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!
check it out. i directed and wrote it. erik call shot and edited it. starring abby walla, amber zion & introducing mango, the kitty. original music by russell wiener. Convo Relay is a great company. I wouldn’t have made a commercial for them otherwise. http://www.convorelay.com
what an experience! I’ve never wrangled cats before for a film, and trust me, it’s so much harder than it looks! LOL!
it has been a fantastic turn of events for me. i had the privilege of getting to know jonathan lewis, michelle lapides & misty flowers all in a short time, and i have a great feeling that things will turn out well for each one of us and towards the deaf community.
i also have had the privilege of meeting alison o’daniel, who is the director of night sky. we’ve agreed to work together in making her film possible & to distribute it to film festivals and to have a great, quality, thought, provoking product that involves a deaf female character (Evelina Gaina). and because of alison’s positive demeanor, we will have a successful production.
and because of all these people and stuff that’s going on with me-- i’ve been promoting Damname productions and hopefully people will see how important damname is to the world-- in so many ways. we promote american sign language because it is one of the best languages out there, and it is all-accessible, and also, includes a great representation of diversity groups and opportunities for diverse individuals.
that’s what I’m truly all about. i’m a feminist who realizes the importance of collaboration, sharing, communication, and including others that are different.
ain’t that super?? there’s still more info gonna be filled in, but i’m excited about it all. i just hope people will enjoy the film as much as i did!!!
it’s a nerve-wracking time! we’ve submitted “glee!” to all the big-time film festivals, and we’re still waiting to hear what will become of “glee!”. the most important thing is that we tried, and that’s all that matters. i have to keep reminding myself of that, lol.
anyhow, i’m still working on several projects-- and i hope to get them out to you guys soon-- one is a documentary about ASL writing with Bob Arnold, and i’m truly thrilled about that because i feel it’s such a huge deal-- and it’s so important for the deaf community, and it will shake and rock our world in ways we cannot imagine. so that’s the gist of that.
and the other project i’m working on is a deaf music video, performed by Nyeshia Prince-- and it’s currently in post production, and i will be teaching myself how to use Motion so that this video will be rockin’.
oh, and not to forget, “nisha”! that’s gonna be fun for you guys to watch. it’s a short film fantasy post-apocalyptic thriller, with a mix of hearing & deaf cast & crew. i can’t wait!
directed & written by amber beard. had a great experience producing this film in las vegas. this is just a clip-- and it shows the opening of it. sorry it’s not subtitled for my deaf friends…
http://www.lastageblog.com/2009/10/26/hearing-the-deaf/
he’s a great screenwriter, as well!
