Media mention: ASL faculty quoted in Red & Black
Faculty in the College’s American Sign Language (ASL) program were quoted in a recent Red & Black article highlighting students interpreting shows for a UGA Theatre production of “Murder on the Orient Express.”
Debra Teesdale, a senior lecturer in the Department of Communication Sciences and Special Education and the interpreter coordinator for the show, translated the script and worked with four student interpreters as they practiced their parts. Teesdale said she incorporated aspects of Deaf culture into the translation.
“It isn’t about just translating the lines directly to the deaf audience,” said Teesdale. “There definitely is the characterization that has to be done in order for it to match the emotion of the actor.”
Laurie Achin, a lecturer in the Department of Communication Sciences and Special Education and coordinator of the ASL program, said interpreters at the show provided access to deaf members in the audience.
“They’re just providing the spoken access for the deaf audience, so they’re able to enjoy the show just as much as the hearing audience is able to enjoy it by listening,” Achin said. “So when I’m sitting there and I’m watching a show with an interpreter I feel…around 80% equal to the hearing audience.”