Vignettes of the Deaf Character and Other Plays

Broken Spokes: A Drama in Seven Scenes

86 Broken Spokes A Drama in Seven Scenes To my “brother” Jim Conley, and to all those who have lost brothers. Playwright’s Note. I have always been fascinated by relationships between brothers and have often wondered what it would be like to have one, especially an older deaf brother. My ideal big brother—who, of course, could do no wrong—would put his arms protectively around me and walk down the streets of life showing me the ways of the world. This compelled me to write a slice-oflife piece about two brothers: one who is mentally entrapped by the current problems in his life and the other who is far from being the ideal big brother. Ever since I began working in the theater, I have felt that deaf people need to see fully signed, realistic plays with deaf characters —characters who could be drawn from their own lives, with whom they could empathize just as hearing audiences would with hearing characters. It is great that the theater has become more accessible to deaf audiences by way of interpreters, experiments with sign language as an abstract art form, plays that have a sprinkling of signs in them, and signed skits, poetry, and songs. But, has anyone really thought about how much more strongly a deaf audience can connect with real-life characters on stage? This is why I wrote Broken Spokes.1 Cast of Characters WESTON: Deaf, articulate in American Sign Language; doesn’t use his voice. Winner, 1990 American Deaf Drama Award, Callier Theatre of the Deaf Winning Entry, 1997 NeWorks Festival, Boston Center for the Arts 1. Adapted from the playbill of New York Deaf Theatre’s production of Broken Spokes in its one-act form, December 5, 1989. Broken Spokes 87 JACKSON: Weston’s older and bigger hard of hearing brother; signs and voices everything. His speech should be fairly intelligible. REBECCA: Weston’s Deaf fiancée; articulate in American Sign Language; doesn’t use her voice. Ideally, all of the actors should be adept in the art of SignMime2 or be willing to achieve a near-native quality from a Deaf consultant skilled in this art form. The actors playing JACKSON and REBECCA should create a swirl of movement during scene transitions, not only to move props and do tableaux but also to represent the state of WESTON’s mind. In situations where a hearing audience is expected, vocal translations should be provided from offstage. The Setting Time: The present. Place: Weston’s mind. His memories go back and forth between the past and the present at two locations: an imaginary graveyard where his parents are buried and his parents’ home. There should be a set piece in the home that doubles as a grave site; examples would be several throw rugs or an ottoman. Weston should easily cross between the past and the present to the point that the audience is never sure if he is at an actual graveyard . The set can be simple and realistic with touches of surrealistic elements. Special Technical Needs • Haunting percussion sounds should be used throughout the play for transitions and for underscoring. The sounds may be 2. Sign-Mime, or Visual Vernacular as it is sometimes known, is a dying ASL storytelling form in the Deaf community. The storyteller employs cinematic camera techniques (wide shot, medium shot, close-up, bird’s-eye-view, slow motion, freeze frame, etc.) by use of ASL and body movement. 88 Broken Spokes live with the percussionist in a visually unobtrusive location. Care should be taken in the choice of percussion instrument to ensure that the sounds reach the hearts of deaf people and yet not be obnoxious to the hearing. • When the phone rings or the doorbell goes off, a light flashes to inform the deaf characters that someone is trying to reach them. • An old-fashioned one-speed bicycle with the spokes broken on one of the wheels. • A flesh-colored elastic pressure garment, like a burn mask used to treat facial burns. • a pair of ear-level hearing aids • a TDD (Telecommunication Device for the Deaf) Scene 1 [A solitary light comes up on WESTON, who is standing between two imaginary graves. He has an old bicycle wheel by his side with some broken spokes. On another level, standing apart in silhouette, are JACKSON and REBECCA frozen in a tableau that will be part of an...