Miss-Delectable
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2004
- Messages
- 17,158
- Reaction score
- 7
Foxboro Reporter > Archives > Features > Lion King's roar is signed for the deaf
Third year American Sign Language students from Foxboro High School performed Disney's The Lion King Monday for the Ahern Middle School eight graders.
The entire play was signed and spoken simultaneously. This is the third year that the ASL students have performed for the eighth graders.
Teacher Linda Cameron said the students put on these plays to show upcoming high school students, that in addition to French and Spanish classes, they have the option of choosing ASL as their world language requirement.
"Most people don't know about ASL or Deaf Culture and this is a good opportunity to make people aware of it," Cameron said. "We appreciate that the Ahern School welcomes our performances and the eighth graders are very respectful."
The ASL program at the high school was started in 1998. Students can take three years of classes in ASL and a fourth year of Independent Study. There are currently more than 100 students enrolled in the program.
The play took about five weeks from start to finish. First, students re-wrote the original Lion King story-line to fit into the half-hour performance. Students then had to learn their parts in English and also in ASL.
ASL is not just about the signs, Cameron said. Students must have the right facial expressions and body language to match the signs.
"We watched movie bites several times in order to learn the body language of the characters. Students practiced daily in order to get everything coordinated," she said. In addition, the students created their costumes.
Jeremiah Washington said the reason he signed up to take ASL, was "I was curious about Deaf Culture and learning about a new world".
Taryn Laubenstein said "ASL has opened my eyes to a new culture that I never knew existed in my own country".
Courtney Robblee: "This play was a lot of hard work, it consumed our lives, but we had so much fun with it".
Carolyn Augusta, said "Not only do we learn a language but we learn about a culture we didn't know anything about before. We meet deaf people outside school, and it's so cool to be able to communicate with them."
Jon McAlister said "ASL is very applicable to real life. I sign outside class more than I thought I ever would. There are a lot more deaf people out there than most of us think".
The Lion King Cast members:
Dan Eastman: Simba
Jeremiah Washington : Mufasa
Courtney Robblee : Zazu
David Lull : Scar
Carolyn Augusta : Shenzi
Melissa Brown : Banzai
Chris Mullin : Ed
Luke Soccorso : Narrator
Jon McAlister: Pumbaa
Miguel Alicea : Rafiki
Jarrell Greene : Timon
Jon McAlister: Pumbaa
Samantha Sweeney : Sarabi
Taryn Laubenstein : Nala
Stage & Music Director: Caelan Pacelli : ASL Independent Study, Year 4
Lighting Designer: James Philbin
Third year American Sign Language students from Foxboro High School performed Disney's The Lion King Monday for the Ahern Middle School eight graders.
The entire play was signed and spoken simultaneously. This is the third year that the ASL students have performed for the eighth graders.
Teacher Linda Cameron said the students put on these plays to show upcoming high school students, that in addition to French and Spanish classes, they have the option of choosing ASL as their world language requirement.
"Most people don't know about ASL or Deaf Culture and this is a good opportunity to make people aware of it," Cameron said. "We appreciate that the Ahern School welcomes our performances and the eighth graders are very respectful."
The ASL program at the high school was started in 1998. Students can take three years of classes in ASL and a fourth year of Independent Study. There are currently more than 100 students enrolled in the program.
The play took about five weeks from start to finish. First, students re-wrote the original Lion King story-line to fit into the half-hour performance. Students then had to learn their parts in English and also in ASL.
ASL is not just about the signs, Cameron said. Students must have the right facial expressions and body language to match the signs.
"We watched movie bites several times in order to learn the body language of the characters. Students practiced daily in order to get everything coordinated," she said. In addition, the students created their costumes.
Jeremiah Washington said the reason he signed up to take ASL, was "I was curious about Deaf Culture and learning about a new world".
Taryn Laubenstein said "ASL has opened my eyes to a new culture that I never knew existed in my own country".
Courtney Robblee: "This play was a lot of hard work, it consumed our lives, but we had so much fun with it".
Carolyn Augusta, said "Not only do we learn a language but we learn about a culture we didn't know anything about before. We meet deaf people outside school, and it's so cool to be able to communicate with them."
Jon McAlister said "ASL is very applicable to real life. I sign outside class more than I thought I ever would. There are a lot more deaf people out there than most of us think".
The Lion King Cast members:
Dan Eastman: Simba
Jeremiah Washington : Mufasa
Courtney Robblee : Zazu
David Lull : Scar
Carolyn Augusta : Shenzi
Melissa Brown : Banzai
Chris Mullin : Ed
Luke Soccorso : Narrator
Jon McAlister: Pumbaa
Miguel Alicea : Rafiki
Jarrell Greene : Timon
Jon McAlister: Pumbaa
Samantha Sweeney : Sarabi
Taryn Laubenstein : Nala
Stage & Music Director: Caelan Pacelli : ASL Independent Study, Year 4
Lighting Designer: James Philbin