Sneak Peak of Missy Keast's brilliant ASL solo performance of Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood

 

From: Jeanmarie <jeanmarie.simpson@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, May 22, 2023 2:23 PM
Subject: Sneak Peak of Missy Keast's brilliant ASL solo performance of Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood

 

 

 

 

Missy Keast, "the Shakespeare" of ASL Performing Artists, in the only
existing sign-language production of Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood.

 

 

Sneak Peak of Deaf ASL Performing Artist, Missy Keast in Solo Performance of Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood

Phoenix, AZ -- When ATM Artistic Director Jeanmarie Simpson began a worldwide search for an ASL interpreter for Dylan Thomas' magnum opus, Under Milk Wood, she didn't expect to find one in her backyard. 

"I first approached the agency we had been working with for several years, and they were stumped," Simpson said. "ASL is not a word-for-word translation of English. Sign language is conceptual. When interpreters look at Thomas' text, they often run the other way. Under Milk Wood is vigorously poetic and requires an artistic approach, not simply a translation."

Simpson continued, "When a character says, "From where you are, you can hear in Cockle Row in the spring, moonless night, Miss Price, dressmaker and sweetshop-keeper, dream of her lover, tall as the town clock tower, Samson-syrup-gold-maned, whacking thighed and piping hot, thunderbolt bass'd and barnacle-breasted, flailing up the cockles with his eyes like blowlamps and scooping low over her lonely loving hotwaterbottled body," the ASL artist must create signs that communicate the essence, not the letter, and that is a challenge, indeed."  

Simpson went on a quest for more than a year, seeking an artist unintimidated by the challenge of translating the illustrious masterpiece. 

"I couldn't find anyone anywhere on earth who would do it, even in Wales. I even asked them to craft it in British Sign Language rather than ASL, but no takers. I needed help finding an artist who felt they could do the piece justice," Simpson said.

Enter Lisa Schulman. 

"Within - I'm not kidding - A DAY of asking her, Lisa responded to me with her colleague Missy Keast. I was gobsmacked to learn that Missy, who was born Deaf, had spent a year with Under Milk Wood earlier in her career." 

Since then, Lisa's company, ASL Me Now and ATM have become partners, with no end in sight. 

"ASL Me Now has already provided ASL and Audio Description for several of our videos and are still in progress with the entire text of Under Milk Wood and the upcoming The Jewish Question, and next year's Bambino Mio, When Churchyards Yawn and The Tempest," Simpson said. 

ATM's film of the masterwork features the voices of Ken Welsh, Elizabeth Saunders, Lynne Griffin, Sean Sullivan, Tim Fitzgerald Walker and Mackenzie Gray.

To experience more of Arizona Theatre Matters' universally accessible artwork, please visit YouTube.com/@arizonatheatrematters. 

For interview requests and other media inquiries, please contact Cassandra Symonds - at cassiesymondspr@gmail.com.

 arizonatheatrematters.org

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