TRAILER: The Trumpet of The Swan

Can a brass horn be the key to love? Louis, a trumpeter swan, is different from his sibling cygnets, for he was born without a voice. But with great diligence, patience, and resilience, Louis learns to play the trumpet and communicate his thoughts and feelings through the power of music. E. B. White’s award-winning story "The Trumpet of the Swan" is inspired by the natural world and our own very human need to connect and to communicate. This innovative, all-ages production features both spoken language and American Sign Language. It runs from October 23 - November 22, 2015 at Wheelock Family Theatre in Boston's Fenway neighborhood.

Wheelock Family Theatre is a professional theatre company that creates intergenerational and multicultural productions that provide a shared experience for the whole family.  Our productions celebrate the diverse range of families found in the world today and seek to unite them in the shared experience of live theatre. Learn more at wheelockfamilytheatre.org.

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A YOUNG CODA ACTOR SHARES HER PERSPECTIVE

by Ingrid Jensen O’Dell

Ingrid Jensen O’Dell is an 8th grade student at Harborlight-Stoneridge Montessori School.  In The Taste of Sunrise Ingrid plays a student at the school Tuc attends. She is the daughter of WFT Inclusion Coordinator Kristin Johnson

Being in a unique show like The Taste of Sunrise is certainly an honor. As a Child of Deaf Adults, a CODA, I can relate to this play and some of its characters. One hearing character in the play, Maizie, is a CODA. In one scene she says that she can hear and speak, but she is Deaf inside. Being Deaf inside to me is having Deaf memories, having Deaf characteristics, or placing myself into the category of Deaf people. That is something that I can relate to very much.

My time is not spent entirely with Deaf people, or with hearing; half of my time I am with hearing people, and the other half I am with Deaf people. I am comfortable with that, because I can fit into hearing and Deaf culture as a whole. Maizie does not like being part of two worlds. She would rather be in one world, the hearing world. To me, it is not a scenario of two worlds; it is simply one world, with Deaf and hearing together. I feel that I am not part Deaf and part hearing, but a swirl of both. I cannot say that I would rather be Deaf or be hearing, because I am already both, and I will forever be both. In the past, when I have told someone that my parents are Deaf, that person would usually act surprised, but in a nice way. There have been a few people that have felt sorry for me, and would apologize for my having Deaf parents. When I heard what those few people said, I felt, in a way, insulted. Deaf parents are not inadequate, not in the slightest. If you discredit Deaf culture, you are doing so to me, and other CODAs.

Deaf and hearing people are basically the same, but there are some differences. Deaf people notice more things visually, because they cannot hear what is going on around them. Their loss of hearing enhances their other senses, like sight. Hearing people can see and hear, so these senses are about equal. I have characteristics of a Deaf person, for instance, the one I just described. When I am watching a movie in a theatre, I often feel lost and confused, because there are no captions. To get people’s attention, I tend to tap them on the shoulder or try to get their attention without speaking. I read quickly because I am used to reading the captions on television or movies, which shift very quickly.

There are a lot of bonuses with having Deaf parents. I can play loud music; they won’t complain. I can sing as loudly and as obnoxiously as I want; they won’t complain. I can pretend to be Deaf. I can convince people that I am. I can talk on the phone endlessly; they won’t get annoyed. I can listen to music on the radio in the car, and they won’t be bothered. Occasionally, my mother will put on her hearing aid and listen to the music as well. When I’m not sure if my mother has her hearing aid on, I shout or talk loudly to see if she will react. It often surprises me when she does react, because I’m not used to it.

There are some things that aren’t great, like when the batteries in the smoke alarm are low and I have to hunt all over the house to stop the beeping. When I’m in the car and the turn signal is on and beeping when it shouldn’t be, I tell my parent that it is on. When my dog is barking, or the microwave is making weird sounds, I tell my parents. I am not told to tell them when these things happen, but I tell them because it bothers me, or I feel that I need to inform them.

All in all, Deaf people and hearing people are the same, but different. I am a CODA, and I am proud to be one. There is nothing wrong with being Deaf, having Deaf parents, or even just knowing Deaf people. If I ever have children, I will keep them, unlike Maizie, and I will teach them sign language. I will never be able to ignore my Deaf self, not that I will ever want to. I am Deaf and hearing, and very proud to be both.

An Interview with Elbert Joseph (Tuc)

As a Deaf, Caribbean-American pre-teen passionately devoted to theatre and intent on making it his career, Elbert Joseph found his way to Wheelock Family Theatre.  He appeared with the cast of Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp when he was twelve years old.  He also became the Theatre’s first Deaf ASL interpreter.  He trained as a member of WFT’s PAH! Deaf Youth Theatre and went on to appear on the Wheelock main stage in numerous productions, including in the lead role in E.B. White’s The Trumpet of the Swan, for which he earned an IRNE nomination (a Boston-based theatre award).

 

While a professor at Regis College, WFT Producer Wendy Lement cast Elbert in the lead role of Tuc in her production of Mother Hicks.  Coincidentally, just at this time Suzan Zeder’s prequel to Mother Hicks—The Taste of Sunrise—was released.  Zeder had written it in response to the flood of requests she received from people around the world who wanted to know more about the background of the three main characters.  Elbert approached WFT in hopes that the Theatre would produce it.  However, given the number of Deaf characters, and the associated cost of providing interpreter support for them, WFT was unable to produce the show at that time.  In the summer of 2013, Zeder’s long-awaited sequel to Mother Hicks, The Edge of Peace, was published, creating a trilogy of plays revolving around the character of Tuc.

 

Elbert is finally realizing his dream to revisit the character of Tuc, not only in WFT’s production of The Taste of Sunrise, but also—almost simultaneously—in the productions of Mother Hicks (at Emerson Stage) and The Edge of Peace (at Central Square Theater).

And, because of the 14 years that have passed since he first took on the role of Tuc, he is now closer to the actual age of the character.

When did you get interested in acting?

I started acting when I was twelve years old. My school always took trips to see Wheelock productions, even when I was younger. When I saw Peter Pan I knew something inside of me said “You’re an actor, you want to be on stage, to make changes in the future of theatre worlds -- diversity and inclusion! “

The teacher asked us to pick an actor from the play and be a pen pal. I didn't know who I wanted, but I thought the actor who played Smee was excellent.  I picked him, but it turned out to be “she”:  it was Jane Staab, founder, casting director, and actress at Wheelock Family Theatre.  She and I would write letters every week, until one day I told her I wanted to be on stage. She said the current production was already cast, but if I was planning to see any production soon to let her know.  I told her that the school and I were planning to see Tuck Everlasting.  I met her after show. She was in her costume.  She told me, “Why don't you come and audition for The Wizard of Oz?” I did, and got cast. At the audition, I had no idea about acting or how to audition. You know what is funny? Jane and I have same birthday!  After that, there is a magic........

What is your history with Suzan Zeder’s work?

I had no clue of who she was until I did the play Mother Hicks at Regis with Wendy (Lement), who directed that show.  It was a great experience because I fell in love with the play itself, involving a Deaf character that leads and tell a story.  I remember I wrote an email to Suzan Zeder, and told her how much I loved this play and hoped to meet her in person. I never thought it would be happening, that I would be meeting her....  It’s almost like she is this person I have been waiting to meet ever since I was young.  I am curious what she will think of our production and of me as Tuc.

What is it like playing the same character in three different plays over the course of a month?

All three plays are remarkably moving. They are such beautiful plays!  Every time I read all three plays, I cry and cry again. I see Tuc’s journey as transformative. I see myself like Tuc on certain levels – in terms of which community he really fit in, and how he fits in as a man differently than when he was a young man.  I really hope the audience will see through Tuc’s eyes and mind, feel his pain, his love, and his humanity.

What is your advice to a Deaf person who wants to become an actor?

Work hard.  Don't give up. Work with many Deaf and hearing actors and directors.  Learn their craft. Take some training. I encourage Deaf artists to write more plays about Deaf experience in the hearing world, families, and community; more Deaf artists to become directors, designers, and acting teachers in hearing theatres; to create more awareness and more opportunities for themselves in theatre.

Interview with Kristin Johnson, co-director The Taste of Sunrise

KRISTIN JOHNSON TALKS ABOUT INCLUSION AND CO-DIRECTING THE TASTE OF SUNRISE WITH WFT PRODUCER WENDY LEMENT

 

Having been born Deaf to hearing parents, WFT Inclusion Coordinator Kristin Johnson has a special perspective on accommodating people with disabilities or additional needs.  As co-director of The Taste of Sunrise she also has a unique take on aspects of the drama that focus on the hearing child of Deaf adults (CODA)—her daughter, Ingrid, is a CODA. (See Ingrid’s reflections later in this study guide.)

 

What do you do as Inclusion Coordinator?

Are you familiar with AD -  Audio Description? People who have any kind of visual limitations or are blind are able to come and listen to what is happening on stage, which is narrated to them by an AD team - this may include a description of the set, what the characters are wearing, what they look like, what they are doing. They can hear that through a headset so it does not interfere with the spoken dialogue. AD typically describes what is happening during some kind of down time on stage, filling in all of the gaps; it doesn't, of course, include the dialogue itself.  So the AD team typically will have a script ready and they will just read live to the people who are wearing the headsets. AD and the ASL team are very similar in what they have to do. They have to prepare their work well in advance to provide the accessibility.

The open caption system is very similar. Open captioning has to be preprogrammed in a computer.  The script that the actors are using is put into the system. They have a laptop set up that this program runs on. And the open caption operator (typically a Wheelock College student) will listen to the characters for their lines, and they will hit a button that lines up the captioning that shows up on the sides of the stage. And so they will time it up nicely.  It is not a live captioning system. The operator who is there sure is live, but they have input all the information beforehand.

Now with the ASL interpretation that is a live sign language performance, something they have practiced long in advance. The AD system as well is a live person reading their script, something they have prepared beforehand. Those three things are what I’m involved in coordinating.

 

Is this unique to Wheelock Family Theatre?

Yes. The services that WFT provide have been ongoing for 34 years.  They are very loyal and very committed to providing accessible theatre. All of the services that are included are very visible to everyone who comes. They aren’t hidden at the back of the house or the side, so everyone can see the accessibility we are providing. For The Taste of Sunrise we actually have our captioning system right there in the center of the stage, not off to the side.  The interpreters will be on stage with the actors. It’s wonderful. And Wendy has been so supportive of our services. She’s very involved in the inclusivity we provide. It’s just what we have been talking about – this one world of inclusion, of deafness, blindness, everything. Some other directors, other theatres really like to keep things separate. Not Wheelock.

 

Have you directed or co-directed a play before?

I direct my own ASL team. I have been the director of our ASL performers. But I have never been a director for the whole cast. But it’s truly an honor to be able to work with Wendy.  She is someone who has been mentoring me. And she is my ears in this, and I am her eyes. So it’s such a perfect combination of the two of us.

 

What sort of things will you do as a co-director of this production?

The set we are using is a raked stage. And we have both been really involved in trying to figure out what we are doing for specific trap doors. We are adding real dirt, gravel. We are using real water. We are trying to do something with a little bit of fire. As well as lighting design -- whether we need certain moments to be warm, cool. I’m also involved in designing what the actual rake will look like. Right now we’ve decided on wooden planks. There is a Deaf artist named James Castle. He was an artist during the Depression. We’ve taken a lot of his moods, his textures that he used back then, and we’ve really incorporated them into the show. It fits very nicely.

Also, we have been influenced by how Deaf people used to react during audiological exams. You know there is an old instrument called a tuning fork. A Deaf person would sit there and an audiologist would ring it and put it all over their head. And if it is your first time experiencing something like that it’s very traumatic.  Of course it’s something these people had to go through over and over again, with always the same result. They’re still Deaf at the end of the appointment. But these kinds of things are something that I, as a co-director, bring to the table, this bit of perspective that someone who is not Deaf would not have.

 

Were your parents Deaf or hearing?

Both of my parents were hearing. Ninety percent of Deaf people have hearing parents. Within that group of Deaf people, 10 percent will have Deaf children, but 90 percent will have hearing children. My own daughter is one of the 90 percent of the CODAs that you will see. It’s a misunderstanding that a Deaf person will always have a Deaf child. And really it’s such a small amount. Ten percent.

How does this play speak to you?

I’ve been working with Amanda Collins, who plays Maizie.  I love and hate this character Maizie.  I love her because she does so much for Tuc. And Tuc, he comes from a very clueless home with very limited communication and very little social background, whereas Maizie has access. She has access to movie palaces, she has access to the hearing world – everything that’s spoken – and she also has access to her parents through sign language, whereas Tuc has nothing, except communicating with the birds, the wind, and the water.  And having those two characters together, where Maizie introduces Tuc to the world—I’m so grateful for that in her character. Tuc does try to prove to Maizie that two worlds are OK. But it’s a pretty big conflict. So yes, Maizie is a young girl, she’s sixteen, and she has the mind of a child. I do understand her desire to experience the world before she is tied down with a baby.

And you have Tuc’s father, who winds up passing in the show. And that is something I’ve also experienced, that grief of losing a parent. And Tuc is put into the Deaf School, a whole new experience for him, which is something I experienced as well. When I was four years old I was put into a residential program where I slept overnight. So I have a lot of ties to all of these characters. I can relate to almost all of them.