SIGNING ON
Contestants compete in ASL on Pittsburgh-shot game show
David Keinath and Dan Cook had been searching their whole lives for a way to bridge the deaf and hearing worlds. Their combined attempt to do just that filmed in Pittsburgh more than two years ago, and is finally set to debut this week.
All 11 episodes of “SignTasTic!” were shot at WQED Studios in Oakland during January 2022. Hearing contestants were given 50 American Sign Language words to learn in advance that they must recognize and sign back during various games. “SignTasTic!” participants can win up to $5,000, and its creator hope they leave the experience interested in becoming more proficient in ASL.
The show is co-hosted by Cook and produced by Silent Visual Media, a Pittsburgh-based production company coowned by Keinath and fellow “SignTasTic!” co-host Heather Gray. Their ambitious endeavor had its local premiere on March 21 at Sewickley’s Lindsay Theater and Cultural Center.
“SignTastic!” will also debut Tuesday on VSYN+, which a Silent Visual Media press release described as “the world’s first streaming platform for sign language entertainment.” The Post-Gazette caught up with five members of the “SignTasTic!” team to discuss this Pittsburgh-shot game show’s impending release. Gray is a trained ASL interpreter and served in that capacity for Cook and Keinath, who are both deaf.
“We’ve waited so long for us to have content we can access directly,” Keinath said. “The Deaf community deserves it.”
Cook recalled visiting Keinath in St.
Louis about three years ago and discussing their shared frustration about the lack of specialty channels and programming for the Deaf community. They agreed that a game show in which non-ASL users were forced to learn and recall specific signs would be the best way to potentially draw in both deaf and hearing viewers.
That was a no-brainer for Cook, who grew up watching and loving game shows like “The Price is Right” and “Press Your Luck.” Even without closed captioning, he was generally able to “understand what was happening without knowing the words” due to their easily accessible formats. Cook always dreamed of hosting his own game show and still “can’t believe I’ve done it.”
Silent Visual Media was the natural conduit for “SignTasTic!” given its stated goals of elevating Deaf representation in
the entertainment world “while also supporting the voices of historically marginalized groups by creating content with, for, and by Deaf and marginalized creatives.” Kaleigh Fitzgerald, Silent Visual Media’s managing director, said that bringing the show’s production to Pittsburgh was a big deal for the city’s film community.
“It was just a really nice middle ground for ‘SignTasTic!,’ ” said Fitzgerald, who is also the show’s co-executive producer and line producer. “It was a little bigger than your typical indie and a little smaller than your typical big film. It was a place where people could grow and learn together.”
Everyone involved was thrilled to be making “SignTasTic!” in WQED’s historic Fred Rogers Studio. Jared Bierylo, a Los Angelesbased “SignTasTic!” writer and co-executive producer, was constantly eliciting “amazed and jealous” responses when he told folks on the West Coast his latest project was filming in Mister Rogers’ literal neighborhood.
There were plenty of moments throughout initial principal photography and post- production on “SignTasTic!” in which big changes were made to ensure the show would be “accessible and fun for everyone,” as Fitzgerald put it. For example, Gray had to tamp down her interpreting instincts to not accidentally give away answers after she unexpectedly became Cook’s “SignTasTic!” co-host for the sake of hearing viewers. “I really had to hold it in, because I wanted to sign it so bad,” Gray recalled. “I would just grasp the podium sometimes like, ‘Don’t use your hands!’ ” Gray and Fitzgerald collaborated to create a visual dictionary of ASL words used in each episode that Cook said viewers at home can access via an on-screen QR code. There were 550 ASL words assigned across 11 “SignTasTic!” installments, and Bierylo helped group them in ways he thought would result in compelling challenges for both contestants and the deaf performers tasked with acting out those terms and sentences. “I kind of had thousands of words and signs spread all over my walls and tables ...,” he said. “I started piecing them together to see which ones would work for a story, trivia question or theme.” “SignTasTic!” further assists at-home audiences by adding animated words and images to deaf performers’ pantomimes. Fitzgerald said those visual effects weren’t part of the show’s original plan but began to feel increasingly necessary in the editing room.
As entertaining as “SignTasTic!” can be, its real value lies in the potential to generate fresh interest in ASL. Just being a part of the show got Fitzgerald excited to continue working with the Deaf community “to make sure their stories are heard.”
Gray often interprets at concerts, plays and other large-scale events around Pittsburgh. Someone usually ends up telling her afterward that they were enraptured by her ASL prowess. Those interactions have led Gray to believe that “people just fall in love with” this uniquely demonstrative language when they see it being practiced publicly.
Cook called “SignTasTic!” “the sign language version of Carmen Sandiego,” referring to the classic edutainment video games designed to help kids refine their geography skills. There’s a reason he ends every episode by thanking contestants for playing and reminding them of both their cash earnings and newfound ASL comprehension.
“The show isn’t just about winning money,” Cook said. “It’s about learning sign language. It doesn’t matter if you win or lose. You’re going home with more knowledge.”