Deaf Broadway performance; Abigail Heringer on ASL
Here are two Deaf News briefs.
Deaf Broadway performance; Caverly on people’s attitudes
“Playbill” reported that Deaf Broadway presented a free performance of “Company” at Damrosch Park in New York City. The entire cast was deaf and all of them used ASL.
The performance was directed by James Caverly, who is known for his role in Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” and in the stage production “The Music Man.”
The performance was accompanied by a projected video of a 2011 performance by hearing actors. So that means the audience could see a hearing cast and the audio on a screen while watching a deaf cast on the stage.
“Playbill” provided a photo gallery of the performance. The link is in the transcript.
Caverly provided an interview to AP News on the sidelines of the performance and was blunt in saying that people’s attitudes towards disabled actors need to change. Check out this clip.
[Clip] Credit: AP News
James Caverly: They say “Deaf and disabled people can act?” But, what it really does is it holds a mirror up to them and their beliefs and it exposes their low opinion of disabled people. And that kind of attitude is what needs to change.
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Abigail Heringer shares why she doesn’t know ASL
Abigail Heringer, the deaf woman who was a contestant on the 25th season of “The Bachelor,” posted a video on Instagram yesterday to talk about why she doesn’t know ASL.
She said she received her cochlear implant when she was two years old and has spent the majority of her life learning how to listen and speak with the processor. She said her family chose to focus on solely oral communication instead of both ASL and oral communication. She has a sister who is also deaf and wears an implant.
Abigail said her family did take a risk in only relying on oral communication, but it was a choice that made the most sense for their family.
[Clip] Credit: IG/abigail_heringer
Abigail Heringer: So we did take a risk in only relying on oral communication, but it was a choice that made the most sense for our family and our situation.
She said this doesn’t mean that she is against sign language. She said she believes that those things aren’t mutually exclusive (oral vs sign language).
Abigail acknowledged that she is “extremely privileged” to have a cochlear implant and to have the time and resources to learn to listen and speak because it is not cheap and very time-consuming.
She said she knows a lot of people in the ASL community who have supported her and she acknowledges that. She said she is working on another project where she will dive more into this topic.
You can check out the video on her Instagram @abigail_heringer.
That’s the two Deaf News briefs for today.
https://playbill.com/article/check-out-photos-from-deaf-broadways-company-starring-garrett-zuercher
https://twitter.com/APEntertainment/status/1687481014073905152