Open Window
Last night I had the good fortune to be able to go see "Open Window," the new offering from Deaf West Theatre. DeafWest, as some of you know, recently concluded a four-year revival of "Big River" that went from its home theatre to the Mark Taper Forum (where I saw it), and then to Broadway, where it then spun off into a national tour that concluded at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.
"Open Window" doesn't open for another week, so what I saw was a dress rehearsal, but it looked good so far. The play is about a young deaf man who has been kept chained up in the basement for twelve years, and has allegedly killed his father with the chains. He is undergoing a pre-trial assessment by two deaf psychologists, one of them well-known, the other a novice. He has no language, so the two professionals try to teach the prisoner signs, but for their own reasons and with their own internal biases, history, and motives playing a part in their actions and in their dialogue with each other.
The play is being presented in Pasadena at the Pasadena Playhouse, rather than at Deaf West's home stage in North Hollywood. This meant a drive of sorts for me, since I live on the Westside. Since I'd never really spent a lot of time in that part of town before, and the doors opened at 7:30, I decided to brave rush-hour traffic to make sure I got there, found parking, and would be all set. I got there early enough to wander up Colorado Boulevard a bit-- the theater is in downtown Pasadena.
The Pasadena Playhouse has a nice-looking facade, and is a Mission-style revival building. Inside, the set was rather plain-- two walls, with a door on stage right-- that is, from the audience, on the left side. It was painted to resemble an institutional room, the kind you'd find in a hospital. There were a few steps on the side, and a staircase stage left that led to a balcony. The central action concerns the two psychologists, Rachel (played by Linda Bove) and Susan (played by Shoshannah Stern), and their charge, Cal (Chris Corrigan); the remaining three major actors comprise a chorus of two women and a man-- the two women also double as voice actors for Bove and Stern.
I sat with a couple of friends, and saw a few more. As usual, the conversations shifted, depending on who walked in and sat down, but since the play was on hearing time, us deaf didn't have as much social time as we're used to. *grin* The play itself was dialogue-heavy, and there were times when I got lost, there was so much information to absorb-- a lot of discussion of language, linguistics, communication in all its forms, relationships, and a certain level of self-examination going on as well. Fortunately the plot and dialogue weren't too complex, and by the middle of the play I had a good grasp of what was going on. Once the rising action morphed into the climax, I was riveted, and so, I sensed, was a good portion of the audience. At the play's conclusion, I noticed the friend who was sitting next to me had tears in her eyes. Others stood up, and we started to discuss the play. To me, that's the mark of a good story/play/movie: that it prompts a discussion. While we did have criticisms to be sure, we all agreed it was a good play overall. Of course, being deaf, we talked a lot about educational experiences, how we developed language, how important it was to a deaf person's development, etc., etc. But don't get me wrong: this play was intended for a mixed audience, and I think and hope that hearing people will come away from it with a better understanding and appreciation for ASL and the need for communication in general.
It's a brand-new play, written by the guy who wrote "Sweet Nothing In My Ear"-- I met him, and he signs-- he was not fluent by any means, but he signed clear enough to be understood at more than a basic level, and he did his level best to follow the self-introductions and questions of people who went up to him afterwards. He seemed eager and open to our thoughts, which I appreciated. While it would be nice to have more opportunities and exposure for our deaf playwrights such as Gil Eastman, Willy Conley, and others, I must say it's great that we have a writer who is willing to write a play about the Deaf and about Deaf issues, and aims such fare at a broader audience.
It's also positive that the Pasadena Playhouse is willing to stage this production-- I'd love to see more and more theaters be open about having plays, offering interpreting, etc. I know in places like Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, there are often interpreted plays, but that's not necessarily the case everywhere. I hope the example the Pasadena Playhouse sets will inspire the people that go there and work there to take a further interest in other areas, not just theatre. For example, employment, community outreach, support for captioned films, etc., etc.
In addition to hosting "Open Window," they're also going to have a one-evening presentation with Marlee Matlin, titled "Conversations With... Marlee Matlin." While Marlee has achieved quite a bit, she also has a somewhat controversial reputation among the rank-and-file in the Deaf community. While I don't know her well enough to judge her one way or another, I know she has fought for captioning, among other issues, during her time in Hollywood, so I do respect her for that. I'm curious about this - I just might go...
"Open Window" doesn't open for another week, so what I saw was a dress rehearsal, but it looked good so far. The play is about a young deaf man who has been kept chained up in the basement for twelve years, and has allegedly killed his father with the chains. He is undergoing a pre-trial assessment by two deaf psychologists, one of them well-known, the other a novice. He has no language, so the two professionals try to teach the prisoner signs, but for their own reasons and with their own internal biases, history, and motives playing a part in their actions and in their dialogue with each other.
The play is being presented in Pasadena at the Pasadena Playhouse, rather than at Deaf West's home stage in North Hollywood. This meant a drive of sorts for me, since I live on the Westside. Since I'd never really spent a lot of time in that part of town before, and the doors opened at 7:30, I decided to brave rush-hour traffic to make sure I got there, found parking, and would be all set. I got there early enough to wander up Colorado Boulevard a bit-- the theater is in downtown Pasadena.
The Pasadena Playhouse has a nice-looking facade, and is a Mission-style revival building. Inside, the set was rather plain-- two walls, with a door on stage right-- that is, from the audience, on the left side. It was painted to resemble an institutional room, the kind you'd find in a hospital. There were a few steps on the side, and a staircase stage left that led to a balcony. The central action concerns the two psychologists, Rachel (played by Linda Bove) and Susan (played by Shoshannah Stern), and their charge, Cal (Chris Corrigan); the remaining three major actors comprise a chorus of two women and a man-- the two women also double as voice actors for Bove and Stern.
I sat with a couple of friends, and saw a few more. As usual, the conversations shifted, depending on who walked in and sat down, but since the play was on hearing time, us deaf didn't have as much social time as we're used to. *grin* The play itself was dialogue-heavy, and there were times when I got lost, there was so much information to absorb-- a lot of discussion of language, linguistics, communication in all its forms, relationships, and a certain level of self-examination going on as well. Fortunately the plot and dialogue weren't too complex, and by the middle of the play I had a good grasp of what was going on. Once the rising action morphed into the climax, I was riveted, and so, I sensed, was a good portion of the audience. At the play's conclusion, I noticed the friend who was sitting next to me had tears in her eyes. Others stood up, and we started to discuss the play. To me, that's the mark of a good story/play/movie: that it prompts a discussion. While we did have criticisms to be sure, we all agreed it was a good play overall. Of course, being deaf, we talked a lot about educational experiences, how we developed language, how important it was to a deaf person's development, etc., etc. But don't get me wrong: this play was intended for a mixed audience, and I think and hope that hearing people will come away from it with a better understanding and appreciation for ASL and the need for communication in general.
It's a brand-new play, written by the guy who wrote "Sweet Nothing In My Ear"-- I met him, and he signs-- he was not fluent by any means, but he signed clear enough to be understood at more than a basic level, and he did his level best to follow the self-introductions and questions of people who went up to him afterwards. He seemed eager and open to our thoughts, which I appreciated. While it would be nice to have more opportunities and exposure for our deaf playwrights such as Gil Eastman, Willy Conley, and others, I must say it's great that we have a writer who is willing to write a play about the Deaf and about Deaf issues, and aims such fare at a broader audience.
It's also positive that the Pasadena Playhouse is willing to stage this production-- I'd love to see more and more theaters be open about having plays, offering interpreting, etc. I know in places like Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, there are often interpreted plays, but that's not necessarily the case everywhere. I hope the example the Pasadena Playhouse sets will inspire the people that go there and work there to take a further interest in other areas, not just theatre. For example, employment, community outreach, support for captioned films, etc., etc.
In addition to hosting "Open Window," they're also going to have a one-evening presentation with Marlee Matlin, titled "Conversations With... Marlee Matlin." While Marlee has achieved quite a bit, she also has a somewhat controversial reputation among the rank-and-file in the Deaf community. While I don't know her well enough to judge her one way or another, I know she has fought for captioning, among other issues, during her time in Hollywood, so I do respect her for that. I'm curious about this - I just might go...
posted by Mr. Sandman | 5:45 PM
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