Sign language the star in ‘The Little Mermaid’
Annapolis High students double up on parts to both sing and sign musical
When American Sign Language is part of a speech or performance, the ASL translator is usually supposed to blend into the background. But Annapolis High School is putting ASL front and center to put a new spin on a classic fish-tale.
In their production of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid,” each main character is played by two students, an ASL performer who drives the scene, and a vocal counterpart who blends into the background while speaking for the character.
Seniors Iris Reyes,17, and Chloe Gordon, 17, share the part of Ariel, with Reyes speaking and Lorenz Gordon doing ASL. Senior Megan Varnes, 17, and junior Lucy O’Brien, 17, share the ASL and voice parts of Ursula.
The students, along with director Erin Lorenz, talked about what singing and signing are like “Under the Sea.”
Why make ASL such a large part of the performance? Lorenz: We thought this would be an interesting way to tell Ariel’s story. In addition to creating a sense of culture and a language barrier, we thought it would be an interesting way to provide Ariel with an opportunity for more agency. Instead of just taking her voice away, she has a way of communicating, it’s just that the landfolk aren’t paying attention. Once they realize she does have something to say and they could understand her, it makes things really interesting.
All the main characters and members of the ensemble had to learn ASL (15-20 students). How did you pull that off? O’Brien: We started with doing a few workshops back in October, and from there it kind of built. We worked as an ensemble to learn the basics of sign language, male versus female signs, sign language in numbers and whatnot. From there, we built and expanded to work in smaller groups with our counterpart.
Varnes: The cool thing about this is, there’s a lot of chemistry that has to be taken into account. The whole point of it is that the ASL person leads the conversation and the vocal person follows behind. We had to make sure we were working with each other to make sure we were on the rightreally enjoyed the experience of working with another person. I think it allows both of us to put our interpretation of the characters together to create an ultra persona. I have my idea of how Ariel acts but with Iris’ added voice and interpretation of how Ariel should sound, it adds a whole layer of depth to the character.
ASL also really brought out the relationship between Ariel and Eric on land. Not that I don’t have my voice, but my method of communicating is different than Eric’s. I use ASL in a way that portrays I do want to talk to him. Through the show, he recognizes that more and more. Rather than Eric thinking, ‘Oh this girl is mute, she doesn’t have a voice,’ he recognizes that she’s trying to talk to him. In parts of the show, he learns some of the signs that Ariel tries to teach him. It sort of strengthens our connection and brings a new perspective to how Arieland Eric interact.
Reyes: It’s really cool how the ASL and the vocals work together. It’s really interesting to see when you’re not onstage. It works really well and when it’s put all together it’s a big wow factor. ssanfelice@capgaznews.com
In their production of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid,” each main character is played by two students, an ASL performer who drives the scene, and a vocal counterpart who blends into the background while speaking for the character.
Seniors Iris Reyes,17, and Chloe Gordon, 17, share the part of Ariel, with Reyes speaking and Lorenz Gordon doing ASL. Senior Megan Varnes, 17, and junior Lucy O’Brien, 17, share the ASL and voice parts of Ursula.
The students, along with director Erin Lorenz, talked about what singing and signing are like “Under the Sea.”
Why make ASL such a large part of the performance? Lorenz: We thought this would be an interesting way to tell Ariel’s story. In addition to creating a sense of culture and a language barrier, we thought it would be an interesting way to provide Ariel with an opportunity for more agency. Instead of just taking her voice away, she has a way of communicating, it’s just that the landfolk aren’t paying attention. Once they realize she does have something to say and they could understand her, it makes things really interesting.
All the main characters and members of the ensemble had to learn ASL (15-20 students). How did you pull that off? O’Brien: We started with doing a few workshops back in October, and from there it kind of built. We worked as an ensemble to learn the basics of sign language, male versus female signs, sign language in numbers and whatnot. From there, we built and expanded to work in smaller groups with our counterpart.
Varnes: The cool thing about this is, there’s a lot of chemistry that has to be taken into account. The whole point of it is that the ASL person leads the conversation and the vocal person follows behind. We had to make sure we were working with each other to make sure we were on the rightreally enjoyed the experience of working with another person. I think it allows both of us to put our interpretation of the characters together to create an ultra persona. I have my idea of how Ariel acts but with Iris’ added voice and interpretation of how Ariel should sound, it adds a whole layer of depth to the character.
ASL also really brought out the relationship between Ariel and Eric on land. Not that I don’t have my voice, but my method of communicating is different than Eric’s. I use ASL in a way that portrays I do want to talk to him. Through the show, he recognizes that more and more. Rather than Eric thinking, ‘Oh this girl is mute, she doesn’t have a voice,’ he recognizes that she’s trying to talk to him. In parts of the show, he learns some of the signs that Ariel tries to teach him. It sort of strengthens our connection and brings a new perspective to how Arieland Eric interact.
Reyes: It’s really cool how the ASL and the vocals work together. It’s really interesting to see when you’re not onstage. It works really well and when it’s put all together it’s a big wow factor. ssanfelice@capgaznews.com
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