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The actor: 'Big River' succeeds in sign and song
Garrett Matthew Zurcher, who portrays Huck Finn, says signing can help hearing members of the audience better understand the production.
By JOHN FLEMING
Published March 27, 2005
Garrett Matthew Zurcher has been Huck Finn in Big River since February, having understudied the role while playing Simon (a boy in Tom Sawyer's gang) and one of the Slave Traders. Born profoundly deaf, Zurcher, 25, grew up in Wisconsin and is a 2003 graduate of Marquette University, where he majored in theater. Here's an edited transcript of an interview with him via e-mail.
I'm looking forward to seeing Big River, but I'm having a hard time imagining what it's like. Singing, signing, speaking . . . a musical with deaf performers. What do you tell people to help them understand it?
Big River is a multilingual musical that seamlessly combines voices both spoken and sung with sign language to create a theatrical experience that both hearing and deaf audiences can enjoy together. It's visual music with the sign language choreographed to give deaf people a representation of the music. It was created to allow deaf people equal access to musical theater, but with the ability for hearing people to enjoy as well.
Do you think the approach Deaf West Theatre has devised for Big River and, previously, Oliver!, would work for any musical? Or is it fairly show-specific? Director Jeff Calhoun thought Sondheim musicals might be hard to adapt since the language is so quirky and perhaps not easily translated to ASL.
I think it can work with any show. However, it is true that some productions might be much more difficult to translate into sign language such as the ones by Stephen Sondheim, due to the speed and complexity of his music, as well as the multitude of lyrical puns. Yet, I think with a bit of perseverance and work, it could be done. A particular show I think would be great for this format is Man of La Mancha with Cervantes as the narrator and voice of Don Quixote. This would be a great new show for Deaf West to do, except for the fact that it was recently revived on Broadway, limiting its chances of going there any time soon.
In a review, I read an interesting remark that the deaf-hearing divide in the production rather artfully mirrored the racial divide in Huck Finn. Does that make any sense to you?
Yes. Big River was chosen so that it could have a strong deaf protagonist who had to struggle with two different cultures (black and white), enabling it to mirror and complement the struggle between the deaf and hearing worlds. This is most strongly evident in the song, Worlds Apart, where Huck and Jim, deaf and hearing, white and black, sing about being friends in different worlds.
As a deaf performer, what do you feel during the musical numbers?
I can hear some of the music, albeit very little. It's enough, though, to give me an idea of the tempo and quality of the music and, since I have memorized the lyrics, I can match the words I know to the sounds I hear. Then, while I'm singing (signing) the songs, I sing to myself in my head to enable me to "feel" the music better and express it more eloquently. I'm certain that what I hear in my head sounds nothing like what it really does, but if it matches well enough, it works. Essentially, music is really all about the emotion that is being expressed and if I'm able to find the right motivation, I'm able to hit the right "note," so to speak. However, I have to clarify that this is my method since there are other deaf actors in the show who have never heard the music. They required a great deal of practice to get the rhythm in their bodies, but now they get it perfect every night. I don't know exactly how they do it, but it is beautiful.
I have seen plays and choral concerts that have someone doing ASL off to the side. Some theaters have a night set aside during a run when signing interpreters are provided. How helpful do you think this is in getting deaf people to shows?
It's not very helpful because if we're going to pay for tickets, we want to see the performers themselves, not the interpreters doing their own version of the performers. Ideally, theater should be captioned like television so we can watch the performers themselves and know what they're saying without having to constantly watch the sides of the stage and miss everything that's happening in the middle.
The signing is often very attractive in its own right, almost like a dance, and I sometimes wonder if that is an aid or a hindrance to understanding.
In this show, though there is little of what you would normally call dancing, there is a great deal of choreography where the signs are actually like a dance, artfully and precisely choreographed to present visually the songs and the lyrics that are being sung. It's definitely an aid in this production.
How different is the signing for dialogue and for music?
The signs for the songs are designed to match the music that the song is set to so that we can express what it sounds like through the signs. If the music is fast, the signs are fast, and vice versa. Also, the emotional state of the signs become heightened in song, just like words do for the singer. It's all about emotion.
Having been born deaf, does that mean you think in ASL or in English?
My mother was determined to teach me to read and write and speak at an early age, and I was somehow hooked. Because of this, as a child, I always had my nose in a book and believe that is why my English skills are so good (I have an English degree in creative writing in addition to my theater degree). As a result of this, I think and speak English, which is my first language, but I do also speak ASL.
What's the job market like for you?
There's not many roles out there for deaf actors, but it is improving, especially with the success of this show and the increased visibility and recognition of deaf actors. There are never sufficient opportunities for any actor, deaf or hearing, unless you're a major A-list star in Hollywood, but if you love the craft and the art, you pursue it with your heart and find a way to be successful. You just have to keep trying and never give up.
Has Big River opened up employment opportunities?
Yes, I have had several offers from people and organizations who would like to work with me from the exposure I am getting with this show, including with the Australian Theater of the Deaf.
Whatever happened to the National Theatre of the Deaf? Last time I saw anything by them was Peer Gynt on tour but that was some years ago.
They're still up and running. Some friends of mine are touring with them in Alice in Wonderland under the banner of the Little Theater of the Deaf.
What are the sort of roles you aspire to?
My two dream roles are Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Toby in Sweeney Todd.
[Last modified March 24, 2005, 09:03:04]
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