Written by Assistant Director, Marie Helser
CONTEXT OF ROMEO & JULIET
Welcome to fair Verona, where we lay our scene. This beautiful Italian city is home to Montagues, Capulets, and the ancient feud that divides them. Romeo and Juliet, despite being the only children of each respective family, fall in love. Their friendship, wit, and chemistry is written in the stars. This story follows their journey of discovering their love in such a dangerous place.
THEMES OF ROMEO & JULIET: FATE
An outstanding theme of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is fate- how two lovers are destined to be together against all forces that push them apart. Within the world of the play, director John Langs has built an ensemble of actors who represent both their respective characters and “Fate” as a collective. They do this by floating through scenes as narrators, voicing for actors who use American Sign Language, and moving the set’s large gates. The large, golden gates are integral to the world of Verona. Both literally and metaphorically they represent the barriers between the Montagues and Capulets, predominantly between Romeo and Juliet. The Fates fluidly place these fences in various different configurations to take us through the story. In APT’s production, characters Romeo and Friar Lawrence are deaf and use American Sign Language (ASL). Chorus members representing Fate will often voice the ASL lines. Working as the voices of those who sign on stage, the audience enjoys this classic tale from a different perspective.
THEMES OF ROMEO & JULIET: COMMUNICATION
In Romeo and Juliet, playwright William Shakespeare provides many conflicts in his language that divide Verona: Montagues and Capulets, love and hate, light and dark, grace and rude will, youth and authority. In this adaptation with Deaf characters, another layer of contradiction is spoken versus signed language. To make sign language’s role in this production accessible to hearing audiences, chorus members will often voice for dialogue delivered in ASL. From a rehearsal standpoint, this is no simple feat. To assist in matching the delivery of both languages simultaneously, the DASL team (Directors of ASL) worked to find sign anchors and visual cues in the language. An example of a sign anchor can be found in Romeo’s line in Act 1, Scene 1; “Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fear…” which is voiced by chorus member Sun Mee Chomet. To ensure that she knows when Joshua starts signing this line, Sun Mee has memorized Joshua’s first few signs that she uses as her cue to begin voicing the line.
DEAF CULTURE IN ROMEO & JULIET:
APT’s Romeo & Juliet (adapted by Joshua Castille and John Langs) is a collaboration with Deaf artists that uses both spoken English and American Sign Language. APT made great efforts to welcome actors Joshua Castille (Romeo), Alex Olson (Romeo/Friar understudy), and Robert Schleifer (Friar Lawrence) into a joyful and accessible environment. American Sign Language (ASL) and Deaf culture are important factors to both the production of Romeo & Juliet and the rehearsal process. In performance, many characters communicate using American Sign Language and exhibit deaf-friendly behaviors such as waving/stomping to get attention, lip reading, and using name signs. It is important to state that while this production includes deaf representation, deafness is a spectrum. The communication modes used by deaf characters in the show are not used universally. Every deaf/hard of hearing person has their own journey, preferences, and identities. If you are interested in learning more about Deaf culture or American Sign Language, seek out deaf/hard of hearing individuals and certified teachers.
IN THE REHEARSAL ROOM ON ROMEO & JULIET:
To keep our rehearsal process accessible to everyone in the room, we have 2-3 professional ASL interpreters at all times. Full time interpreters Caden Marshall and Havalah Teaman have backgrounds in theater which help directions to be relayed with the same nuance and passion as they are given. Besides the interpreters and deaf actors, there are many people in the rehearsal room with experience in ASL or who are currently learning. This environment is special and allows space for everyone to fall forward, make mistakes, and learn from them.
Left: Director John Langs working with actors Nathan Barlow and Joshua Castille. Photo by Hannah Jo Anderson.