April | 2012 | Intimate Excellent
by Julio Martinez
Fountain Theatre’s Stephen Sachs (co-artistic director) and Simon Levy (producing director) are zeroing in on the premiere Saturday of the Fountain’s latest collaboration with Deaf West Theatre — a re-imagined, signed/spoken word adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac, scripted by Sachs, helmed by Levy.
The Fountain has a long history with Deaf West, so Sachs and Levy are not exploring totally new territory. But they are quick to make clear that this production is not just a straightforward ASL translation of Edmond Rostand’s 1897 rhymed-verse chronicle of the 17th century duelist and poet with an oversized proboscis.
Simon Levy
“First of all, Stephen has set this in modern times in LA, where people communicate through all sorts of electronic gadgets, on Facebook and Twitter,” explains Levy. “This production uses spoken word, ASL and e-language. This provides for myriad possibilities but also a whole lot of complications.”
“In the original, Cyrano’s barrier is his enormous nose and his perceived ugliness,” Sachs elaborates. “In this new version, it’s Cyrano’s deafness. He is a brilliant deaf poet, who signs magnificently. But he is not fully able to express his love for a hearing woman because she does not know sign language. So, while Rostand’s Cyrano was a man of his nose, this is a man of his hands.
“This is also the journey of a man who is at once proud of his deafness and of his hands, which is how he speaks; but he is also at war with himself, as any great tragic hero is, in terms of his pride. In this case, one of the major parts of his journey is to find a kind of peace with that, within and outside his deaf community. Like the original Cyrano, who stands alone, distant from his comrades in arms, our Cyrano stands alone within his deaf community and that gets him into trouble.”
“He also is at odds along the way with insensitive hearing people,” adds Levy.
“But at the end, he is able to make peace and find forgiveness within himself, his community and the outer world,” continues Sachs.
Stephen Sachs
The histories of Fountain Theatre and Deaf West have been entwined for 21 years, when Sachs and co-artistic director Deborah Lawlor provided office space to Ed Waterstreet, an actor with National Theatre of the Deaf, who envisioned founding a theater company for deaf actors in LA, which became Deaf West. The Fountain was the site of Deaf West’s first productions The Gin Game (1991), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1991) and Shirley Valentine (1992).
In 1993, Deaf West moved to the first of its own facilities, on Heliotrope Drive (in what is now Sacred Fools Theater). But Sachs, who already had a history of conducting workshops with deaf actors for a number of years, continued his commitment by writing Sweet Nothing in My Ear (1997) for a Fountain production and Open Window (2005) for a Deaf West/Pasadena Playhouse collaboration at the playhouse. Both of these incorporated deaf culture and illuminated the deaf world.
Cyrano is a project that has been percolating in the years since Deaf West settled in its later NoHo home (which recently has been used primarily by Antaeus Company and is currently rented for the production of The Bridge Club).
Sachs recalls, “About nine years ago, Deaf West had the idea of doing a musical version of Cyrano. It was just after they had a huge success adapting the musical, Big River (2001-02). I remember reading about it at the time and thought it was a great idea.
Troy Kotsur and Paul Raci
“Then, just a couple of years ago, Ed called me, wanting me to write a new play for Deaf West. We kicked around some ideas and then I asked about his plans for Cyrano. Ed said it was an idea that never came to fruition. Well, I told him I would love to do that, but I wanted to turn it into a play and have it be about Cyrano’s hands, not his nose, making it about his deafness and language. And that’s how this project came about.”
Levy adds, “Part of the journey in mounting this production has been the marriage of these three languages. This is a new world we live in with e-language and how important that language is to both the hearing and the deaf communities. That has created some interesting dilemmas in the staging. There are a lot of things we haven’t anticipated that we discovered in process of doing it. For instance, how do you relate text messages among the characters to an audience? We had a lot of wonderful ideas that we had to figure out how to actualize, none of which we could anticipate until we got into them.”
At the center of the action is actor Troy Kotsur, whose performance history with Deaf West includes Big River, Pippin, A Streetcar Named Desire and Of Mice and Men. “Troy is a wonderfully gifted and inventive actor who is a joy to watch as he has been creating this role,” affirms Levy. “So much of the creation of the ASL translation is intense, hard work. Part of it is done in advance with script work and an ASL translator. But a majority of it is done in rehearsal with the actor improvising different ways to sign a certain line or phrase. When you have someone as skilled as Troy doing it, it is an amazing experience to watch. And a wonderful actor, Victor Warren, provides Cyrano’s voice when needed.”
Complementing Kotsur in principal roles are Erinn Anova as the much-adored Roxy and Paul Raci as Chris, the handsome signing/speaking brother of Cyrano, with whom Roxy is smitten. Levy admits to being very aware that communicating with this cast has been a whole new learning curve for him.
“This is my first time staging a spoken word/ASL signed production. I’ve produced several speaking/ASL shows here at the Fountain, but this is a new experience. I could not do this at all without the immense contribution of the ASL interpreters [Elizabeth Greene and Jennifer Snipstad Vega]. A director has to be able to communicate with his actors and make sure everything is communicated correctly to the audience. I just can’t get up there and start talking about ‘feeling it’ and the actors’ ‘motivation.’ This has been a whole new adventure in using all the elements of communication possible to make sure everyone and everything involved in this is moving in the same direction.”
Sachs just smiles benignly at his cohort. “You’re doing just fine.”
Troy Kotsur and Erinn Anova
Cyrano April 28 – June 10 (323) 663-1525 More Info Buy Tickets
Posted in actors, Arts, Deaf, Fountain Theatre, new plays, performing arts, plays, poem, poetry, theatre
Tagged A Streetcar Named Desire, American Sign Language, ASL, Big River, Cyrano, Cyrano de Bergerac, Daniel Durant, deaf, Deaf West Theatre, Eddie Buck, Edmond Rostand, Facebook, Fountain Theatre, Jeff Daniels, Marlee Matlin, National Endowment for the Arts, National Theatre of the Deaf, new plays, Open Window, Paul Raci, plays, playwriting, sign language, Simon Levy, Starbucks, Stephen Sachs, Sweet Nothing in my Ear, Troy Kotsur, Twitter, Victor Warren, world premiere
In 1990, Stephen Sachs and Ed Waterstreet shared a dream. Stephen had just launched the Fountain Theatre with Deborah Lawlor. He had worked sporadically with deaf actors and writers in Los Angeles for five years prior and was now eager to start a deaf theatre company at the newly-formed Fountain. Ed was a respected actor and director trained at the National Theatre for the Deaf. He, too, was yearning to create something new in Los Angeles: a professional deaf theatre company led and run by deaf artists. Someone suggested that Stephen and Ed meet. Upon meeting, it was clear they were both united by the same exhilarating vision. Ed was immediately invited into the Fountain Family. He was given office space and support. And Deaf West was born. The first professional resident Sign Language Theatre west of the Mississippi.
Ed Waterstreet with actors Patrick Graybill and Phyllis Frelich. “The Gin Game” (1991)
By May, 1991, Deaf West opened its first production at the Fountain, The Gin Game, starring Phyllis Frelich and Patrick Graybill. It was followed by Shirley Valentine in 1992, starring Freda Norman and directed by Waterstreet. In 1993, Sachs directed One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest in which the hospital staff was hearing and the patients deaf.
It was always the goal that Deaf West would become autonomous and operate its own venue. In 1993, Deaf West “left home” and leased the Heliotrope Theatre in Hollywood where Sachs directed ‘Night Mother, costarring Freda Norman and Elena Blue in 1994. Under Ed’s leadership, Deaf West blossomed and grew. Back at the Fountain, the development of new plays with deaf themes continued with the world premiere of Sachs’ Sweet Nothing in my Ear in 1997, tackling the controversial issue of cochlear implants. The play was made into a CBS TV movie in 2008 starring Marlee Matlin, Jeff Daniels, and featuring Ed Waterstreet.
Stephen Sachs directs “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1993)
After a brief stay at the Ventura Court theater in North Hollywood, Deaf West acquired its venue on Lankershim Blvd in the NoHo Arts District. Deaf West and Sachs joined forces again in 2005 with the world premiere of Sachs’ play, Open Window, starring Linda Bove and Shoshannah Stern, at the Pasadena Playhouse.
The Fountain Theatre and Deaf West Theatre are now two of the most successful and highly respected intimate theater companies in Los Angeles, both honored with hundreds of awards and earning national recognition for excellence. Twenty-two years after first joining hands, the two companies are together again co-producing the world premiere of their new signed/spoken version of Cyrano, starring Troy Kotsur, at the Fountain Theatre. Back where it all began. Where a dream became reality.
Cyrano April 28 – June 10 (323) 663-1525 More Info Buy Tickets
Posted in actors, Arts, Deaf, director, Fountain Theatre, new plays, performing arts, plays, playwright, theatre
Tagged ‘Night Mother, American Sign Language, Broadway, CBD TV Movie, Cyrano, Cyrano de Bergerac, deaf, Deaf West Theatre, Deborah Lawlor, Ed Waterstreet, Elena Blue, Fountain Theatre, Freda Norman, Jeff Daniels, Linda Bove, Los Angeles, Marlee Matlin, National Theatre of the Deaf, new plays, NoHo Arts District, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Open Window, Pasadena Playhouse, Patrick Graybill, Phyllis Frelich, plays, playwriting, Shirley Valentine, Shoshannah Stern, Stephen Sachs, Sweet Nothing in my Ear, The Gin Game, Troy Kotsur, world premiere
Check out our Slideshow of photos from Cyrano:
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Cyrano April 28 – June 10 (323) 663-1525 More Info Buy Tickets
Posted in actors, Arts, Deaf, Fountain Theatre, new plays, performing arts, plays, theatre
Tagged American Sign Language, ASL, Bob Hiltermann, Cyrano, Cyrano de Bergerac, Daniel Durant, deaf, Deaf West Theatre, Eddie Buck, Erinn Anova, Fountain Theatre, Ipek D. Mehlum, Ipek Mehlum, Los Angeles, Maleni Chaitoo, new plays, Paul Raci, plays, Simon Levy, Stephen Sachs, Troy Kotsur, world premiere
The “take Fountain” mural across the street from the Fountain Theatre in Hollywood.
When Johnny Carson asked Bette Davis for advice on “the best way an aspiring starlet could get into Hollywood,” Ms. Davis replied without hesitation, “Take Fountain.”
Fountain Avenue is a local favorite for many people who use it to cut across Hollywood quickly. It runs parallel between Sunset Boulevard to the north and Santa Monica Boulevard to the south. Only 6 miles in length, Fountain Avenue runs from Silverlake Blvd in the East all the way to La Cienega Blvd in the West with a break between Van Ness and Bronson streets for La Conte Middle School. As you zip along Fountain Avenue, on your way to your next big Hollywood meeting or audition, you’ll see a few notable buildings.
El Mirador apartment building.
In the late 1920s, The Mirador apartment building was built on the corner of Fountain and Sweetzer by renowned theatre architect S. Charles Lee. Mr. Lee is an American architect, born in Chicago, recognized as one of the most prolific and distinguished motion picture theater designers on the West Coast. Lee also designed the Max Factor building, The Los Angeles Theatre and The Bruin Theatre, to name only a few.
In 1930, Cedar-Sinai was moved from Whittier Boulevard to Fountain Avenue where it was renamed Cedars of Lebanon. In 1976, after having merged with the Westside’s Mt. Sinai Hospital, Cedars of Lebanon moved out of its building on Fountain and into a new hospital complex near Beverly Hills and became the world-famous Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Today, the old Cedars of Lebanon building now belongs to the Church of Scientology.
La Fountaine
Also around the same time period, architect Leland Bryant designed La Fountaine, a replica of a château he had seen in Europe, on the corner of Fountain Avenue and Crescent Heights. Leland Bryant is also responsible for the designs of several other landmark buildings in Los Angeles, including the Argyle Hotel – Sunset Tower, Savoy Plaza and the Trianon – a grande apartment building tucked away from major streets in Hollywood, near Thai Town.
Villa Primavera Apartments
The Villa Primavera Apartments at the corner of Fountain Avenue and Harper was used for the shooting locations of several movies, including In A Lonely Place (1950) starring Humphrey Bogart.
Humphrey Bogart outside the Villa Primavera Apartments.
Joan Crawford lived in Apt D
Movie star Joan Crawford lived in this Fountain Avenue apartment after the death of her husband, Steele, through the early 1970s. It was in a building owned by Loretta Young.
El Palacio Apartments
Actress and singer Dorothy Dandridge lived in the El Palacio Apartments on Fountain Avenue and Crescent Heights. She committed suicide there in 1965 at age 42, overdosing on prescription barbiturates.
The Patio Del Moro
The Patio Del Moro is a complex of Spanish apartments on Fountain Avenue and was once the home of Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard.
And, of course, there is The Fountain Theatre (5060 Fountain). Founded in 1990 by Co-Artistic Directors Deborah Lawlor and Stephen Sachs, the Fountain Theatre has been an operating theatre for over 50 years. In the 1960’s it was known as The Evergreen Stage. A charming two-story building, tales are told that decades ago the bottom floor was once a liquor store, the upper floor held apartments. Today, the Fountain main stage holds 78 seats and the second floor includes a cafe, offices, a full kitchen, balcony and studio apartment. In addition to the award-winning caliber of work presented on its stage, the warm feeling of the venue makes the Fountain Theatre a favorite “home” for LA audiences.
The Fountain Theatre
For 22 years, Fountain Avenue has been our happy home and our road to success. Take a stroll or car ride down the Avenue and see for yourself!
Posted in Arts, Fountain Theatre, new plays, performing arts, plays, theatre
Tagged ., Argyle Hotel, Bette Davis, Cedars of Lebanon, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Charlie Chaplin, Church of Scientology, Crescent Heights, Deborah Lawlor, Dorothy Dandridge, El Mirador, El Palacio Apartments, Evergreen Stage, Fountain Avenue, Fountain Theatre, Hollywood, Humphrey Bogart, In A Lonely Place, Joan Crawford, Johnny Carson, La Fountaine, Le Conte Middle School, Leland Bryant, Loretta Young, Los Angeles, Max factor Building, Patio Del Moro, Paulette Goddard, S. Charles Lee, Santa monica Boulevard, Savoy Plaza, Stephen Sachs, Sunset Boulevard, Sunset Tower, Take Fountain, Trianon, Villa Primavera Partments
Walter Hampden as Cyrano (1923)
Cyrano de Bergerac is a play written in 1897 by Edmond Rostand. It was first produced December 28, 1897, at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin, Paris, with Constant Coquelin in the title rôle. The American premiere took place on October 3, 1898, in the Garden Theater, New York City, with Richard Mansfield as Cyrano.
In the play, Cyrano de Bergerac is a nobleman serving as a soldier in the French Army. He is a brash, strong-willed man, a gifted poet and brilliant swordsman. However, he also has an extremely large nose, which is the reason for his own self-doubt. This doubt prevents him from expressing his love for his distant cousin, the beautiful Roxanne. She loves the handsome Christian, a soldier in Cyrano’s company. Putting aside his own love, Cyrano offers his powers of poetic expression to Christian to assist in winning Roxanne.
Steve Martin in “Roxanne” (1987)
The original play contains five acts and is written entirely in verse, in rhyming couplets of 12 syllables per line. It is now considered an international classic romance and has been translated, adapted and performed world wide. In 1946 José Ferrer, won a Tony Award for playing Cyrano in a much-praised Broadway staging, and reprised the role in the 1950 film for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. It became Ferrer’s most famous role. Other notable English-speaking Cyranos have been Ralph Richardson, Derek Jacobi, Richard Chamberlain, and Christopher Plummer. Kevin Kline played the role in a recent Broadway production in 2007. Anthony Burgess wrote a popular new translation and adaptation in 1970, which had its world premiere at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. The story of Cyrano has been retold in many stage adaptations, a Broadway musical, an opera and a ballet. Steve Martin starred in his 1987 contemporary film version, Roxanne, and Gerard Depardieu assumed the classic title role in the 1990 film.
Troy Kotsur as the ASL poet in “Cyrano” at the Fountain
Our world premiere Fountain Theatre/Deaf West co-production of Cyrano is the first version of the classic tale re-imagined in spoken English and American Sign Language. In our modern retelling, Cyrano is a brilliant deaf poet in love with a hearing woman who doesn’t know sign language. His barrier is not his nose but his hands. Can he woo the woman he loves by having his hearing brother “speak his words”? Don’t miss this enchanting new spin on a classic love story and find out!
Cyrano April 28 – June 10
(323) 663-1525
More Info Buy Tickets
Posted in actors, Arts, Fountain Theatre, new plays, performing arts, plays, theatre
Tagged Academy Award. Tony Award, American Sign Language, Anthony Burgess, Broadway, Christopher Plummer, Cyrano, Cyrano de Bergerac, deaf, Deaf West Theatre, Derek Jacobi, Edmond Rostand, Fountain Theatre, Gerard Depardieu, Guthrie Theatre, Jose Ferrer, Kevin Kline, Los Angeles, new plays, plays, Ralph Richardson, Richard Chamberlain, Roxanne, Stephen Sachs, Steve Martin, Troy Kotsur
UPDATE: IT WORKED!! SUCCESS! Due to the overwhelming response of the arts community, Assemblymember Mike Gatto has withdrawn the bill that would have added a 7.5% sales tax to theatre tickets! The bill was scheduled to be voted on by the Committee for Revenue and Taxation today, but was pulled from the calendar by Assemblymember Gatto before the Committee could vote.
SEE? Change CAN happen when you TAKE ACTION! This is a victory for the arts community! Out thanks to all who SPOKE OUT in PROTEST! You were HEARD!
Posted in actors, Arts, Dance, performing arts, plays, playwright, theatre
Tagged Aaron Moreno, Assembly Member Mike Gatto, Committee for Revenue and Taxation, Fountain Theatre, LA Stage Alliance, Los Angeles, no sales tax, tax, theater, theatre tickets, tickets
The Fountain Theatre has just learned of an issue that would have an adverse impact on you, on us, and other theatres throughout California. A bill is going before the California legislature on Monday that will impose a sales tax on tickets to live theatre productions.
A bill recently introduced by Assembly Member Gatto would impose a SALES TAX on “access to live theater productions through the purchase of a ticket.” In an effort to quickly move the bill through the legislature and reduce industry opposition, this proposal does NOT include sales tax on other forms of entertainment, such as concerts and sporting events.
We apologize for the short notice, however the bill will be before the Committee for Revenue and Taxation on Monday, April 23 so letters of opposition should be sent TODAY and throughout this weekend. Fortunately, there is no Senate companion bill at this time, but it is imperative the Assembly be made aware that nonprofit theatres oppose this tax. PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO FIND A SAMPLE LETTER!
In particular, it is important to point out that theatre tickets are not only sold to wealthy patrons. Many people have to struggle to afford a theatre ticket. The arts help communities prosper. Theatres are a business magnet – how many restaurants are thriving because of our theatre? Theatre companies are employers – and this tax will provide an economic disincentive for the purchase of tickets and will have a chilling effect on all the economic good and public value offered by our theatre.
We recommend that you immediately CALL and WRITE/EMAIL Assembly Member Gatto and the ten members of the Committee (all contact information provided below) to express your objections.
The clock is ticking on this one. Time is of the essence. We urge you to send an outcry of protest right away.
To contact Assemblyman Mike Gatto, call Aaron Moreno, who is staffing the bill, at (916) 319-2043, or email: [email protected].
To contact the 10 members of the Committee, click here.
For a sample letter, click here.
To read the bill, go here.
Fire off an email! Do it NOW! It’s QUICK and EASY!
Posted in actors, Arts, Dance, Fountain Theatre, new plays, performing arts, plays, theatre
Tagged Aaron Moreno, Assembly Member Mike Gatto, Committee for Revenue and Taxation, Fountain Theatre, LA Stage Alliance, Los Angeles, no sales tax, tax, theater, theatre tickets, tickets
Theater teacher Jim Gilchrist
Everyone has that one favorite teacher, right? That magical person at the head of the classroom who changed our life? Opened our eyes, mind and heart? Inspired our spirit and sense of direction, pointing us toward a new path of possibility and making us believe we could not only survive whatever journey lay before us — but succeed as we traveled.
For many of us, that one unforgettable, extraordinary life-changing figure was a theater teacher.
And as you stand there: Aghast Because we’re three days from Opening Night and Ado Annie still doesn’t know her lines and The Dream Ballet is a Nightmare and
The Light Board Op just got Detention…
Let us now praise You.
You, the Permanently Fatigued. You, the Loyal-to-the-Point-of-Self-Neglect.
You, the Keeper of a Thousand-and-Eleventeen Secret Dreams.
You are the one who makes it all Look So Easy.
Who would have expected that the most important Skill you learned getting your BA was Juggling?
Juggling Paperwork and Personalities and oh, right – weren’t you supposed to have a Private Life around here somewhere?
But even though you are Sick to Death of
Spoon River Anthology You still puddle up every time you hear “There’s A Place For Us”
No matter how Off-Key.
And while you still remember when you Brought the House Down in
Midsummer
You now love This House.
You have created a House where any child – no matter how Flamboyant, no matter how Shy –
Can embrace their Inner Ethel Merman (and thanks to those English 101 classes you now must teach, you are keenly aware that using “their” in the previous sentence is increasingly considered correct and honestly, it’s really the only sensible answer as writing “his or her” is as damaging to poetry as the participle that dangles.)
And you have created a House where any child – no matter how Flamboyant, no matter how Shy – can dive straight to the Deepest, Darkest, Quietest corner of human suffering and bring a room of teenagers – and yes, you, too – to silent tears.
You have made a Home for the Misunderstood A Family for the Misfit and a
Safe Spot to land no matter how bad The Mid-Terms are.
Because despite all the Budget Cuts and The Paperwork and The Meetings about the Meeting to Schedule the Meetings and The Truancies and The Parents Dear God The Parents and
Did we mention The Paperwork?
Nothing on this Green Earth compares to watching a group of kids
Learn the true meaning of Ensemble.
And nothing compares to the pure joy of watching The Ones whom you knew would Eventually Get It
Finally. Really. Get It.
And nothing nothing nothing compares to The Confidences shared in low tones as they seek you out in Your Office, The Choir Room
The Front Seat of the Van on the way home from Fullerton.
You aren’t teaching Drama. You are teaching Life
Which we all know is a Comedy – a Chekhovian Comedy – but a Comedy nonetheless.
And you aren’t teaching Choreography
You are teaching them to Dance.
And you aren’t teaching them how to be a Character.
You are teaching them how to be Themselves.
So here’s to you –
Making room for Art in a world that seems to have no room for Art.
(Because, by the way, that room has been repurposed as the new Standardized Test Prep Center – you don’t mind rehearsing outside, do you?)
And here’s to you – Scrounging around for new shows that somehow match the sets you already have Because some Genius on the School Board has
Recently Announced that not only can you not perform Huckleberry Finn
Or Anouilh’s Antigone (probably because he couldn’t pronounce it) and Given the flap over the
Scene from M. Butterfly last year, I guess
March of the Falsettos and The Vagina Monologues are Out of the Question for the Spring So Oh Dear God it looks like it’s going to be
Arsenic And Old Lace one more blessed time.
But that’s OK
I love Arsenic And Old Lace.
So here’s to you –
Making room for another Coffee Mug with those damn masks on them
Making room in the Chorus for Just One More
And Making room for each and every child To Be A
Star.
© 2011 Samantha Bennett
Created especially for the CETA (California Educational Theatre Association) Conference, Asilomar, CA, October 21-23, 2011
Posted in actors, Arts, director, Fountain Theatre, performing arts, plays, theatre
Tagged drama class, drama teacher, extraordinary teacher, life-changing, school, teacher, theatre
With our upcoming opening of the world premiere of our signed/spoken Cyrano, Sign Language is very much on our minds and in our hands these days. No wonder the new Paul McCartney video, “My Valentine”, caught our eye. It features Natalie Portman and Johnny Depp using Sign Language!
So, who taught them the Sign Language used in the video?
Bill Pugin
Our friend, Bill Pugin. Bill lives in Los Angeles and is a longtime friend of the Fountain and Deaf West. His sister, Mary Anne, is deaf and his great affection toward her inspired him to learn sign language. He attended Gallaudet University, a university for the Deaf in Washington DC, where he completed his formal training in Sign Language Interpreting in 1979. He is now one of the foremost ASL interpreters in the country and has traveled the world providing sign language interpreting services for three U.S. Presidents, His Holiness The Dalai Lama, World Leaders and Entertainment Industry Icons. He launched his own national interpreting service, The Sign Language Company, in 1986.
How did the gig with Paul McCartney come about?
“A mysterious call came from London asking if I could teach two actors to sign a Paul McCartney song for a video to be shot at Paul’s home in Beverly Hills, ” Bill says. “The London office of Paul’s Management company was impressed with my company’s web site and the body of work I had done. I ended up at Natalie Portman’s house teaching her “My Valentine” from Paul’s “Kisses on the Bottom” album. Three days later, the day of the shoot, I’m up at Paul’s place waiting for the second actor to be flown in.”
Johnny Depp and Paul McCartney at Paul’s house (Bill Pugin in the background)
“Finally, Johnny Depp arrived and we got to work on the same song. We had about fifteen minutes to work on the song. I signed the song for hours sitting on an apple box under the camera for Johnny to be able to peripherally see me for each take. I was his “human cue card”. Johnny’s signing turned out to be more theatrical and ‘abbreviated’ because of the time issue.”
Why Did Paul Want Sign Language in the Video?
“He said it was his daughter, Stella’s idea. Paul always has an interpreter on a riser with a spot for his concerts and Stella loves sign language, apparently. Paul told me that he also makes sure that the portion of seats in the arenas where he performs that are blocked by equipment – and therefore can’t be sold – are given at no charge to blind audience members. All that AND an animal lover!”
Natalie Portman shooting the McCartney video.
“I spent nine hours with Paul McCartney at his house. When introduced to him, I asked “Is it as big a thrill for you meeting me as it is for me meeting you?” He laughed and said, “Bigger!” I told him how I spent a day with Princess Diana, he told me how he cried when she died (they were friends). I told him how some of my elementary school friends were jealous because their parents didn’t let them stay up to watch The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. He told me stories about Eric Clapton and Elvis. I asked him if he ever received my sister (Evelyn’s) letter that she sent in 1966. He said it was the only one he kept.”
“At the ninth hour, he asked how I was doing and he gave me a neck and shoulder rub. I said, “I can’t believe I’m getting a massage from the ‘cute Beatle’! I woke up the next morning smiling because it wasn’t a dream. It was real. Surreal. Sir Paul!”
Posted in actors, Arts, Deaf, film, Fountain Theatre, performing arts, plays
Tagged American Sign Language, ASL, Bill Pugin, Cyrano, Deaf West Theatre, Ed Sullivan Show, Elvis, Eric Clapton, Fountain Theatre, Gallaudet University, interpreting, Johnny Depp, Kisses on the Bottom, music video, My Valentine, Natalie Portman, Paul McCartney, Princess Diana, sign language, Sign Language Company, Stella McCartney, The Beatles
Paul Raci and Al Berntstein.
Paul Raci and Troy Kotsur
Erinn Anova and Paul Raci.
Video designer Jeffrey Teeter creating his magic.
Director Simon Levy and ASL interpreter Elizabeth Greene.
ASM Terri Roberts prepares the meal for dinner break.
Daniel Durant, Chip Bent, and Troy Kotsur.
Maleni Chaitoo, Bob Hiltermann, Ipek Mehlum, and Eddie Buck.
Voice and sign actors: Al Bernstein and Paul Raci, Troy Kotsur and Victor Warren.
Fountain Technical Director Scott Tuomey.
Dinner break!
Daniel Durant, Bob Hiltermann.
Deaf West Artistic Director David Kurs.
Troy Kotsur (Cyrano) and his voice actor, Victor Warren.
Cyrano April 28 – June 10 (323) 663-1525 More Info
Posted in actors, Deaf, designers, director, Fountain Theatre, new plays, plays, playwright, theatre
Tagged Al Bernstein, American Sign Language, ASL, Bob Hiltermann, Chip Bent, Cyrano, Cyrano de Bergerac, Daniel Durant, David Kurs, deaf, Deaf West Theatre, Eddie Buck, Erinn Anova, Fountain Theatre, Ipek D. Mehlum, Ipek Mehlum, Jeffrey Teeter, Los Angeles, Maleni Chaitoo, Martica de Cardenas, National Endowment for the Arts, new plays, Paul Raci, Simon Levy, Stephen Sachs, tech, technical rehearsal, Troy Kotsur, Victor Warren, world premiere