| Shadow Interpreters | Outreach | Audience | Support |
InterAct Children's Theatre for the Deaf is a not-for-profit children's theatre company that performs all shows simultaneously in spoken English and American Sign Language. We perform a Spring show and a Fall show annually.
We strive to further expose deaf and hard of hearing children to theatre and literature by bringing children's stories to life on stage; expose hearing children to the existence of American Sign Language (ASL) through its use in the arts; and bridge the hearing and deaf communities.
InterAct is the only theatre in this region that provides fully accessible children's theatre to East Tennessee's deaf community. Furthermore, we provide the opportunity for actors who are deaf and hard of hearing to become involved in the Knoxville theatre scene, knowing that language, communication, and access will not become issues. Hearing audiences enjoy our shows as well and are exposed to not only what may be a new language to them, but also to an entirely new and uniquely visual theatre experience through the use of American Sign Language on stage.
InterAct uses shadow sign language interpreters on stage who follow the actors -- truly as if their shadows -- and interpret into ASL for deaf audiences and/or voice into English for hearing audiences. They, in other words, are the signs for the hearing actors and the voices for the deaf actors.
The shadow interpreters are hardly the distraction the uninitiated would think they would be. In our shows, they become characters just as any of the scripted characters are. They interact with the actors in unique and creative ways that further enhance character dynamics.
This shadow interpreter became a character in his own right,
the lovable yet misguided Gnome from Hansel & Gretel at Ijams Nature Center {photo credit: James Okapal}
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InterAct believes in the importance of outreach to the deaf children for whom we perform. When mounting an adaptation of a piece of children's literature to the stage, we typically provide outreach packets to the children at the Tennessee School for the Deaf (TSD) so that they are best prepared for the production and know the story in advance. We know that merely including shadow interpreters in a production is sometimes not enough; the connection with the children before the show is often vital. Outreach packets for shows that are based on stage adaptations of a piece of children's literature can also serve to make children who are deaf interested in the story itself, which can lead to them reading the book on which the play is based.
Furthermore, in the past we have provided children's acting workshops for TSD's annual Family Learning Weekend.
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All of InterAct's productions are mounted with a deaf audience in mind. Of paramount importance to us while creating a show is what our show must look like for someone whose language is uniquely structured to fit the needs of the eyes, as American Sign Language is.
Our target audiences are the children at the Tennessee School for the Deaf and children who are deaf and hard of hearing and mainstreamed at area public schools, such as South Knox Elementary. We have also performed for hearing children at local elementary schools. We have also worked in conjunction with The Arts Council of Greater Knoxville, having participated in their Ticket Subsidy program. Without this program, many children at area schools would not be able to attend exhibits and theatrical productions.
We have also performed for the Very Special Arts here in East Tennessee and for East Tennessee's beloved Dogwood Arts Festival.
Our public performances have been held at Ijams Nature Center, located next to TSD; the historic Palace Theater in downtown Maryville, Tennessee; and the Knoxville Museum of Art.
Support
We are grateful to the Tennessee Arts Commission and the East Tennessee Foundation for their support of our work in the past via the Arts Build Communities grant. We also received generous support for our first production from St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Maryville, Tennessee, to whom we remain very grateful. We have also received funding from Target; InterAct thanks Target for its support of our work.
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