

24:31 Conclusion

In conclusion, I’d like to end with some news that had not happened when I wrote the majority of this podcast episode.  Recently Ryan Artzberger - the director I quoted earlier - became Artistic Director of the Indianapolis Shakespeare Company.  Ryan is an incredibly talented director who was trained at the Julliard School of the Arts, and is one of those people with an incredible analytical mind.

Ryan replaces Diane Tinnerman - who has been artistic director for the past ten years.   Also a person with an excellent analytical mind, Diane is head of the theatrical department at Butler University. And on a personal note - Diane is an individual who has changed my life.

You see, when I moved to Indianapolis, I thought my interpreting Shakespeare days were over.  But - to make a long story short - I started interpreting for IndyShakes - first Coriolanus, then Hamlet, and then A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and this year - Ricky 3.   So thank you Diane for your kindness, generosity, sensitivity, and awesome expertise in the theatre world.

Next week Celebrate Poe will return to Poe’s life as a young man after he left the University of Virginia.

26:00 Sources

Sources include

Richard III by William Shakespeare, Asimov’s Guide to Shakespeare: A Guide to Understanding and Enjoying the Works of Shakespeare, Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human by Harold Bloom, The Reader’s Encyclopedia of Shakespeare by Oscar Campbell, ed, Shakespeare's Words: A Glossary and Language Companion by David Crystal, volumes one and two of Shakespeare Lexicon and Quotation Dictionary by Alexander Schmidt, the complete works of Edgar Allan Poe by Edgar Allan Poe, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation by Jeff Chang,  Will in the World by Stephen Grenblatt,  Signing Shakespeare by George Bartley, and the Indianapolis Shakespeare Company playbill for Ricky 3: A Hip Hop Shakespeare.

27:00 Outro

Thank you for listening to Celebrate Poe - a deep dive into the life, times, and works of America’s Shakespeare - Edgar Allan Poe.

GREENSLEEVES