Theater, Adapted

Almost all theatre done by and with deaf performers in America falls under the category of adapted theatre, which has multiple definitions. A theatrical adaptation is generally defined as a theatrical work that is generated from or inspired by another form or genre, such as a poem or a film. Adapted theatre can also mean a type of intercultural theatre where source material moves either towards, or away [Page 972]from the target audience cultural norms. Another definition of adapted theatre indicates modifications made to a theatrical production to accommodate a population different from the norm, whether onstage or in the audience. Adapted theatre in the case of the American Deaf community typically means works of written literature or drama that are adapted into sign language, or hybridized forms of sign and blended with mime intended to be more inclusive of both hearing and deaf audiences. These adaptations may involve altering the source material to more closely align with Deaf worldviews and experiences, or the addition of accessibility features to ensure audience participation, especially of those who do not know sign.

The most basic type of adapted theatre involving deaf performers or sign language is what Dorothy Miles and Lou Fant, termed “sign language theatre,” which usually means any text originally designed for spoken theatre, which is then arranged for production in signed (and often simultaneously in spoken) language, or any visual representation of English. Sign language theatre differs from Deaf theatre in that it often embodies the conceit that all of the characters in the original plot and script happen to know sign, regardless of their origin, a situation that does not very often occur in reality. In both deaf and sign language theatre, depending on the intended audience, adapted theatre forms will go either toward or away from Deaf cultural norms, the opposite pole being hearing norms. These norms include portrayal of authentic or relevant Deaf experiences, accuracy in use of sign language, or use of Deaf aesthetic principles. Classic or contemporary stories may be translated literally, or given the Deaf treatment, such as the Pygmalion/My Fair Lady-like adaptation of Sign Me Alice. Most professional theatres employing deaf performers strive for a more universal form where the intent is to create inclusive experiences for both hearing and deaf audiences. These universal forms may mean a more physical or visual-based theatre language that can be readily understood by the majority of the audience, or they may mean the inclusion of or interplay of two or more languages in sequence or simultaneously, as with speech and sign.

Flipping the formula of mainstream theatrical productions that provide accessibility features for their deaf patrons, such as sign language interpreters, or captioning and subtitling, many theatres that produce plays with deaf casts will add voice interpreters or captions and subtitling for hearing patrons. Gallaudet University’s Theatre Arts has a long-standing tradition of following of placing sign language front and center, but also providing “readers” who will voice the text offstage for the benefit of hearing patrons. The National Theatre of the Deaf and Deaf West theatre have been known to integrate these voice actors into the onstage production, pairing them up with a signing actor to work in tandem, and often will sign and speak their own lines. It can be argued that, depending on the level of integration of these accessibility features into a production, they may affect the production in a way that it becomes an adapted performance.

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