The SPIT Executive have appointed Janet Beech-McCoy as their next Chair. Janet, who is profoundly Deaf, is currently Access Officer for the Royal Shakespeare Company and has been a member of the SPIT Executive since last year.
Janet is one of two Executive members who are Deaf (John Wilson was a founder member of SPIT and still serves on the Executive) but she is the first Deaf Chair.
Caroline Bradley, SPIT Executive said: "This is a significant move forward for SPIT and for the future of sign language interpreted performances in this country. As Chair, Janet will strengthen SPIT's links with the Deaf community and lead it to even greater success in promoting access for Deaf people to mainstream theatre."
We wish Janet all the best in her new role.
In the next issue of SPIT News Janet writes about what being Chair of SPIT means to her and her hopes for SLIPs in the new Millennium.
Sarah Johnson has fulfilled the role of Chair during the past year and we would like to thank her for her hard work and commitment.
Have you seen a sign language interpreted performance recently that you really enjoyed or really hated, that was interesting or just a little different? If so we'd love to hear from you about it.
Please write to us with your personal reviews or stories about your experiences of going to SLIPs.
If you are an arts organisation which offers or plans to offer SLIPs, don't reinvent the wheel, join us and take advantage of the benefits and services that we offer to help and support you. Call us now for details of what being a member of SPIT can do for you!
If you want to offer a quality service to Deaf people you can't afford not to join.
The listings which accompany this newsletter only include SLIPs by members of SPIT. If you don't see a particular theatre or company listed, that you know offers SLIPs, it is probably because they aren't a member of SPIT.
As SPIT is a non profit-making charity we need venues & companies to join our membership in order to function. The listings service is only one of the invaluable services which SPIT offers. So if you want your local venue or company's SLIPs to be included in the SPIT listing please encourage them to join us!
And SPIT Members, please remember we can only include your details if you send them to us in time for publication. We remind you so you don't forget!
NB We are sorry that we had to bring the listing deadline for the current issue forward and apologise to any organisations that were unable to meet this earlier deadline.
"You have organised a SLIP but your interpreter calls you on the morning of the performance to say that they are ill and cannot interpret the performance. What do you do?"
Paul Reeve (English Touring Opera) replies:
This is a potential problem for everyone , but it became a reality for me a couple of years ago when, to my horror, I discovered that interpreters can get ill like the rest of us! There is no ideal solution and any course of action is going to be a compromise.
You could try and find a "substitute" interpreter but even if you succeed, I don't think it's the perfect lifeline that it might at first appear to be. If you'd booked to see Sir Ian McKellen in a play and arrived to discover that, due to illness, his part was to be played by someone who didn't know the production at all and only saw the script for the first time three hours ago, you'd be really disappointed. You'd probably want to cancel your ticket and book for another night when you knew Sir Ian would be performing. In many ways the sign interpreter scenario is similar, and that is why I think cancelling the SLIP is the best action to take.
The majority of theatre interpreters are experienced specialists in the field, who prepare extensively for a show by studying the script, seeing the production and sometimes attending rehearsals. Anyone coming in at the last minute will be interpreting "on the hoof". At best if it's a well known play you might be lucky enough to find an interpreter who'd worked on it before but even then they won't have any knowledge of this specific production. Inevitably, the quality of the interpretation will suffer and therefore so will Deaf people's enjoyment of the show.
Keeping Deaf patrons informed is the priority. Contact your Deaf bookers to let them know the situation, offer refunds and if possible try to reschedule the SLIP for another night. Obviously it helps if your box office gets a contact number for Deaf patrons so you can get in touch with them as soon as possible. Put up notices in the foyers and ideally arrange for someone who signs to be present at the theatre to communicate with any Deaf people who arrive. Of course, you should offer your Deaf audience a choice - some people may still want to see the show, even though it's not being interpreted (make sure you give them a synopsis).
One last thought. Chances are that if Sir Ian McKellen were in a play he would have an understudy who knew the show, had been rehearsed and would be able to perform well in his place. It's been suggested that one solution would be to have understudy interpreters. Economics at present make it impossible for most arts organisations to do this but perhaps a scheme could be set up that was linked to training in theatre interpreting so that the benefits were two-way.
"How can a hearing actress who is coming up to her BSL Level 1 exam become involved in theatre that utilises both Deaf and hearing performers?"
Sara Cross (Nottingham Playhouse) replies:
It is commendable to want to get involved but I think Level 1 is not a high enough standard of signing to use in acting.
The only fully integrated theatre I know of is Graeae who use interpreters in their plays to interpret both the signing and speaking actors. The other role you could play is in advocating good practice in theatres you work in, suggesting ways of improving the access for Deaf patrons. I'm sure Deaf patrons would be delighted to discuss the play in the bar after the show in their own language with an actress from the play.
(Sara has recently taken her BSL, NVQ Level 3 and is waiting to hear her results. Good luck Sara! Ed.)
"Your venue has a policy of providing at least one sign language interpreted performance of every production. However, the director of your latest production says he doesn't want an interpreter on the stage because he thinks it will ruin the performance. What do you do?"
Write now and tell us what you would do in this situation. If you don't work in a theatre tell us what you think someone in this situation should do. We will print your responses in the next SPIT News due out in November.
What's the question you're burning to ask about SLIPs? Write to us now with a burning question for our next issue of SPIT News.
...we're waiting to hear from you!
If you have any projects that you would like share with other SPIT members, please send the details to Sarah Sills at SPIT.
Any photos or images of events past and present are always gratefully received, and we promise to return them to you as soon as they have been used.