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http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149191613038&path=!flair&s=1045855936229
Mary Vreeland is what you might call a natural-born actor.
"I was the baby [in my family]," she says, her dark eyes dancing. "I learned how to get attention; I looked at how others behaved.
"It really kind of fell in my lap."
Her first play in college was "Romeo and Juliet." She had attended the casting call as support for her roommate but hadn't been looking to land a role.
Since then, Vreeland has performed on Broadway and in a national tour of "Children of a Lesser God."
She also received a Helen Hayes Award as outstanding supporting actress in "Mother Courage and Her Children" at Washington's Shakespeare Theatre.
There'd be no need to mention that Vreeland has been deaf since birth . . . but it figures into her current title role in "Medea" at Theatre VCU.
Having earned her bachelor's degree at American University, she is pursuing a master of fine arts in theater at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Vreeland was cast in this contemporary version of Euripides' classic tragedy, in part, because it explores society's treatment of Medea as an outsider. The barbarian priestess's husband doesn't allow her to have a voice.
That's why the cast has been studying American Sign Language. Much, though not all, of "Medea" is signed with the assistance of master signer Patrick Graybill, who Vreeland says is one of the best in the country.
David Leong, chairman of VCU's theater department, invited London-based director Heather Davies to head up the production.
Davies was intrigued by the challenge, having worked in Germany, Spain and China. "It's the same triangular relationship [as a foreign language]," she says. "You, the person you're working with and an interpreter."
Part of the reason she found the concept appealing is that using ASL actually heightens the feeling of Medea as an outsider, someone her husband refuses to accept.
Offstage, for the duration of this production, Vreeland speaks through interpreter Greg Camp, director of Virginia operations for Sign Language Associates.
Her hands fly as she explains how she and Davies have connected.
"I was attracted to the fact that Heather is visually accessible," she says of her director. "As a deaf woman, that means a lot."
Davies says her normally expressive face has become even more so after working with Vreeland. "That goes back to my intention to connect," says Davies. "My desire is very strong.
"It's been a fantastically enriching, exciting experience. Everyone has made adjustments to the process. We all gained from it."
Rebekah Bayles, a senior theater major at VCU, plays the nurse in "Medea."
Like most of the cast, Bayles had not been exposed to American Sign Language. Now her interest has been piqued.
Learning signs rather than lines isn't all that different, says Bayles. Essentially, it's moving communication from your lips to your hands.
But, she emphasizes, it's important to learn the intent behind the lines. Otherwise, an actor can't do the signs justice.
That's true of any foreign language, adds Davies. Actors can't properly convey an idea, emotion or attitude if they don't understand what's behind what they're saying.
Watching Vreeland chat reveals a diversity of communication skills. Her facial expressions change like lightning, she laughs easily and her eyes light up as she talks about theater.
A wolf-paw tattoo on her shoulder speaks to her love of the animal kingdom. She signs to her pet dogs, by the way. "If I give a sign they don't want," she says, "they look away from me. They know.
"When one sense decreases, another increases. People say you're limited, but you're not."
Davies hopes that point is driven home via the play, whose process she refers to as a multidimensional cultural exchange.
"We're just seeking to understand shared humanity," she says. "When we can understand each other more -- and this is what culture can do for us generally we appreciate what we share rather than what divides us."
It's working on a variety of levels. Bayles, for instance, says she would consider working as an interpreter while looking for acting jobs next summer in New York.
"I could learn an entirely new skill," she says. "It's a beautiful language . . . and it gives me something to do with my hands!"
Vreeland says she's been encouraged in her lifetime by increased awareness and understanding of the deaf culture.
"Even 'Sesame Street' with the sign language," she points out. "Such a great improvement."
A Michigan native, she taught graduate theater students for 10 years at Rochester Institute of Technology's National Technical Institute for the Deaf. After she finishes at VCU this spring, she plans to continue acting and teaching.
"Perhaps in a warm Southern climate," she says, smiling big.
"Somewhere the wind blows."
Mary Vreeland is what you might call a natural-born actor.
"I was the baby [in my family]," she says, her dark eyes dancing. "I learned how to get attention; I looked at how others behaved.
"It really kind of fell in my lap."
Her first play in college was "Romeo and Juliet." She had attended the casting call as support for her roommate but hadn't been looking to land a role.
Since then, Vreeland has performed on Broadway and in a national tour of "Children of a Lesser God."
She also received a Helen Hayes Award as outstanding supporting actress in "Mother Courage and Her Children" at Washington's Shakespeare Theatre.
There'd be no need to mention that Vreeland has been deaf since birth . . . but it figures into her current title role in "Medea" at Theatre VCU.
Having earned her bachelor's degree at American University, she is pursuing a master of fine arts in theater at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Vreeland was cast in this contemporary version of Euripides' classic tragedy, in part, because it explores society's treatment of Medea as an outsider. The barbarian priestess's husband doesn't allow her to have a voice.
That's why the cast has been studying American Sign Language. Much, though not all, of "Medea" is signed with the assistance of master signer Patrick Graybill, who Vreeland says is one of the best in the country.
David Leong, chairman of VCU's theater department, invited London-based director Heather Davies to head up the production.
Davies was intrigued by the challenge, having worked in Germany, Spain and China. "It's the same triangular relationship [as a foreign language]," she says. "You, the person you're working with and an interpreter."
Part of the reason she found the concept appealing is that using ASL actually heightens the feeling of Medea as an outsider, someone her husband refuses to accept.
Offstage, for the duration of this production, Vreeland speaks through interpreter Greg Camp, director of Virginia operations for Sign Language Associates.
Her hands fly as she explains how she and Davies have connected.
"I was attracted to the fact that Heather is visually accessible," she says of her director. "As a deaf woman, that means a lot."
Davies says her normally expressive face has become even more so after working with Vreeland. "That goes back to my intention to connect," says Davies. "My desire is very strong.
"It's been a fantastically enriching, exciting experience. Everyone has made adjustments to the process. We all gained from it."
Rebekah Bayles, a senior theater major at VCU, plays the nurse in "Medea."
Like most of the cast, Bayles had not been exposed to American Sign Language. Now her interest has been piqued.
Learning signs rather than lines isn't all that different, says Bayles. Essentially, it's moving communication from your lips to your hands.
But, she emphasizes, it's important to learn the intent behind the lines. Otherwise, an actor can't do the signs justice.
That's true of any foreign language, adds Davies. Actors can't properly convey an idea, emotion or attitude if they don't understand what's behind what they're saying.
Watching Vreeland chat reveals a diversity of communication skills. Her facial expressions change like lightning, she laughs easily and her eyes light up as she talks about theater.
A wolf-paw tattoo on her shoulder speaks to her love of the animal kingdom. She signs to her pet dogs, by the way. "If I give a sign they don't want," she says, "they look away from me. They know.
"When one sense decreases, another increases. People say you're limited, but you're not."
Davies hopes that point is driven home via the play, whose process she refers to as a multidimensional cultural exchange.
"We're just seeking to understand shared humanity," she says. "When we can understand each other more -- and this is what culture can do for us generally we appreciate what we share rather than what divides us."
It's working on a variety of levels. Bayles, for instance, says she would consider working as an interpreter while looking for acting jobs next summer in New York.
"I could learn an entirely new skill," she says. "It's a beautiful language . . . and it gives me something to do with my hands!"
Vreeland says she's been encouraged in her lifetime by increased awareness and understanding of the deaf culture.
"Even 'Sesame Street' with the sign language," she points out. "Such a great improvement."
A Michigan native, she taught graduate theater students for 10 years at Rochester Institute of Technology's National Technical Institute for the Deaf. After she finishes at VCU this spring, she plans to continue acting and teaching.
"Perhaps in a warm Southern climate," she says, smiling big.
"Somewhere the wind blows."