“beyond essays” - a short american sign language drama
Posted on Feb 23, 2010 - 01:05 PM
well, it’s time to be raising lots of money for “beyond essays.” my producer, bridgette and i agreed that it’s too special a short film to go no-budget, so we’re hoping to raise enough money to enhance the quality of the film. we are in need of your help, and if you are interested in donating, please do go to this kickstarter link: kickstarter for beyond essays.
We’ve got a ways to go, so with your help, in spreading the word and understanding what we’re trying to do, please do join us in this innovative short film in ASL!
I was able to create a logo that was decent enough and I hope that it’s memorable enough for all to know. We are deaf women in film, and please spread the word. we need more members in order to support each other and create events.
we deaf women in film need each other, wholeheartedly, i know this!
i was invited to act in something--and this is what it was! it’s actually silly. i did a bit of improvising there.
for the deaf people-- here’s what the hearing people said (thanks to dania douglas, a old friend of mine) NOTE: This is a loose translation.
Girl 1 (on right red shirt & grey sweatshirt)
Girl 2 (in center white sweatshirt)
Girl 3 (on left black jacket & red scarf)… See More
:26 “Woah” (Girl 1)
:27 “Woah” (Girl 2)
:29 “What do you think you’re doing?” (Girl 1)
:30-35 “Don’t litter; It’s a public park guys” (Girl 1) (with a chorus of woah & hey in the background)
:36 “What is this?” (Girl 1)
:37 “Hasn’t Al Gore showed you anything?”
:41-:42 “What the eff--?” (Girls 2 & 3)
:43 “Hello? We’re talking to you” (Girl 1)
:52 “Has anyone seen the movie Wally?” (Girl 3)
:53 “You have to clean up after your planet earth.” (Girl1)
:58-1:00 “Hey, hey, hey girls” (All 3 girls)
1:02-1:03 “Two words Fern Gully, the last rain forest” (Girl 3)
1:03 “Hey, hey, hey you left your trash.” (Girl 1)
1:11-1:12 Indistinct murmurs of “Oh, oh, oh...ah, okay”
1:15 “Aaah have a good day” (Girl 1)
1:17 “Sorry, carry on."(Girl 3)
1:18 “Aah..we should probably go” (Girl 1)
1:20 “Call me...ah...no...” (Girl 3)
1:25-1:26 Camera turns away so you can’t tell who is speaking, but the girls say “Well, that made me feel good...now I feel like a good person...hmm.”
for the hearing people—here’s my LOOSE translation:
1:04 - “who are they?” (lexi - black top)
1:05 - “stop talking!” (jules - pink sweatshirt)
1:06 - “oh i see… okay...” (jules - pink sweatshirt)
1:07 - “okay, obviously they’re green party environmentalists.” (lexi - black top)
1:08 - “yes, obviously.” (jules - pink sweatshirt)
1:12 - “OKAY, VERY GOOD, SEE YOU LATER!” [to the 3 speaking girls] (jules - pink sweatshirt)
(indistinct conversation as lexi & jules walks up the hill).
turns out they posted something about the play i was in… my roles were maria gable and marilyn castaline. good roles. i had a bit of fun in it. i had the opportunity to play a deaf person and use my voice-- and even SANG. can you believe that?? i sucked as heck, too, but hey, i dismissed it as a character thing that my character was doing…
and these were based on real characters too. pretty awesome. it was so exciting to be acting in an original piece written by a deaf author, no less. his name is David Kurs, but I always call him DJ. he’s a cool guy. i’m sure anyone would agree with me about him. he’s a great screenwriter, as well!
working as a ceo for damname productions is pretty interestingly awesome. i’m having fun with it. it’s so amazing to be in a place where you can create an entire world (small to begin with, granted) and just be able to get what you want, what you’ve been complaining about all your life, and get all those complaints melted away at the birth of this entity, this company.
let me list my most common things that i whine about (that anyone who knows me will happily agree) --
1) women don’t get enough recognition or opportunities in the film industry.
2) deaf women don’t get enough recognition or opportunities to grow in the film industry.
3) i don’t see enough “deaf” films that are strictly as professional as your commonplace studio production, say… “Moulin Rouge” or “Knocked Up” or anything of the sort or that level.
4) i don’t see enough variety in roles for deaf people. it’s always the same thing-- deaf people who can speak, can really read lips well, and the dialogue is so horrible that it ruins the potential for their natural american sign language.
there’s a lot more that i whine about (and i try to make it happen for myself, at least) but this is the basic gist list of it.
say, did you guys watch dollhouse or fringe on hulu lately? it’s so awesome!
http://www.lastageblog.com/2009/10/26/hearing-the-deaf/
he’s a great screenwriter, as well!
