deafREVIEW Monthly Showcase

If you’re deaf or hard of hearing (hh), chances are you’ve heard of Howie Seago, a brilliant deaf actor and longtime resident of the Pacific Northwest. For four years, Howie has been keeping himself busy performing at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival

in Ashland, Oregon, in various roles.

Myself and a few girlfriends decided to make a weekend of it and watch all three ASL Interpreted performances this July, in which Howie was to perform in two plays; Henry V and As You Like It. There were a total of nine ASL Interpreters, three from Seattle (Pam Parham, Anne D, Jeff Wildenstein), six from various parts of California, and at least one ASL Coach, Billy Seago.  

Howie’s performance in both plays was breathtaking. I was amazed at the ability of the director to incorporate Howie’s deafness into the characters and the use of other characters as his interpreter on stage. To the 15+ deaf/hh patrons, he and the cast members made it seem effortless. To the hundreds of hearing patrons, it brought a different perspective to the stage in which I was thrilled to witness. Billy Seago as ASL coach did a fantastic job coaching and executing the Interpreters so that watching them was as fluid as can be. It’s amazing to me how they pulled all this off for such a large production; it was truly, top notch! Kudos to an amazing production all around.   

deafREVIEW tip: if you’re not a Shakespeare buff (like me), spend some time reading cliff notes as it can be helpful in following the storyline. J 

 

A surprise appearance by Sean Forbes, co-founder of Deaf Performance Art Network (D-PAN), was an unusual treat at the Shakespeare Festival. His unique beat-busting + hand-flying performance gave me a much needed music fix.

If you missed out on the Oregon Shakespeare Festival this summer, fret not. There will be three new interpreted plays this September.  So open up your schedules, request vacation days and head on down to Ashland, Oregon this fall.

Show details below:

Medae/Macbeth/Cinderalla directed by Bill Rauch & Tracy Young is three famous stories in one, and will be performed on Friday, September 21st at 8pm. All The Way (world premiere) directed by Bill Rauch is the story of Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) and his first year in office (1963-64), and will be performed on Saturday, September 22^nd at 8pm. PartyPeople (world premiere) directed by Liesl Tommy is a high energy and colorful story about the Black Panthers and Puerto Rican Young Lords, then and now, and will be shown on Sunday, September 23^rd at 1:30 pm. Tickets are greatly discounted for deaf/hh patrons and only $21 per show. Deaf/hh tickets can be purchased by contacting Jim Amberg at jima@osfashland.org