ALS 3 Interprets for “The Crucible”
This year, ASL 3 students are teaming up with the drama department to provide interpretation for the school’s plays, ensuring that everyone—including members of the Deaf community—can fully enjoy each performance. Interpreting a play is a complex task that goes far beyond simply translating lines into American Sign Language. It requires a deep understanding of both languages, the script, and the emotions driving each scene.
To learn more about this process, I spoke with Victor Garcia-Lizotte, an ASL 4 student who has experience interpreting school productions. He was very helpful in answering the questions. When asked which upcoming play they would be interpreting, Victor explained, “We interpret both the fall play and the spring musical, but right now we are preparing for ‘The Crucible,’ our upcoming play, which will run November 13th through 15th. We’ll be interpreting the matinee on Saturday, November 15th.”
Interpreting isn’t something you can do at the last minute because it takes a lot of time to translate an English version of the script into ASL gloss.
When asked how much time you dedicate to practicing for a play, Victor explained, “While preparing for a performance, we dedicate well over 100 hours to practice. We work closely with the drama department to ensure nothing is left out for our Deaf audience.”
When asked about their roles, Victor said, “We all share similar responsibilities—no one has a bigger or smaller role. ASL 3 and 4 are treated as ‘on-the-job’ learning. We’re responsible for communicating with the drama department and making sure there’s equal access for our Deaf community.”
When asked about the most important and difficult part of interpreting plays, Victor described the most challenging aspect of interpreting plays: “The most important thing is practice and making sure everything flows smoothly with what the actors are saying. The hardest part is translating from English to ASL and then practicing for fluency to ensure we are staying in time with the actors.”
“What is your favorite part of interpreting? Despite the challenges, Victor finds the experience rewarding. “My favorite part of interpreting is seeing the faces of Deaf people in the audience—watching the play, looking at us, showing emotion, and being so invested.”
This year’s ASL students working alongside Victor include Andy Merlos-Tello, Olive Zeigler, Jaidynn Spelts, and Sarai Ibarra. Their hard work and dedication ensure that everyone can experience the magic of live theater.
