Silence speaks through Little Theatre
Traveling troupe Little Theatre of
the Deaf returned to Oregon for
a performance of sign language
poetry at the Hult Center
Aaron Shakra
Pulse Reporter
Language speaks louder than
words, as illustrated by the Little
Theatre of the Deaf on Sunday at
the Hult Center. The Little The
atre is part of the larger National
Theatre of the Deaf, a Tony-award
winning troupe now in its 35th
year of existence.
University graduate student Mi
Jeong Kim, coordinator for the Na
tional Theatre of the Deaf, said she
brought the group to Eugene partly
because of her personal interest in
deaf culture.
“They’ve been on tour in
every state in the United States,
but it has been a long time since
they were last in Oregon,” Kim
said. “Deaf people have had lit
tle opportunity to see the Deaf
Theatre group.”
Sunday’s show combined sign lan
guage with spoken word. It began
with actors teaching the audience
shapes and names, which was fol
lowed by four short stories, including
a rendition of Shel Silverstein’s “The
Giving Tree.” Actors served as both
props and people during the story,
and afterward took requests from the
audience, changing into things such
as parts of a roller coaster and ro
bots. Following the performance, the
actors led an interactive workshop
with audience members.
Jim Holden, one of the four ac
tors in the group, and the only
one with hearing ability, said pri
I
or to joining the Little Theatre,
he didn’t even know deaf culture
existed.
“It’s like a window to look through
another culture,” Holden said. “We’re
supposed to be entertaining, but
we’re showing culture as well.”
Actress A. Vic Crosta said the
world of the deaf is virtually un
known to hearing children, and
the show gives them access to
that world.
“The most common question kids
ask is if you talk,” said Crosta. “Every
thing is new to them about us.”
University sign language instruc
tor Johanna Larson-Muhr said the
group takes into account the deaf
view of things, and there is an as
pect of deaf culture that hearing
people can’t hear or see.
“Unless you know the language,
you can’t understand the take on
the world,” Larson-Muhr said. “It’s
difficult to put into words what the
deaf world would be like.”
Larson-Muhr said the fact that
the actors are using sign language
makes the overall effect more poet
ic and theatrical.
“This can be considered poet
ry,” she said. “In American Sign
Language poetry, the rhyme is us
ing the same hand shape and how
they utilize space — little move
ments, location and palm motion.
You cannot have sign language
without facial expression and
body movement.”
Today, the group will travel to
Western Oregon University, where
they will perform a lecture and
demo workshop, followed by a visit
to the Oregon School for the Deaf
later in the day for a creative dra
ma workshop.
“Celebrating Deaf Culture,” a ral
ly and informational fair, will take
place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thurs
day at the EMU Amphitheater.
Contact the Pulse reporter
at aaronshakra@dailyemerald.com.
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