General Guidelines

There are three types of interpreters for performing arts spaces. Most of the time, platform interpreting is used. But there are several other types of interpreting. Here are several pages from Julie Gebron’s Sign the Speech.

Properly Prepare Your Interpreters

If you don’t, the interpreters may find themselves the subject of an analysis in a local publication.

Here are general guidelines written by me for stage-plays and concerts.

Guidelines for Stage-Plays and Musicals

• Hire a CDI along with several hearing interpreters
• Provide a copy of the play-text/script of the show or musical as it is being performed
• Provide a copy of the cast recording
• If you have access to a Pro-shot recording where the entire show is recorded from different angles, provide a copy of this to the interpreting team
• Introduce the interpreters to the director before to see if any stylistic adjustments are being made for that particular staging

Guidelines for Concerts

• Provide the set-list
• Introduce the interpreter(s) to the artist(s) and ask if any abnormal stage-settings will be used, and when
• Please know that for persons with Usher syndrome, they will be night-blind. Therefore, the interpreters should be made aware of when lights will be killed.

Guidelines for Interpreting Shakespeare

It’s a myth that Shakespeare is old-English; Shakespeare is early modern English, according to nineteenth-century British literature scholar Professor Guenevere L. Nelson, whose section of ENG 441 I took in Fall 2011, had to take an INC in, and that was the only grade that was actually marked as a C- on March 1, 2012.

However, when interpreting Shakespeare into signs, it’s still a good idea to consult multiple sources, as well as native signers. Certain plays are available directly on video-text in American Sign Language, for example, Twelfth Night. There are multiple video-recordings of Molière on French national media.