North Central Minneapolis Theatre presents Importance of Being Earnest with ASL interpreting|North Central Minneapolis Theatre presents Importance of Being Earnest with ASL interpreting

NCU Theatre presents Importance of Being Earnest with full ASL shadow cast

The North Central University (NCU) Theatre spring production of Oscar Wilde’s classic comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest, features a double-size cast, as each actor has a “shadow” character portraying the part concurrently in American Sign Language (ASL). The show, which opens March 24, is the first of its kind for the university.

North Central offers majors in ASL interpreting and it was students in that program who approached Assistant Professor Wayne Matthews, the show’s director, about the idea of a fully interpreted show. Matthews quickly embraced the suggestion and decided to pursue an ASL-acted show this season. “I am very interested in partnering with other communities and opening accessibility,” Matthews said. “Theatre is a great place to bring understanding between cultures and people.”

Capturing the nuance of theatre and interpretation

Associate Professor Bill Ross of the ASL Interpreting Department serves as the ASL coach for the production. Matthews pointed out the importance of Ross’s participation. “Bill has been there to help coach the actors because interpreting is not the same as translating something,” Matthews noted. “There are nuances that wouldn’t be understood by the Deaf community if done a certain way.”

North Central Minneapolis Theatre presents Importance of Being Earnest with ASL interpreting

And Wilde’s farcical look at Victorian society is laced with nuance! Both the speaking actors and ASL actors have had to wrestle with Wilde’s subtlety and it has been a learning experience for all the actors to bring Wilde’s meaning—and humor—to life.

Members of the deaf community who attend the play will experience theatre quite differently than with a normal show with one ASL interpreter off to the side. The play is fully blocked and staged so that the whole audience can see both the speaking actor and his/her ASL counterpart wherever they are on the stage.

Come to the show!

The Importance of Being Earnest runs March 24–26 and March 30–April 2 on the North Central University campus in Minneapolis, in the Trask Word & Worship Center. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday performances are at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday performances at 3 p.m. Tickets are $12 for adults / $10 for Children 10 & under, and Seniors.

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