Gestural Economies and Production Pedagogies in Deaf West’s Spring Awakening

In Deaf West’s Broadway revival of Spring Awakening, embodied gestures expose and challenge representational and infrastructural norms that drive commercial musical theatre. The company’s blend of ASL and spoken text extends the overarching message about failed sociocultural ideals to the realm of deaf culture. Micro-practical actions and interactions function tacitly to denaturalize audio-centric standards that guide theatrical reception, internal cueing, and technical production.