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Silent comedy, audible laughter: That's what this comic hopes for - MLive.com
Humorist Peter Cook wants to make the audience laugh without saying a word.
A deaf storyteller, poet and humorist, Cook will bring his form of comic improvisation to Kalamazoo Valley Community College's Dale Lake Auditorium Friday.
``When telling a story he is extremely physical,'' said Su Cutler, the American Sign Language instructor at KVCC and organizer of the performance. ``He uses elastic facial grammar and expressions, a lot like Robin Williams. He is very funny to watch.''
Cook has been featured in PBS programs and has performed at festivals worldwide. Cook and poet Kenny Lerner have performed with the Flying Words Project, which showcases poetry in American Sign Language, for more than two decades.
``He is extremely talented at everything he does,'' said Cutler of Cook. ``He is able to tell stories and rhyme with his hands.''
Cook ``rhymes'' by using similarities in sign direction, hand configurations and facial expressions just as words with similar sounds do.
In his performance at KVCC, an interpreter will be voicing his signs for the listening audience. ``For those who have never signed before in their life, they will still have a great time,'' Cutler said. ``So much of his humor is physical; he really involves the audience and connects with them. So with help from the voicing people, (they) will understand and be able to laugh at everything.''
Along with making people laugh, Cutler said she hopes the performance will also help people in the community become more aware of sign language and the hearing-impaired.
``I think too often people think of sign language as some scary foreign language,'' she said. ``Signing is just another form of English. While watching the performance, you will really forget that he is deaf. People often don't realize how much communication is done without words.''
Humorist Peter Cook wants to make the audience laugh without saying a word.
A deaf storyteller, poet and humorist, Cook will bring his form of comic improvisation to Kalamazoo Valley Community College's Dale Lake Auditorium Friday.
``When telling a story he is extremely physical,'' said Su Cutler, the American Sign Language instructor at KVCC and organizer of the performance. ``He uses elastic facial grammar and expressions, a lot like Robin Williams. He is very funny to watch.''
Cook has been featured in PBS programs and has performed at festivals worldwide. Cook and poet Kenny Lerner have performed with the Flying Words Project, which showcases poetry in American Sign Language, for more than two decades.
``He is extremely talented at everything he does,'' said Cutler of Cook. ``He is able to tell stories and rhyme with his hands.''
Cook ``rhymes'' by using similarities in sign direction, hand configurations and facial expressions just as words with similar sounds do.
In his performance at KVCC, an interpreter will be voicing his signs for the listening audience. ``For those who have never signed before in their life, they will still have a great time,'' Cutler said. ``So much of his humor is physical; he really involves the audience and connects with them. So with help from the voicing people, (they) will understand and be able to laugh at everything.''
Along with making people laugh, Cutler said she hopes the performance will also help people in the community become more aware of sign language and the hearing-impaired.
``I think too often people think of sign language as some scary foreign language,'' she said. ``Signing is just another form of English. While watching the performance, you will really forget that he is deaf. People often don't realize how much communication is done without words.''