Downplayed and Upstaged

"A" showed up stoned??? This only goes ...

2009-10-28T11:48:07.008-05:00

"A" showed up stoned??? This only goes to prove how oblivious I am to reality. I must live in a parallel universe. Boy am I stupid.

Hear, hear (no pun intended!)! Welcome back to bl...

2009-10-27T12:27:23.287-05:00

Hear, hear (no pun intended!)! Welcome back to blogland Cleric. I, too, missed your writing about our process in putting together "Every Man...".

But since I don't smoke, I'm glad to know that it is not I who caused such acido and angst. I remember well the night when Dan yelled. The next day, aftyer he had apologized for yelling, I told him that we were going to have to send him to yelling school or perhaps arrange for him to parent a houseful of kids in order to perfect the art of yelling.

Working with Dan was the most amazing experience for me. His consumate professionalism and quiet straightforward approach to his craft created an atmosphere of trust; created a safe place to try things and to fail without recrimination. He is perhaps the most "un-divalike" person I have ever met in theater (excluding, of course , you dear Cleric).

Being an outsider to this group had at least one advantage. I was unaware of all the drama. To the untrained eye I didn't see the trainwreck which was approaching. But what I did see was a young woman whose life was spiraling. This is not an apologetic for anyone (or Everyone), just an observation. Hopefully the participation in this extrordinary endeavor changed her life, as it did mine and so many others.

Love you Cleric...and admire your smarts and your devotion to your art. Keep blogging. It is always fun to read.

First of all, I would like to start with “Yea, Wel...

2009-10-25T08:54:11.994-05:00

First of all, I would like to start with “Yea, Welcome Back!” I have enjoyed your observations and am glad that you are blogging again.

I am relatively new to the art of the theater and over the past year I have had the opportunity to witness the theater process from several different perspectives - - most recently on stage with this show. The experience was phenomenal, and I have become addicted to the theater – without a doubt. Someone who has known theater as a focus and a mainstay in their life since they probably don’t remember when probably looks at me like “OK – that’s cute. She’s smitten with the theater.” Much the same as when someone without children says they love kids and I think to myself how they will never truly know what that love means until they become a parent and then witness for themselves their own heart walking around outside their body. My point is… I’m a newbie, barely experienced in the theater and completely in awe of the people who everyday put themselves (their emotions, their creativity, what they have made that completely comes from somewhere inside) out there for other people to witness, experience and even criticize.

That being said… You are entirely right about the night that Dr. Nadon lost his cool (absolutely justified in doing so, btw, and I did not think he needed to apologize at all) being the turning point. After that night just about everyone – I’m sorry – everybody stepped it up and the whole project took on a different significance. After this - when things that threatened the show would come up, or when blame was repeatedly shifted, and even now looking back - I am completely impressed with the level of professionalism and perseverance that I observed from the people who truly put their hearts into telling this tale in the way that it was told.

That’s it – a long winded way of saying how impressed I was. Oh – and that you were right (I know that is good for your ego) – but then you already knew that. Thank you – and keep blogging! I’m so glad you’re back online!

10% is becoming a myth. Below are some statements...

2009-09-08T19:22:28.029-05:00

10% is becoming a myth.

Below are some statements from the article "Chasing the Mythical Ten Percent: Parental Hearing Status of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students in the United States" that appeared in Winter 2004 issue, Volume 4, Number 2 of Sign Language Studies, pages 138 to 163. It was written by Ross E. Mitchell and Michael A. Karchmer with the acknowledgment to Sue Hotto, Kay Lam, John Woo, Anna Lex, Linda Stamper, Russ Perkins, Robert C. Johnson and unnamed Sign Language Studies reviewers.

The following statements appeared in the conclusion section of the article, pages 156 to 158:

.... First, estimating the prevalence of
deaf-of-deaf students in the current
generation of school-age children and
youth is difficult. ...

.... Second, our analysis strongly
suggests that Schein's (1989) 90-percent
rule is not entirely accurate. To expect
that 10 percent of the deaf and hard of
hearing children and youth in the United
Sates, at least those identified for
educational programs or services in
relation to their deafness, come from
families with at least one deaf parent
would certainly overshoot the mark.
Four percent is a safer estimate, with
roughly three-quarters of these children
coming from families where both parents
are deaf. ...

.... However, if we include students for
whom at least one parent is hard of
hearing when estimating the prevalence
of deaf-of-deaf students we come closer
to, but still short of, 10 percent. ...

.... Ninety-two percent of the children are
from families where both parents are
hearing (8 percent from families with
deaf or hard of hearing parents).
(footnote 10) Nearly 96 percent of these
children are from families with no deaf
parents (4 percent from families with
deaf parents).

Our second finding begs for research
that would identify meaningful distinctions
between being a deaf or hard of hearing
child of a family with at least one
identified deaf parent and being of a
family with at least one identified hard
of hearing parent. ...

.... If our assertion that only the students
identified as having at least one deaf
parent defines the correct indicator for
identifying the deaf-of-deaf population,
then the 90-percent rule would cause us
to overestimate by more than double the
prevalence of student with deaf parents.

Joseph Pietro Riolo
josephpietrojeungriolo@gmail.com

You are so sweet. :) With a little luck, I'll...

2009-08-21T09:15:44.713-05:00

You are so sweet. :)

With a little luck, I'll actually be starting on an additional blogging adventure soon... I'll let you know if it comes through.