jessewhitelaw
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My school had opened a show as west side story!
which it come with sign and 4 deaf kids in show!!!
and one deaf spot light that me!!
so it will be in WORLDS WIDE ABC NEWS IN FULL SHOW stay in tunes we will start air next week hopeful
soo if anyone live in Florida near fort lauderdale
Email me alienwarecomp14@tmail dot com
if you want see that show with sign it real great great shows in world right now.. dont miss tell everyone about it!
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Production retells 'West Side Story' in sign language - Front Page - MiamiHerald.com
SOUTH PLANTATION HIGH
Production retells 'West Side Story' in sign language
It takes singing -- and signing -- to tell the story of love and prejudice at South Plantation High.
Deaf actors give voice to West Side Story
Deaf students, including Giovanna Vazquez who plays \'Maria,\' participate in South Plantation High\'s production of West Side Story. \n
Miami Herald Staff
Deaf actors give voice to West Side Story
Deaf students, including Giovanna Vazquez who plays \'Maria,\' participate in South Plantation High\'s production of West Side Story. \n
Miami Herald Staff
* Deaf actors give voice to West Side Story
* Photos
Related Content
* If you go
BY NIRVI SHAH AND KIRSTIN MAGUIRE
nshah@MiamiHerald.com
In this version of the classic Broadway musical West Side Story, Maria falls in love with Tony without saying a word.
Instead, her hands do the singing -- by signing.
South Plantation High school's 2008 version of the nearly 50-year-old tale stars deaf and hearing students who, together, have spun an entirely new theatrical confection.
In the classic, the Puerto Rican Sharks and the 'American' Jets spar for control over the neighborhood. But Maria, sister of Sharks leader Bernardo, falls in love with Tony, a former Jet.
In this version, the culture clash goes beyond ethnicity: The Sharks are also deaf.
After months of planning, practicing and learning sign language, the show opened this week and continues through next weekend.
Maria is played by junior Giovanna Vazquez, who signs her parts, and junior Kellie Smith, who matches her voice to Giovanna's hands.
Tony's role belongs to senior Justin White, who has learned to sign, sing and act all at once.
South Plantation is where most of Broward's hard-of-hearing and deaf high school students -- about 40 -- attend classes.
''We've used American Sign Language as another form of communication. Every word, every song, is signed,'' said drama teacher Jason Zembuch, who started incorporating deaf students into school theater productions about five years ago.
Giovanna, Kellie and Justin had to work painstakingly to perfect their timing.
''You have to make your hands look like they're singing,'' said Justin, who has never had a role in a musical before, much less one so complex. ``The audience wants to know you're not just talking.''
IMPORTANT DETAILS
The League for the Hearing Impaired also offered advice, pointing out little details that can make a big difference to deaf members of the audience, said Allyson Dudich, the group's education coordinator.
The director ''had to make sure that everybody is seen fully from the front because they're using their hands,'' Dudich said. ``People in the audience are not going to get anything from the story if they can't see.''
Deaf cast members also helped make sure hearing characters' roles appear authentic.
Senior Frank Gonzalez -- who is not deaf -- plays Bernardo, Maria's brother.
''It's one of the best parts I've ever played,'' said Frank, 18, who now finds himself signing all the time. ``I can express myself just through my hands.''
It took him a while to get to that point, he said. ''I used to move my mouth a lot -- I'm not supposed to,'' he said.
This production is changing the dynamics at South Plantation, Dudich said. ''Historically, there's really been a separation, and deaf kids haven't really immersed themselves with the rest of the students,'' she said.
''For the lead role to be one of the deaf students, it starts to change everything. Everyone sees how talented [the deaf] are and how they can do everything everyone else can except hear,'' Dudich said.
Giovanna said she never considered acting until she met Zembuch.
''They have really worked with me,'' she said. ``I've learned a lot from this.''
Besides using deaf students and sign language -- the entire production is signed by three different students -- the production is infused with deaf culture. When Tony comes for Maria at the fire escape, she cannot hear him calling. So he shakes the ladder so she can feel its vibration.
When Maria's father calls her from offstage, the lights flash to indicate it.
NEW OPPORTUNITIES
High schools rarely put on deaf theater productions, said Aaron Kubey, executive director and president of the National Theatre of the Deaf.
``It means a lot to me that the school is willing to find a challenge -- a learning experience -- and show people that we really can be actors, we can do theater.''
Dudich credits director Zembuch with opening up a new career field for her students.
'What deaf kid would have thought `Hey, I'm going to go into theater sound and lighting?' The more people that open up and bring these kids in just shows that these kids can do what everybody else can do.''
But Kellie, who had the script for her dream role memorized months ago, was skeptical of Zembuch's concept at first.
''What? You split Maria apart?'' she remembers thinking. ``Now, I love it. I think it's genius.''
Zembuch, too, has learned sign language, and fires off instructions comfortably with his hands from the stage back to the control booth, where deaf senior Jesse Whitelaw is working lights.
''Jason expects the same from them as he does from everybody else,'' said interpreter Helene Cohn, ``which doesn't happen a lot in the real world.''
In the scene where Tony declares his love for Maria, actors Justin and Giovanna are on the fire escape. On the ground, Kellie sings Maria's lines:
''Tonight, tonight,'' she sings.
Justin's right hand signs in tandem with Giovanna's left:
``Tonight, tonight. The world is wild and bright.''
which it come with sign and 4 deaf kids in show!!!
and one deaf spot light that me!!
so it will be in WORLDS WIDE ABC NEWS IN FULL SHOW stay in tunes we will start air next week hopeful
soo if anyone live in Florida near fort lauderdale
Email me alienwarecomp14@tmail dot com
if you want see that show with sign it real great great shows in world right now.. dont miss tell everyone about it!
<embed id='player_swf' src='http://media.vmixcore.com/core-flash/UnifiedVideoPlayer/UnifiedVideoPlayer.swf' quality='high' width='316' height='269' name='UnifiedVideoPlayer' align='middle' play='true' loop='false' quality='high' allowScriptAccess='always' allowFullScreen='true' wmode='transparent' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' flashvars='player_id=8659f4ba0443c8ebb2025b29016dfa0d&token=08672c8537631d62f2eeb2df40bb5900' pluginspage='http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer'></embed>
Production retells 'West Side Story' in sign language - Front Page - MiamiHerald.com
SOUTH PLANTATION HIGH
Production retells 'West Side Story' in sign language
It takes singing -- and signing -- to tell the story of love and prejudice at South Plantation High.
Deaf actors give voice to West Side Story
Deaf students, including Giovanna Vazquez who plays \'Maria,\' participate in South Plantation High\'s production of West Side Story. \n
Miami Herald Staff
Deaf actors give voice to West Side Story
Deaf students, including Giovanna Vazquez who plays \'Maria,\' participate in South Plantation High\'s production of West Side Story. \n
Miami Herald Staff
* Deaf actors give voice to West Side Story
* Photos
Related Content
* If you go
BY NIRVI SHAH AND KIRSTIN MAGUIRE
nshah@MiamiHerald.com
In this version of the classic Broadway musical West Side Story, Maria falls in love with Tony without saying a word.
Instead, her hands do the singing -- by signing.
South Plantation High school's 2008 version of the nearly 50-year-old tale stars deaf and hearing students who, together, have spun an entirely new theatrical confection.
In the classic, the Puerto Rican Sharks and the 'American' Jets spar for control over the neighborhood. But Maria, sister of Sharks leader Bernardo, falls in love with Tony, a former Jet.
In this version, the culture clash goes beyond ethnicity: The Sharks are also deaf.
After months of planning, practicing and learning sign language, the show opened this week and continues through next weekend.
Maria is played by junior Giovanna Vazquez, who signs her parts, and junior Kellie Smith, who matches her voice to Giovanna's hands.
Tony's role belongs to senior Justin White, who has learned to sign, sing and act all at once.
South Plantation is where most of Broward's hard-of-hearing and deaf high school students -- about 40 -- attend classes.
''We've used American Sign Language as another form of communication. Every word, every song, is signed,'' said drama teacher Jason Zembuch, who started incorporating deaf students into school theater productions about five years ago.
Giovanna, Kellie and Justin had to work painstakingly to perfect their timing.
''You have to make your hands look like they're singing,'' said Justin, who has never had a role in a musical before, much less one so complex. ``The audience wants to know you're not just talking.''
IMPORTANT DETAILS
The League for the Hearing Impaired also offered advice, pointing out little details that can make a big difference to deaf members of the audience, said Allyson Dudich, the group's education coordinator.
The director ''had to make sure that everybody is seen fully from the front because they're using their hands,'' Dudich said. ``People in the audience are not going to get anything from the story if they can't see.''
Deaf cast members also helped make sure hearing characters' roles appear authentic.
Senior Frank Gonzalez -- who is not deaf -- plays Bernardo, Maria's brother.
''It's one of the best parts I've ever played,'' said Frank, 18, who now finds himself signing all the time. ``I can express myself just through my hands.''
It took him a while to get to that point, he said. ''I used to move my mouth a lot -- I'm not supposed to,'' he said.
This production is changing the dynamics at South Plantation, Dudich said. ''Historically, there's really been a separation, and deaf kids haven't really immersed themselves with the rest of the students,'' she said.
''For the lead role to be one of the deaf students, it starts to change everything. Everyone sees how talented [the deaf] are and how they can do everything everyone else can except hear,'' Dudich said.
Giovanna said she never considered acting until she met Zembuch.
''They have really worked with me,'' she said. ``I've learned a lot from this.''
Besides using deaf students and sign language -- the entire production is signed by three different students -- the production is infused with deaf culture. When Tony comes for Maria at the fire escape, she cannot hear him calling. So he shakes the ladder so she can feel its vibration.
When Maria's father calls her from offstage, the lights flash to indicate it.
NEW OPPORTUNITIES
High schools rarely put on deaf theater productions, said Aaron Kubey, executive director and president of the National Theatre of the Deaf.
``It means a lot to me that the school is willing to find a challenge -- a learning experience -- and show people that we really can be actors, we can do theater.''
Dudich credits director Zembuch with opening up a new career field for her students.
'What deaf kid would have thought `Hey, I'm going to go into theater sound and lighting?' The more people that open up and bring these kids in just shows that these kids can do what everybody else can do.''
But Kellie, who had the script for her dream role memorized months ago, was skeptical of Zembuch's concept at first.
''What? You split Maria apart?'' she remembers thinking. ``Now, I love it. I think it's genius.''
Zembuch, too, has learned sign language, and fires off instructions comfortably with his hands from the stage back to the control booth, where deaf senior Jesse Whitelaw is working lights.
''Jason expects the same from them as he does from everybody else,'' said interpreter Helene Cohn, ``which doesn't happen a lot in the real world.''
In the scene where Tony declares his love for Maria, actors Justin and Giovanna are on the fire escape. On the ground, Kellie sings Maria's lines:
''Tonight, tonight,'' she sings.
Justin's right hand signs in tandem with Giovanna's left:
``Tonight, tonight. The world is wild and bright.''