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Comedian performs in sign language to unite deaf, hearing - News
When Keith Wann took the stage Thursday night, there was no roar of applause. Instead, the deaf members of the audience cheerfully shook their hands above their head-the American Sign Language (ASL) sign for clapping.
Wann performed his comedy act, "Watching Two Worlds Collide," sponsored by The Beyond Compliance Coordinating Committee (BCCC), a part of disability studies program at SU.
Wann started the night with a short and clear explanation, "I live in two worlds - the hearing world and the deaf world."
From there, he jumped right into his ASL comedic performance. His first laughs came from his college roommate's sexual curiosity, and then he went on to compare his home life with his school life.
"I wanted to go to deaf school," he signed, "I didn't want to learn the handicapped language of English."
While his whole performance was in ASL, Wann is not deaf. He is a CODA, which stands for children of deaf adults. Many members of Syracuse's deaf community were present, but only one other shared the CODA experience with Wann.
"Can you plug his ears and make him deaf like us?" Wann signed, mimicking what his parents said to him. Because he grew up in a deaf house and a hearing outside world, a lot of his performance came from comparisons of what seems like two different worlds.
"He's connected to the deaf community," said Marybeth Mugavin, a former masters student who came up with the idea. "His performance is in ASL, which is interesting. You're seeing comedy in a different language."
Unlike other entertainers who have come to Syracuse, students actually get to take something away from this performance, Mugavin said. "There are similarities in the deaf and hearing world, and Keith helps bridge that gap," she said.
BCCC aims to promote awareness of disability issues on and off campus. With about half the audience representing the deaf community, hearing students got some of their first glimpses of the non-hearing world.
Ryan Johnson, a freshman computer arts major said, "by signing his act, students would get a better understanding of the world and look beyond speech."
Wann's act seemed to be an easy way to make connections through humor.
"Three years ago, during our annual disability films festival, BCCC had a weekend on movies that were called 'Laughing with us?,'" said Jitka Sinecka, a doctoral student in disability studies.
Sinecka is Czech and picked up Czech Sign Language from her deaf grandparents. "We showed a lot of humorous movies, they challenge our assumptions in a very smart and direct way."
Wann is a fan of using humor to mesh his two worlds. "I'm super CODA," he signed, "I watched rated-R movies until my mom finally decided to buy a decoder closed caption machine, then I said, 'I'm going to save the world, love you, bye!'"
His ASL comedy didn't seem to be a problem for anybody; it actually connected the deaf and hearing audience through laughter.
Any audience member, hearing or deaf, could appreciate Wann's signed imitation of Sir Mix A Lot's, "I like big butts." Wann's explanation, "My dad was deaf mainstreamed."
When Keith Wann took the stage Thursday night, there was no roar of applause. Instead, the deaf members of the audience cheerfully shook their hands above their head-the American Sign Language (ASL) sign for clapping.
Wann performed his comedy act, "Watching Two Worlds Collide," sponsored by The Beyond Compliance Coordinating Committee (BCCC), a part of disability studies program at SU.
Wann started the night with a short and clear explanation, "I live in two worlds - the hearing world and the deaf world."
From there, he jumped right into his ASL comedic performance. His first laughs came from his college roommate's sexual curiosity, and then he went on to compare his home life with his school life.
"I wanted to go to deaf school," he signed, "I didn't want to learn the handicapped language of English."
While his whole performance was in ASL, Wann is not deaf. He is a CODA, which stands for children of deaf adults. Many members of Syracuse's deaf community were present, but only one other shared the CODA experience with Wann.
"Can you plug his ears and make him deaf like us?" Wann signed, mimicking what his parents said to him. Because he grew up in a deaf house and a hearing outside world, a lot of his performance came from comparisons of what seems like two different worlds.
"He's connected to the deaf community," said Marybeth Mugavin, a former masters student who came up with the idea. "His performance is in ASL, which is interesting. You're seeing comedy in a different language."
Unlike other entertainers who have come to Syracuse, students actually get to take something away from this performance, Mugavin said. "There are similarities in the deaf and hearing world, and Keith helps bridge that gap," she said.
BCCC aims to promote awareness of disability issues on and off campus. With about half the audience representing the deaf community, hearing students got some of their first glimpses of the non-hearing world.
Ryan Johnson, a freshman computer arts major said, "by signing his act, students would get a better understanding of the world and look beyond speech."
Wann's act seemed to be an easy way to make connections through humor.
"Three years ago, during our annual disability films festival, BCCC had a weekend on movies that were called 'Laughing with us?,'" said Jitka Sinecka, a doctoral student in disability studies.
Sinecka is Czech and picked up Czech Sign Language from her deaf grandparents. "We showed a lot of humorous movies, they challenge our assumptions in a very smart and direct way."
Wann is a fan of using humor to mesh his two worlds. "I'm super CODA," he signed, "I watched rated-R movies until my mom finally decided to buy a decoder closed caption machine, then I said, 'I'm going to save the world, love you, bye!'"
His ASL comedy didn't seem to be a problem for anybody; it actually connected the deaf and hearing audience through laughter.
Any audience member, hearing or deaf, could appreciate Wann's signed imitation of Sir Mix A Lot's, "I like big butts." Wann's explanation, "My dad was deaf mainstreamed."
