Sign Language Schedule
October
October 18
Independence Starts Here Opens at the Kimmel Center!
Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
Broad and Spruce Streets, Philadelphia
7:00 pm
This exciting Opening Celebration for the Festival features an introduction by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith, Founder of VSA arts, and will be hosted by Academy Award-winning actress Marlee Matlin. Performances by Seattle’s critically-acclaimed integrated dance company Light Motion with Charlene Curtiss and Joanne Petroff; jazz singer/songwriter Melody Gardot, Winner of this year’s VSA arts International Young Soloists Competition and singer/songwriter/guitarist Raul Midon.
Tickets $60, $100 (with VIP reception)
Info: VSA arts of PA – 215-564-2431
Tickets available through the Kimmel Center Box Office: 215-893-1999 TTY: 215-875-7633 or online at www.kimmelcenter.org
More information on the opening night of the festival.
October 19
Open-Captioned showing of "Children of a Lesser God", at Newly-Retrofitted Independence Seaport Museum
Independence Seaport Museum
211 S. Columbus Boulevard (Penn’s Landing at Walnut Street), Philadelphia
11:00 am - 12:30 am
"Children of a Lesser God", the film for which Marlee Matlin won the Academy Award will be shown with open captioning for the first time in the newly-retrofitted Independence Seaport Museum. The Museum now includes the latest in hearing-assistance technology including real-time captioning compatible presentation capabilities, closed captioning enabled projection equipment and infrared assisted-listening system with modern headsets.
Event hosts: Nanci Linke-Ellis (President, InSight Cinema); Bob Hiltermann,
co-founder of “Beethoven’s Nightmare”, currently in the role
of Walt on CBS’s “All My Children” and Raymonda Azrelyant
(2006-07 Miss Deaf New Jersey).
Talk-back after film!
Suggested Donation: $5
Tickets: Available at the Door, by calling 215.923.9101 Voice/VideoPhone or on-line www.creativeaccess.org.
Large print Programs upon request two weeks prior to event.
MUSIGN Explosion: Beethoven’s Nightmare, World’s Only Deaf Rock Band
Independence Seaport Museum
211 S. Columbus Boulevard (Penn’s Landing at Walnut Street), Philadelphia
9:00 pm
Beethoven's Nightmare will rock ‘n’ roll your mind the Deaf way with a performance that lights up the stage with music, mime and visual thrills from ASL/Performance by Koylee and Lea Ramos in tune with band co-founders, rhythm guitarist Steve Longo, bassist/composer Ed Chevy, drummer Bob Hilterman.
Seating Limited.
Reservations requested.
Tickets: $10 in advance, $15 at the door
Tickets: Available at the Door, by calling 215.923.9101 Voice/VideoPhone or on-line www.creativeaccess.org.
Large print Programs upon request two weeks prior to event.
October 20
Face the Music and Dance: Mu-Sign Explosion with Beethoven's Nightmare
North Star Bar
2639 Poplar Street, Philadelphia
8:00 pm
Rock em, sock 'em music by the world's only deaf band. Beethoven's Nightmare pairs the rhythm inside and the great story telling of ASL to create an explosive and electrifying performance.
Tickets: $10
Tickets: Available at the Door, by calling 215.923.9101 Voice/VideoPhone or on-line www.creativeaccess.org.
Note: This venue is not wheelchair accessible. Wheelchair users should contact Creative Access at 215- 923-9101 prior to coming for accessibility. For large print programs please contact Creative Access at www.creativeaccess.org.
October 20 through November 20
October 22
"Silent No More: Testimonies of Deaf Holocaust Survivors" by Dr. Simon J. Carmel
Tuttleman Library Reading Room
Gratz College, 7605 Old York Road, Melrose Park PA
7:30 p.m.
Deaf himself, Dr. Simon Carmel is the world’s leading researcher of deaf survivors of Hitler’s brutal WWII campaigns. In this unique seminar, he presents powerful images and stories of survivors and leads a discussion about who was killed, who was spared, and why. Co-presented by the Nora Levitz Memorial Fund Holocaust Archive of Gratz College.
Free Admission
For further information call 215.923.9101 Voice/TTY/VideoPhone or info@creativeaccess.org
Large print programs upon request two weeks in advance.
October 23
Free Library of Philadelphia’s Author Series Presents Talking Hands:What Sign Language Reveals about the Mind
Central Library
1901 Vine Street, (between 19th and 20th on the Parkway),
Philadelphia
7:00 pm
The Free Library of Philadelphia's Award-winning Author series features Margalit Fox reading from her new book Talking Hands:What Sign Language Reveals about the Mind. In Talking Hands Fox, a New York Times journalist trained as a linguist, accompanies a team of researchers to a remote Bedouin village in Israel, where a remarkable sign language has arisen on its own and is used by deaf and hearing villagers alike. The human mind is hard-wired for language and with Talking Hands, Fox transports the reader to an exotic place to illuminate a family of languages largely overlooked by science and provides an extraordinary window into how all human language works inside the mind.
Free Admission
October 26
An Evening With The Art of James Castle
Fleisher/Ollman Gallery
1616 Walnut Street, Suite 100, Philadelphia
4:00 to 7:00 pm
The Fleisher/Ollman Gallery will host a wine and cheese reception for Independence Starts Here. The reception will feature a one night only exhibition of Selected Work of mid 20th Century Deaf visual artist James Castle and feature a short talk about the artist by John Ollman, the gallery owner and great personal fan of Mr. Castle's work and life. The gallery will also have a sneak preview of a documentary film about the art and life of James Castle, produced by the Foundation for Self-Taught American Artists.
Free Admission. Space limited.
For further information contact www.creativeaccess.org
CART available by contacting Creative Access at info@creativeaccess.org
October 23 through November 20
Philadelphia Theatre Company Opens New, Accessible Suzanne Roberts Theatre with New Musical Revue Being Alive by Stephen Sondheim
Philadelphia Theatre Company’s Suzanne Roberts
Theatre
480 South Broad (Broad and Lombard Sts.), Philadelphia
running through December 2
Times: Tues, Thurs, Fri at 8:00 pm; Sunday at 3:00 pm,
Wednesday at 1:00 and 7:00 pm; Sat at 2:00 and 8:00 pm except Sat, October
27 (8:00 p.m. only)
Conceived and directed by award-winning musical theater performer Billy Porter, Being Alive blends the songs of Stephen Sondheim with the poetry of William Shakespeare to tell the universal story of man’s seven ages in African-American musical idioms including soul, jazz, blues, R&B, hip-hop, and gospel. Showcasing many of Sondheim’s most popular songs in a new and thrilling way, this musical revue is certain to have a big future beyond Philadelphia.
Tickets: $51 to $63; Festival discount $5 off single tickets (cannot be combined with any other offer) Not valid on Saturday evenings.
Single Tickets Available after October 1 at www.philadelphiatheatrecompany.org or 215-985-0420
Box Office will be located at the NW corner of Broad & Lombard Streets
Box office hours: 10am to 5pm
Venue is fully wheelchair accessible. (Ticket windows at wheelchair
height, bathrooms are fully accessible. Elevator to all floors. Wheelchair
seating in both Orchestra and Mezzanine levels).
Assistive listening devices will be available at every
performance.
An Audio Described performance will be held on Saturday,
November 24th at the 2pm matinee. An Open Captioned performance will be
held on Saturday, November 17th at the 2pm matinee. Large Print and Braille
Programs will be available at every performance.
October 28
Deaf Cirque-Carnivale at the Philadelphia Mummer’s Museum
Philadelphia Mummer’s Museum
2nd and Washington Streets, Philadelphia
12:00 noon to 2:00 pm
Deaf magicians, mimes, ventriloquists, clowns, unicyclists, balloonists and FIRE eaters will perform under the baton of Simon Carmel, winner of World Deaf Magicians Fest (1998) for the amazement of all attendees, from five to one hundred and five! Featuring the incredible (Russian) Deaf mime and comic, Iosef Schneiderman, Sammy Ruiz, Rickie Rowray, Philadelphia's own Morton Feldman, the team of Steve Longacre and Greg Koppel, Pinky Aiello on one wheel. Circus treats and drinks (and FIRE eaters) available at this wonderful family event! Look for similar program for ADULTS only on October 27 at 8pm.
Advance Tickets: Adults $12; Children 12 and under $6
At the Door: Adults $15; Children $7.50.
To purchase tickets call 215.923.9101 Voice/TTY/VideoPhone or on-line at www.creativeaccess.org
October 30
HMS School for Cerebral Palsy and the Walnut Street Theatre Partnership: Voices of HMS/The Frog Prince
The Walnut Street Theatre—Independence Studio
on 3
9th and Walnut Streets, Philadelphia
4:00 pm
Great event for parents and teachers! Learn more about Theatre as a tool to help students with disabilities. Consider how seeing a performance can stimulate learning and how using performing and acting techniques can stimulate self-expression.
HMS students (all of whom use wheelchairs and most of whom use assisted communication devices) will present Voices of HMS, a student written work. The Teaching Artists and Recreational Therapist will discuss the play writing process, techniques used to create the piece, and the evolution of this unique partnership.
In addition WST’s Touring Outreach Company will perform The Frog Prince (which deals with not judging a person by their appearance). The artists will then present techniques on using a theatrical performance as a spring board for learning and discussion.
Tickets: $5
For tickets call 215-574-3550, ext. 511
Wheelchair accessible, accessible rest room, ASL available if requested. Let us know when you request tickets.
November
November 1 - 18
Amaryllis Theatre presents Brian Friel’s Molly Sweeney Featuring Blind Actress
The Playground at the Adrienne
2030 Sansom Street, Philadelphia
Opening Night, Thursday, November 1 at 7:00 pm
Wednesday-Fri at 8:00 pm; Sat-Sun at 2:00 pm
Post-performance discussions: Does Disability Need a Cure?
Friday, November 2 after ASL shadow
interpreted performance and Thursdays, November 8 and November 15
Amaryllis will produce Brian Friel's Molly Sweeney, featuring a blind actress, Pamela Sabaugh, in the title role of blind Molly Sweeney for the first time since the play premiered in 1994. Sabaugh appears with critically-acclaimed Irish-American actors Stephen Patrick Smith and Michael Toner.
Read the Philadelphia Inquirer Review
All tickets $10
Tickets available at www.amaryllistheatre.org
Open captioned Sun. Nov. 4 - 2:00 pm, shadow interpreted in ASL Fri. Nov. 2 - 8:00 pm, large print and Braille programs available every performance. This production, written in a series of monologues, does not need audio description.
November 2
Sign Dance Explosion: The Wild Zappers in Concert with Oakland's Antoine Hunter and DC’s Helix Boyz
Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performance
Broad Street at Fitzwater (two blocks South of South
Street)
8:00 pm
The critically acclaimed Wild Zappers led by co-founders Fred Beam and Warren “Wawa” Snipe will combine jazz, hip hop and pop music with the added dimension of ASL poetry in motion. With Antoine Hunter. Followed by DC’s popular Helix Boyz with Prince Darius and Sho Roc performing in ASL rap!
Tickets: $25 in advance; $30 at the door
Tickets available at 215923.9101 V/TTY/VideoPhone or on-line at www.creativeaccess.org
November 3
England’s Sign Dance Collective's "But Beautiful", Together with BAWDVILLE, The Big Apple's Reinvention of Comedy/Burlesque!
Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performance
Broad Street at Fitzwater (two blocks South of South
Street), Philadelphia
8:00 pm
England’s Sign Dance Collective and its dynamic creators
David Bower (Hugh Grant’s brother in “Four Weddings and a Funeral”)
and Isolte Avila make this stop in Philadelphia to pay tribute to the life
and music of American jazz great Art Pepper. Their newest
work, “But Beautiful” incorporates dance and video producing a
technique they describe as “sculpting space.” With music by the Luke
Balow Band, SDC will be interspersed with brilliant and hilarious
skits offered up by The Big Apple's extraordinary troupe. So...let
Mystique, Honi and Peeps Entertain you!! For adult audiences.
Tickets: $25 in advance; $30 at the door
Tickets available at 215.923.9101 V/TTY/VideoPhone or on-line at www.creativeaccess.org
November 8
Individual Artist Resources and Information Session
Wade Blank Room at Liberty Resources, Inc. (Philadelphia's
Center for Independent Living for People with disabilities)
Second Floor, 714 Market Street, Philadelphia
Liberty Resources will hold an information session to help individual artists find funding for their work. Presenters include Pennsylvania Council on the Arts: Artists in Education Program; the Leeway Foundation and other state and local funding sources.
Free Admission
November 9 - 10
Deaf West Theater Comes East: Edward Albee's The Zoo Story at the Annenberg Center
The Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
Studio Theater, Lower Level
3680 Walnut Street, Philadelphia
Friday November 9 – 8:00 pm
Saturday November 10 – 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm
Penn Presents partners to present this outstanding Deaf
West Theater Company production of Edward Albee’s The
Zoo Story, a harrowing depiction of a young man alienated
from the human race—a searing story of loneliness and the desperate
need for recognition that builds to a violent, shattering climax. Troy
Kotsur and Tyrone Giordano carry this powerful
drama through the nuanced delicacy and passion of American Sign Language,
with voice actors on stage! Directed by Coy Middlebrook.
Tickets: $20
For tickets contact Annenberg Center Box Office: In person, Monday thru Friday 10am-6pm, Saturday 12pm-6pm, Day of show 2 hours before curtain; By telephone at 215-898-3900; By internet at pennpresents.org or www.creativeaccess.org.
November 10
She’s Here, Queer and Crazy, too! Drag with a Tag Show
Church of St. Luke and
the Epiphany Sanctuary
330 S. 13th Street (Between Spruce and Pine)
Philadelphia
7:30 pm
Miss Altered States (Mark A. Davis), Best Individual Performer in the 2004 Philadelphia GLBT Pride Parade, 2006 Fringe Festival Premiere & Pseudo Grammy Winner, showcases the roller coaster and roads of recovering in this hilarious, comic performance for adults. Hosted by Pink & Blues Philadelphia.
THE SHOW HAS BEEN CANCELED
November 14
Free Library of Philadelphia Author Series presents Reading by Mark Drolsbaugh
Free Library of Philadelphia Central Library
1901 Vine Street, (between 19th and 20th on the Parkway),
Philadelphia
7:00 pm
The Free Library of Philadelphia's ever popular 'Author's Series' will present "Deaf Again" by Mark Drolsbaugh. Prolific young author, Mr. Drolsbaugh will share with humor and insight the experience that millions ask about: "What is it like to be Deaf?" Program will be presented in ASL with voicing (in spoken English) for hearing audiences. Introduction by acclaimed Philadelphia writer Lorene Carey.
Free Admission. Arrive Early!
Large print programs available upon request two weeks prior to the event.
November 19
Art-Reach presents JazzArtSigns at the New Suzanne Roberts Theatre
Philadelphia Theatre Company’s Suzanne Roberts
Theatre
Broad and Lombard Streets, Philadelphia
7:00 PM
Art Reach, Inc. presents JazzArtSigns, acclaimed vocalist Lisa Thorson’s groundbreaking multimedia, multi sensory and interactive improvised jazz performance piece for all audiences. JazzArtSigns features a group of world-class jazz musicians, an improvisational painter, American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters, a live audio describer and text captioner, as well as program information in Braille, large print and on tape. What makes this event groundbreaking is that everyone involved – the band, ASL interpreters and painter – trade fours and improvise.
Tickets: $25 in advance; $35 at the door
Tickets available by calling 215-568-2115 or online at www.art-reach.org
November 20
COSACOSA art at large, Inc.’s Healing Art Project: Mosaic Making Workshop
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
34th Street and Civic Center Blvd, Philadelphia
12:00 to 2:00 pm - mosaic making
COSACOSA's Healing Art Project presents a series of family art-making events, featuring collaborative visual art workshops where visitors of all ages and abilities can participate in creating new artwork for Philadelphia-based pediatric hospitals. This third workshop at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia focuses on mosaic making.
Free Admission
This event is also accessible to people who are blind or who have low vision. Sign language available if requested.