As a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults), theatrical interpreter Lynnette Taylor grew up with sign language as her first language - her home language. When she moved to San Francisco to attend the Academy of Art, no one told her that she would be separated from her first language in an all-hearing environment. Lynnette realized something was off when she met a Deaf man looking for an interpreter to participate in the 504 Sit-in, a civil rights demonstration for disabled people. In that moment, her life changed forever.
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As a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults), theatrical interpreter Lynnette Taylor grew up with sign language as her first language - her home language. When she moved to San Francisco to attend the Academy of Art, no one told her that she would be separated from her first language in an all-hearing environment. Lynnette realized something was off when she met a Deaf man looking for an interpreter to participate in the 504 Sit-in, a civil rights demonstration for disabled people. In that moment, her life changed forever.
Tune in to listen as Host Ashley J. Hicks chats with Lynnette about her origin story and how she combined her experience as a native signer and lover of the arts to create a robust career as a theatre interpreter.
“This is a political act. Interpreting for the theater is a political act. Sharing this space is a political act. We need to be in this conversation about what politics are being made.” - Lynnette Taylor
CLICK HERE for an ASL interpreted version of of this podcast on A.R.T./New York’s YouTube page
Episode Transcript
GUEST BIO:
Lynnette Taylor, BFA, CSC, brings her experience as a native signer and love of the arts to interpreted theatre to her teaching. She has interpreted over 100 Broadway and off Broadway shows that run the gamut from drama to comedy to musicals as well as interpreting behind the scenes for Deaf talent in Film,Television and Theatre. She was one of the curriculum developers and taught for over a decade at the national “Interpreting for the Theatre Seminar” held at the Juilliard School in New York City. She has published articles on interpretation and taught ethics and translation at LaGuardia Interpreter Education Program.She organized and co-moderated the Community Forums at the RID National Biennial Conference for 10 years. These past several years, she has been working with A.R.T./New York and Hands On, presenting workshops on interpreted theatre and is currently at work on a book about Interpreting Theatre with co-authors Stephanie Feyne and Candace Broecker- Penn, soon to be published.
As a filmmaker, her work has focused on Deaf artists in Ella Mae Lentz’s, The Treasure, and showcasing artists in, Language Landscape. She is an award winning stop motion animation filmmaker.
Additional Links:
An ASL interpreted version of of this podcast is available on A.R.T./New York’s YouTube page.
Learn more about Hands On Sign Interpreted Theatrical Performances!
For more information about A.R.T./New York, please visit https://www.art-newyork.org/
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