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Inland deaf student in musical | Corona | PE.com | Southern California News | News for Inland Southern California
As a student at the California School for the Deaf, Riverside, 12-year-old Alana Smith has been active in sports, ballet and music. The Riverside resident also has always admired deaf actor and writer Marlee Matlin.
Now their paths are going to cross when Alana performs in the stage adaptation of Matlin's children's book, "Nobody's Perfect," this weekend at the Norris Center in Rolling Hills Estates.
"She is my role model," Alana said. "I am very proud to be in this play and I hope I get to meet her."
According the show's director, Coy Middlebrook, Alana will meet Matlin and Doug Cooney, co-author of the book and the show's playwright, who will be attending one of the performances.
The play's storyline is about a young girl named Megan who is planning her "positively purple" birthday party. She's popular with all the girls in her class and there are no communication problems between them. But then new girl Alexis shows up and everyone thinks she's perfect. But when Megan invites her to her birthday party, Alexis turns her down. Megan wonders if it's because she's deaf.
"When I read the book I thought, 'This is so true; Marlee knows just how I feel,' " Alana said.
The easy communication between Megan and the other girls in her class contrasts with the lack of communication between Megan and Alexis in several ways.
Another actor plays Megan's voice. She sings and speaks Megan's lines whenever she is with her girlfriends or talking to the audience. But when she is with Alexis, Alana does the speaking herself for Megan and she signs to her.
"It'll be clear for the audience ... the girlfriends understand what she's saying," Middlebrook said. "But when she's with Alexis, they don't understand each other."
Eventually Megan learns that Alexis has a secret, too -- her brother is autistic. And it turns out that Megan's way of communicating, American Sign Language, is something that can help them all understand one another.
Like Megan in the story, Alana is the only actor in the play who is deaf.
"I really enjoyed the rehearsals with the other kids," she said. "They are all learning to sign, and everyone is trying so hard. It is a challenge for me, too. I am learning new signs."
Another challenge Alana faced in rehearsals was learning to time her signs with the girl who plays her "voice."
"We have to get it just right -- like we're one person," Alana said. "I have never done anything like this before. Also, there are a lot of places I need to really talk for myself. I am worried people won't understand me, so I practice my speech a lot."
"The musical is performed simultaneously in spoken English, American Sign Language and the language of music," Middlebrook said. "There are three languages flowing simultaneously."
In most productions, the sign language performer is off to one side of the stage.
"In this, it's all together. It's great for the deaf and hearing audiences because all the action is happening together," he said. "Usually there's a split focus, but here everyone in the audience gets to watch the moments together."
The production was first performed on stage in 2007 at the Kennedy Center's Performing Arts Theater for Young Artists. At that time the actors were all adults. This time, children will play the characters.
"It's been a great joy to work on the play with age-appropriate actors," Middlebrook said. "The whole play centers around this girl turning 10 and here we have kids in that age group playing those parts."
Alana's mother, Debbie, was quite surprised when she realized her daughter wasn't going to just be performing in a play, but in an musical.
"It wasn't until the first rehearsal, when someone introduced the music director, Debbie La Puma, that I realized, 'My deaf daughter is starring in a musical?' " Debbie Smith said. "It was mind-boggling, but I knew Alana would rise to the challenge.
"She loves being Megan ... she relates to her. It's just plain fun."
As a student at the California School for the Deaf, Riverside, 12-year-old Alana Smith has been active in sports, ballet and music. The Riverside resident also has always admired deaf actor and writer Marlee Matlin.
Now their paths are going to cross when Alana performs in the stage adaptation of Matlin's children's book, "Nobody's Perfect," this weekend at the Norris Center in Rolling Hills Estates.
"She is my role model," Alana said. "I am very proud to be in this play and I hope I get to meet her."
According the show's director, Coy Middlebrook, Alana will meet Matlin and Doug Cooney, co-author of the book and the show's playwright, who will be attending one of the performances.
The play's storyline is about a young girl named Megan who is planning her "positively purple" birthday party. She's popular with all the girls in her class and there are no communication problems between them. But then new girl Alexis shows up and everyone thinks she's perfect. But when Megan invites her to her birthday party, Alexis turns her down. Megan wonders if it's because she's deaf.
"When I read the book I thought, 'This is so true; Marlee knows just how I feel,' " Alana said.
The easy communication between Megan and the other girls in her class contrasts with the lack of communication between Megan and Alexis in several ways.
Another actor plays Megan's voice. She sings and speaks Megan's lines whenever she is with her girlfriends or talking to the audience. But when she is with Alexis, Alana does the speaking herself for Megan and she signs to her.
"It'll be clear for the audience ... the girlfriends understand what she's saying," Middlebrook said. "But when she's with Alexis, they don't understand each other."
Eventually Megan learns that Alexis has a secret, too -- her brother is autistic. And it turns out that Megan's way of communicating, American Sign Language, is something that can help them all understand one another.
Like Megan in the story, Alana is the only actor in the play who is deaf.
"I really enjoyed the rehearsals with the other kids," she said. "They are all learning to sign, and everyone is trying so hard. It is a challenge for me, too. I am learning new signs."
Another challenge Alana faced in rehearsals was learning to time her signs with the girl who plays her "voice."
"We have to get it just right -- like we're one person," Alana said. "I have never done anything like this before. Also, there are a lot of places I need to really talk for myself. I am worried people won't understand me, so I practice my speech a lot."
"The musical is performed simultaneously in spoken English, American Sign Language and the language of music," Middlebrook said. "There are three languages flowing simultaneously."
In most productions, the sign language performer is off to one side of the stage.
"In this, it's all together. It's great for the deaf and hearing audiences because all the action is happening together," he said. "Usually there's a split focus, but here everyone in the audience gets to watch the moments together."
The production was first performed on stage in 2007 at the Kennedy Center's Performing Arts Theater for Young Artists. At that time the actors were all adults. This time, children will play the characters.
"It's been a great joy to work on the play with age-appropriate actors," Middlebrook said. "The whole play centers around this girl turning 10 and here we have kids in that age group playing those parts."
Alana's mother, Debbie, was quite surprised when she realized her daughter wasn't going to just be performing in a play, but in an musical.
"It wasn't until the first rehearsal, when someone introduced the music director, Debbie La Puma, that I realized, 'My deaf daughter is starring in a musical?' " Debbie Smith said. "It was mind-boggling, but I knew Alana would rise to the challenge.
"She loves being Megan ... she relates to her. It's just plain fun."