This year’s One Act Play isn’t quite like ones that the theatre program has put on before. None of the previous plays have included the actors being required to learn ASL (American Sign Language) until this year.
“Sweet Nothing in My Ear” revolves around a family who has a conflict brought into their lives. The father’s name is Dan, a working man, loving father to his deaf son Adam, and devoted husband to his deaf wife Laura. When the topic of getting a cochlear implant for Adam invades their relationship, Dan and Laura must work their way around the conflict it brings into the deaf world and keep their lives together.
“I play the part of Max, Laura’s father, who takes a great amount of pride in being deaf,” senior Nate Thorley said. “Learning the sign language was definitely the hardest part.”
The show’s cast isn’t like most plays. For every deaf character, there is another character portraying their “voice”.
“I’m the voice of Laura. It’s been a fantastic experience so far,” freshman Catherine Hathaway said. “My favorite part so far, is getting close to everyone. We really do become a family throughout the entire process.”
The students playing the voices dress the same as their signing character, but in all black. This gives the characters a sort of “shadow” look.
“I run sound for the show. It’s been a long process, because it’s a bunch of stitching music together,” junior Chochy Luce said. “It’s my first time on tech crew for OAP. It definitely gives me a new perspective on the whole One Act thing.”
The students and director Jessica Brewster have yet to decide on a date for a home performance, but perform at zone competition for UIL on March 21 in McKinney North HS.
