Photo courtesy of Noel Bass
Paul Raci, Troy Kotsur
The Los Angeles-based theater company, Deaf West, is well known for the one-of-a-kind theater experiences provided to audiences. What makes Deaf West Theatre unique is their casting mix of both deaf and hearing actors.
Their productions offer a unique blend of performances in ASL and spoken English, and between Nov. 30 and Dec. 9, Columbus audiences can get the chance to check them out.
For their nine-date residency at the Riffe Center’s Studio One, the company will bring David Mamet’s illustrious performance, American Buffalo. The performance is made possible in part through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts and the Dorothy E. Ann Fund of the Columbus Foundation.
Deaf West Theatre believed the highly intense but naturistic dialogue featured of American Buffalo was an essential incorporate their translation into ASL.
“Mamet’s rhythms are grounded in the way people actually speak, and they share a close kinship with the ebb and flow of conversational sign language,” Deaf West Artistic Director David J. Kurs says. “It’s rare to come across a script with language that feels like a natural point of entry into ASL. The way Mamet's characters communicate through broken thoughts and unfinished sentences also reflects the frequent communication gap between deaf and hearing people.”
American Buffalo helped launch the career of renowned actor William H. Macy (Fargo, Shameless), and was first premiered in 1975 at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre Stage Two. The script follows the story of a Chicago junk shop owner who undersells a valuable coin. He then sets out with two questionable individuals in an attempt to reclaim his property.
Though the production is deemed daring and exciting, it does contain adult content and explicit language, so leave the kids at home for this one. Tickets are $30-$40 at the CAPA Ticket Center (39 E. State St.), all Ticketmaster outlets and www.ticketmaster.com. To purchase tickets by phone, please call (614) 469-0939 or (800) 745-3000. For performance schedule, visit www.capa.com.
For more information on Deaf West Theatre, please visit www.deafwest.org.
Rocco Falleti is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
