Gestural Economies and Production Pedagogies in Deaf West's "Spring Awakening"

In Deaf West's Broadway revival of Spring Awakening, embodied gestures expose and challenge representational and infrastructural norms that drive commercial musical theatre. The company's blend of ASL and spoken text extends the overarching message about failed socioculturai ideals to the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:TDR : Drama review 2016-06, Vol.60 (2), p.145-153
Main Author: Wilbur, Sarah
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Critical Acts
Deafness
Musical theater
Nonverbal communication
People with disabilities
Theater companies
Citations: Items that this one cites
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Summary:In Deaf West's Broadway revival of Spring Awakening, embodied gestures expose and challenge representational and infrastructural norms that drive commercial musical theatre. The company's blend of ASL and spoken text extends the overarching message about failed socioculturai ideals to the realm of deaf culture. Micro-practical actions and interactions function tacitly to denaturalize audio-centric standards that guide theatrical reception, internal cueing, and technical production.
ISSN:1054-2043
1531-4715
DOI:10.1162/DRAM_a_00553