Continuing to innovate
TheaterWorks increases accessibility by adding American Sign Language interpretation to productions
TheaterWorks Hartford continues to innovate as it navigates the new theater landscape pockmarked by the COVID pandemic. The current production in the theater’s all-online (so far) 2020-21 season, “Talkin’ to This Chick Sippin’ Magic Potion” by James Anthony Tyler, features a deaf character, played by a hearing-impaired actor, so TheaterWorks realized it was a good time to explore adding American Sign Language Interpretation to the mix.
TheaterWorks had already introduced Closed Captioning to its virtual programming, but ASL allowed for even more accessibility.
Bringing in ASL interpreters “came up pretty early in the process,” Ort says. “One of the characters in the play is deaf, so we had already arranged to have a consultant so we could know how to make this a functioning work environment for everyone. We reached to the American School for the Deaf
[in West Hartford], and it became an incredible resource. So ASL naturally came up, and we said ‘Let’s see if we can do this.’ ”
“This was a wonderful revelation for me,” Ort says. “Streaming has given us the opportunity to make our show accessible in ways we couldn’t have imagined.”
This production of “Talkin’ to This Chick Sippin’ Magic Potion” is a developmental workshop of a new script by the fast-rising, award-winning playwright James Anthony Tyler. It is directed by Awoye Timpo, who works often on new plays by Black writers and also is the producer of Classix, which does readings of classic plays by Black playwrights.
“There are two steps to having a show done in ASL,” Ort explains. “Number one is bringing on an ASL consultant who will direct the interpreters, translate the script and also translate the whole theatrical experience. Number two is hiring the interpreters, the ones you actually see on the screen.”
It was decided that to fully convey “Talkin’ to a Chick Sippin’ Magic Potion,” several onscreen interpreters would be required. Three seemed to be the magic number, with one interpreter following just Jornay, a lead character, another handling the two other female roles and another for the speaking male character.
Then another question arose: should the deaf character — Steve, played by Darius McCall, who does not vocalize almost any of his lines — have his
lines spoken aloud by the interpreters while he signs them? The answer to that was “No.” “It was always intended that the hearing audience must learn what he’s saying from the context,” Ort says.
“This play is not about deafness at all,” Ort says. “Deafness is not traumatized or exoticized in the script. Steve is one of the characters who happens to be deaf.” This is the fifth separate workshop production in which Darius McCall has played Steve.
“Talkin’ to This Chick Sippin’ Magic Potion” is a modern relationship drama with numerous interesting characters.
The main character, Jornay (played by Sheria Irving, who appeared in Yale Rep productions of
“The Winter’s Tale” and “Cymbeline”) is described as a “professional cuddler,” a special sort of therapist who has a number of family and relationship issues to work on herself besides the needs of her clients.
The ASL element of “Talkin’ to This Chick Sippin’ Magic Potion” was not announced until recently because “I’m an incredibly cautious person,” Ort Says. “I didn’t want to announce it until we knew it could be done. When the reading was first announced, the script was not done yet, so interpreters could not even begin their work.”
“Talkin’ to This Chick Sippin’ Magic Potion” is presented as a reading of a work-in-progress, with the actors faces in close-up on Zoom-like screens, no sets or props, and a disembodied voice reading the stage directions. The production is augmented with an opening illustrative still photograph and clever editing which helps the back-and-forth between the box-bound characters. The ASL interpreters, shown in inset screens below the characters they are interpreting, add a new element of liveliness to the presentation.
The show’s run was originally scheduled to end Feb. 26, but will now be available on demand through March 9, the theater says. More information on accessing the show, which now exists in two separate forms (with ASL and without) can be found at twhartford.org. Tickets are $25.
TheaterWorks Hartford is looking for sponsors who can give money specifically so that future productions can feature
American Sign Language interpretation. The theater has already decided that its March 7-26 presentation, “Mr. Parent,” will be ASL interpreted, and perhaps the show after that (Adam Rapp’s “The Sound Inside,” April 11-30) as well, if it can afford to do it.
“We are committed to trying,” Ort says. “Rob [Ruggiero, TheaterWorks Hartford’s producing artistic director] is willing to go out on a limb to commit to these three shows, though there’s an expense involved. There is an audience for this.”
“We’re absolutely thrilled that this has worked out. It is so satisfying to know that our show will be available to a broader audience — and in their own language too.
Many older Americans lack knowledge about antibiotics, with some admitting to using leftover medication, a new survey reveals.
More than 2,200 adults, aged 50 to 80, were questioned. Nine out of 10 said they’re cautious about using antibiotics, and nearly that number knew that overuse of the drugs can lead to them becoming ineffective, according to the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging.
Almost 56% agreed that doctors overprescribe antibiotics, but about one-third mistakenly thought that antibiotics could effectively treat colds or the flu. However, these illnesses are caused by viruses, while antibiotics kill bacteria.
The results show the need for health care providers to educate older patients about the proper use and disposal of antibiotics, according to the team from the university’s Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation.
The poll also found that 13% of the older adults who filled an antibiotic prescription said they had leftover medication, even though patients are usually advised to take all of the antibiotic medication.
Not finishing a prescribed course of antibiotics increases the risk that surviving bacteria will evolve resistance to future treatment by antibiotics, the study authors noted in a university news release.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents with leftover antibiotics said they kept them, and nearly 60% of those said they did so in case they needed the medication in the future.
However, doctors recommend against doing this. People should see a doctor for new signs of infection and get a new prescription for antibiotics if necessary, the study authors said.
According to the survey, one in five respondents said they had taken antibiotics without talking to a health care professional at least once in the past, and most said they had taken their own leftover antibiotics.
Nearly half of the respondents said they received at least one prescription for antibiotics in the past two years.
The study was published online recently in the journal Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.