Dear friends and supporters,
What an amazing weekend! This past weekend was our very first shooting and I’m very pleased with the results. I must thank my crew people for contributing their talents and their expertise to the film, “I Sign and I Live.” I really enjoyed directing this past weekend, as well. The actors were very committed to breathing life into the printed page and bringing the characters alive. It will be very interesting to see how the audience will react to the movie.
At first, I envisioned that the completed film would follow more of the Hollywood standards of female and male appearance, but then I faced issues of prejudice and even racism from the original actors who were cast who follow those Hollywood stereotypes. That experience caused me really change my view on Hollywood standards of weight and appearance. I chose not to have my film to be part of those unhealthy stereotypes perpetuated by Hollywood. After I made with these changes, I’m proud to say that the diversity of the actors is contributing to the film achieving its message.
To those of you, including newcomers, who are getting involved in participating and even working in the Deaf community through interpreting, teaching, and advocating, this is an opportunity to reciprocate and give back to the Deaf community for all it has provided to you, a knowledge of language, ASL and opportunity for jobs and to be involved with us in advocating for our own existence as Deaf beings. This is great opportunity for you to give back to the Deaf community, by donating to the financial support of this film, “I Sign and I Live.”
As the producer of the film, “I Sign and I Live,” I’m searching for actors who live in the Maryland and DC area. The film’s shooting dates for the Maryland area are: March 14 and 15, 2009, Saturday and Sunday, at the Maryland School for the Deaf. The kind of actors needed for the filming that will be done in the Maryland and DC area include both children’s and adults’ roles. For the children’s roles, we’re looking for children who are between the ages of 9 and 12 years old, including Deaf children, CODA children, and children with cochlear implants, too. If you’re the parent of a child who is interested, please contact us at isignilive@gmail.com and type “Child Actor” in the subject line of the e-mail. I really hope to hear from you! It will be fun for the children and will be a good experience for them to be involved in the film.
For the adult roles for the filming that will be taking place in the Maryland/DC area, we are searching for six actors who are hearing and who can sign “sim-com,” (meaning “simultaneous communication”, what people do when they attempt to speak and sign at the same time.) Actors for these roles do not need to be skilled signers. One actor for one of these roles does not need to know any signs at all. There are three characters that do not have any lines, and these three could be Deaf or hearing people. I hope to hear from you. It will be fun. Students from ASL programs or interpreting programs are welcome to act in the film. If you’re interested, please send me an e-mail to this address: isignilive@gmail.com and write “Adult Actor” in the subject line. For more information about the roles, please click on the link to read about the MD/DC acting roles on the menu on the right-hand side of the screen. I hope to hear from you.
Please don’t forget to donate! And please also spread the word about the film to your friends, your family, and colleagues.
Cinematically,
Aidan
