Spring Break
ASL class hosts awareness festivities
Dan Emmons
Issue date: 4/17/09 Section: Focus
Deaf comedian Kenny Glickman was the highlight of the Deaf Awareness Day event Thursday at the Student Union. The event, which also included the performance of short skit "Deaf Oz," was presented by students in the American Sign Language IV class.
Glickman opened the show, setting the pace for his comedic act by frantically running onto the stage in a white lab coat with his gray hair sticking out everywhere. He introduced himself as Professor Glick, who would be teaching the audience his deafology 101 course.
With the help of a translator and five big notepads for frenzied scribbling, Professor Glick began to reveal the world of deaf people, labeled "Deafies," to "Hearies," or, according to Professor Glick, the "deaf-impaired." His jokes consisted of common situations for Deafies, and coming up with various puns to describe them (" deaf culture is a wonderful way of life that is unheard of"). These wordplays always kept the crowd in a good mood throughout his show, as he compared both Deafies and his translators to animals.
Watching Glickman force his translator to bark like a dog on command was one of the high points of the show.
He also drew from his own experience as a deaf person, citing the best place to stand while waiting for an elevator so as not to appear crazy (the "elevequilibrium") and jokes that can be played on other Deafies (unplugging his vacuum cleaner, to make him a "vacu-sucker"). "It was good to see [situations] flipped around, to see that deafness really means differently-abled," said Katie Robson, a 6th-semester English major, after Glickman's performance.
"We chose a comedy show because comedy breaks barriers," said 10th-semester human services major and member of the ASL IV class Maggie Stovall. "This isn't just for deaf people."
Glickman developed his comedy act based on his background of struggling to integrate into the world of the Hearies, especially adapting to the sheer amount of words. "For many of us [deaf people], vocabulary is tough to achieve," he said. "Most of us are trying to [make it in the world] with the words we have."
After integrating himself into the culture, he is now happy to be on the other side of the word game. "The ironic thing is that I'm throwing English back, giving them a taste of their own medicine," Glickman said.
After adjourning for mingling and a catered dinner, the ASL IV class put on a skit entitled "Deaf Oz." In this adaptation of "The Wizard of Oz," Dorothy is deaf, the Scarecrow learns that American Sign Language and English are different, the Tin Man learns he must consistently practice signing and the Lion learns he isn't stupid for being able to sign, but not speak.
The charming plot entails the four following the Yellow Brick Road before meeting up with the Wizard and teaching a lesson about deaf culture to the Wicked Witch. The play was based on characters written by 9-year-old Jennilee Marques, daughter of one of two deaf teachers at UConn.
Glickman opened the show, setting the pace for his comedic act by frantically running onto the stage in a white lab coat with his gray hair sticking out everywhere. He introduced himself as Professor Glick, who would be teaching the audience his deafology 101 course.
With the help of a translator and five big notepads for frenzied scribbling, Professor Glick began to reveal the world of deaf people, labeled "Deafies," to "Hearies," or, according to Professor Glick, the "deaf-impaired." His jokes consisted of common situations for Deafies, and coming up with various puns to describe them (" deaf culture is a wonderful way of life that is unheard of"). These wordplays always kept the crowd in a good mood throughout his show, as he compared both Deafies and his translators to animals.
Watching Glickman force his translator to bark like a dog on command was one of the high points of the show.
He also drew from his own experience as a deaf person, citing the best place to stand while waiting for an elevator so as not to appear crazy (the "elevequilibrium") and jokes that can be played on other Deafies (unplugging his vacuum cleaner, to make him a "vacu-sucker"). "It was good to see [situations] flipped around, to see that deafness really means differently-abled," said Katie Robson, a 6th-semester English major, after Glickman's performance.
"We chose a comedy show because comedy breaks barriers," said 10th-semester human services major and member of the ASL IV class Maggie Stovall. "This isn't just for deaf people."
Glickman developed his comedy act based on his background of struggling to integrate into the world of the Hearies, especially adapting to the sheer amount of words. "For many of us [deaf people], vocabulary is tough to achieve," he said. "Most of us are trying to [make it in the world] with the words we have."
After integrating himself into the culture, he is now happy to be on the other side of the word game. "The ironic thing is that I'm throwing English back, giving them a taste of their own medicine," Glickman said.
After adjourning for mingling and a catered dinner, the ASL IV class put on a skit entitled "Deaf Oz." In this adaptation of "The Wizard of Oz," Dorothy is deaf, the Scarecrow learns that American Sign Language and English are different, the Tin Man learns he must consistently practice signing and the Lion learns he isn't stupid for being able to sign, but not speak.
The charming plot entails the four following the Yellow Brick Road before meeting up with the Wizard and teaching a lesson about deaf culture to the Wicked Witch. The play was based on characters written by 9-year-old Jennilee Marques, daughter of one of two deaf teachers at UConn.
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