Lori Nalasco and Eddie Swayze at Barnes and Nobles

On May 9th, a well-respected Spanish poet/singer, Lori Nolasco, will be reading her work in Spanish and English. She also has some poems that convey the message about deafness and the Deaf culture, which she will perform to the audience. She is also known to sing very well. Eddie Swayze (myself) will perform ASL poems and some spoken words with sign language at the same time. He will also play a few poems with his original electronic music.

This is an idea upon cultural languages: Spanish and the deaf/hard of hearing's ASL (America Sign Language). An interpreter will be there, who can interpret Spanish and ASL, both, which can become unique and rare for the audience to see. The interpreter will be Denise Herrera. She has interpreted for Def Meets Deaf Poetry Jam 4 and 5 at Loving Cup. Henceforth, the Spanish poetry and ASL poetry shall entice the audience as this kind of approach is rare.

I thank the Just Poets for presenting this event and their support.

Here is the flyer for you all to see, which I created. Spread the word.

ASL Performance at Monroe Community College

On May 1st, I and three other deaf/hard of hearing performers will entertain the audience at Rochester's Monroe Community College. The event is sponsored by World Languages and Cultures Department, MCC ASL Club, and The Global Union International Student Organization. This free event will provide poems/stories/signing along songs performances that will be done in American Sign Language. Vicki Nordquist is known to create unique A, B, C stories or poems. Troy Chapman translates a lot of Langston Hughes poems. Matt Schwartz translates musicians' songs into ASL. I, Eddie Swayze, translates his original poems into ASL while playing his original composed electronic music. So, the four different approaches of ASL performances would give the audience great variety of tastes. 

I thank Grey Van Pelt for offering me this opportunity and I look forward to blowing the audience's minds as much as the other three performers will do as well.

Here is the flyer. You can click right on the flyer and it will become larger.

I realize that this flyer doesn't make it any easier to read the texts even clicked on to become larger. Here are what the texts say on the flyer:

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Room: Monroe A/B (Bldg. 3-205)

Doors open at 6:00 PM

Show starts at 6:30 PM

Monroe Community College

1000 East Henrietta Rd, Rochester, NY 

Performers:

Vicki Nordquist, Matt Schwartz,

Eddie Swayze, Troy Chapman

Interpreters will be provided

Sponsors: World Languages and Cultures Department,

MCC ASL Club,

The Global Union International Students Organization

Free Show

Parking is available for the general public in Lot N.

Deaf blind interpreters provided upon RSVP by April 22

Gvanpelt@student.monroe.edu

Photos of Def Meets Deaf Poetry Jam 5

On Saturday, March 30th, John Roche and I (Eddie Swayze) coordinated a 3 hour poetry/storytelling/performance show at Loving Cup. The crowd was in good numbers. Dangerous Signs started their skits doing Langston Hughes' poems - translated into ASL, ABC sign language acts (I joined them for the word ROBOT, acting as a robot), one original poem of mine "Bones", and they ended their skits with John Lennon's "Imagine" song in ASL. Hearing poets Wanda Schubmehl, Kitty Jopse, Catherine Feurot, and John Roche read their English poetry. Hearing RIT students performed under a group The RIT Slam Team and RIT poetry magazine Signature with 2 Signature Award winners reading their work. Deaf and hard of hearing performers came on: Vicki Nordquist doing her ABC storytelling, Matt Schwartz doing 2 signing-to-songs skits, Jojo Oberholtzer doing one signing-to-song performance, and Eddie Swayze (myself) performing his "Joyful Canine" poem along original electronic music, acting as a dog, and translating Allen Ginsberg's "Howl" poem into ASL. At the very end of the whole show, Luane Davis Haggerty had the audience participate along Dangerous Signs, using a hand shape, breathing in and out technique (theatrical warm-up), and encouraging the audience to throw their names, which few cast members in Dangerous Signs used their name letters to perform into objects or little stories, and so forth in ASL. 

There were great interpreters that helped the audience have access to both English and ASL. They were Miriam Lerner, Denise Herrara, Nora Beckestein, and few others. This kind of show is unique because it was combined with the deaf world and hearing world together by using English (the hearing performers) and ASL (the deaf performers) back and forth in which the interpreters were doing all along. It is rare to have an event that gives this kind of two world approach. The interpreters did a fabulous job.

All in all, this was a great 5th year show. DEAAF (Deaf Education of the Arts for African Families) had their donation jar and information materials set up during the whole show for the audience to donate, ask questions, join them as members, and so forth. DEAAF is a non-for-profit organization that funds and supports deaf and hard of hearing children in Africa to receive the education and school supplies that they need.

Here are the photographs for you all to enjoy.

Def Meets Deaf Poetry Jam 5

You can click on the picture of the flyer above to see the details in bigger size.

The exciting and interactive show of Def Meets Deaf Poetry Jam 5 is coming up on March 30th at Lovin' Cup near Rochester Institute of Technology/National Technical Institute for the Deaf in Rochester, NY. It will be from 2:30 PM to 5:30 PM, free to the public. There will be hearing poets/performing artists that will read or perform their work vocally in English. There will also be deaf/hard of hearing poets/performing artists that will use American Sign Language (ASL). Those performers will take turns on stage through out the show. The interpreters will help the hearing audience who don't read ASL by voicing the deaf/hard of hearing performers' work. They will also help deaf/hard of hearing audience who can't hear the spoken words when hearing performers do their readings. The combination of the deaf world and hearing world is unique and rare, henceforth, this 5th year interactions between hearing world and deaf world becomes once a lifetime true world. There will be all kinds of performances such as spoken words poetry, electronic music with poetry in translation into ASL, group interactive performances, songs translated into ASL, ASL storytelling, and a few more. The diversity of performance styles will give the show a rich taste of what can be seen as creative and experimental.

John Roche, RIT professor, and I (Eddie Swayze) have been collaborating this since 2009 and it's now our 5th year of doing this. This event was jammed with good numbers in the crowd last year, which grew in numbers since the beginning. 

RIT students poetry group called Poetry Slam will do their performance. Two Signature (RIT's annual poetry magazine) winners will read their work. Dangerous Signs will perform their interactive skits of ASL poetry. Four well-respected hearing poets will do their work and 6 great deaf/hard of hearing individuals will present their work in ASL. Lastly, audience participation will be encouraged on the stage to try out ASL performance techniques such as hand shapes and so forth.

Importantly, DEAAF (Deaf Education of the Arts for African Families) will be there to display their brochures, flyers, donations, and other information at the table during the show. They are a non-for profit organization that supports deaf/hard of hearing African children in Africa get the education that they need.

Photos as Old Martin in Royal Hunt of the Sun

Here are photos of me acting as a narrator, Old Martin, in Royal Hunt of the Sun theatrical production. The show took place at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf in the Robert F. Panara Theatre in Rochester, NY from February 7th to 10th. It is the most difficult play I've ever been to due to so many blocking and lines. Surely took my brain a while to get hard-wired to follow the blocks and retain the lines. The production was directed by Jerry Argetsinger, NTID professor in Department of Creative and Studies.

As Old Martin in Royal Hunt of the Sun Production

I was asked by Jerry Argetsinger, director of a theatrical production called Royal Hunt of the Sun to act as Old Martin. I accepted. I am indeed glad that I stepped in since I learned more acting techniques, ideas, and etc. from Jerry Argetsinger for this production. Old Martin tells a flashback story about what he did and saw as a 15 year old pager to general Francisco Pizzaro. This production is about the destruction of the Incas in Peru by the Spaniard soldiers in the year 1532. It's a powerful historical play and a remarkably well-written by Peter Shaffer (the production was originally shown in the 1960's in Britain). I narrate as Old Martin, using American Sign Language (ASL), and I have a voicer who speaks English vocally for the hearing audience. The production will take place at the Robert F. Panara Theatre at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf in Rochester, NY. The show be on Feb. 7th  at 7:30 PM, Feb. 8th, 7:30 PM, Feb. 9th, 7:30 PM plus Sunday matinee, Feb. 10th at 2:00 PM. The cost is $7.00 to the public and $5.00 to students. Here is the flyer of the production below. You can click on this picture to see it bigger.

ASL Poetry Night for DEAAF at Equal Grounds

On December 14th, Dangerous Signs (NTID students), Matt Schwartz, Vicki Nordquist, and Eddie Swayze (myself) presented American Sign Language performances at Equal Grounds. The performance was a fundraising effort to support Deaf Education and the Arts for African Families (DEAAF). It turned out a great success with a packed audience. The fundraising raised up to $261.00 that will go to a school in Zambia, Africa where deaf/hard of hearing kids get their education and their families receive things they need such as shoes, clothing, school supplies, and so forth. It was a great honor to become part of DEAAF and making the fundraising possible. I would like to thank John White, the owner of Equal Grounds, for allowing this to happen. He sent an e-mail to me, saying how impressed he was with the show and asked me to present the show again. Without a doubt, I will make this happen again down the road. I also shall thank 3 interpreters who voiced the performers' sign language for the hearing audience who don't know how to read ASL: Denise Herrara, Chris Coles, and Adam O'Connor.

Here are the pictures of the performance.

Vicki Nordquist

Me and Dangerous Signs

A packed crowd of audience

Matt Schwartz

Tim Holmes and Malik Paris