Interpreting Toby Keith

From: Seattle Post Intelligencer, WA - 15 Feb 2003

Sign language interpreters work in concert with venues to make entertainment accessible to the deaf

Saturday, February 15, 2003

By CHELAN DAVID
SPECIAL TO THE POST-INTELLIGENCER

As the lights dim and Toby Keith strides to center stage, Cozette Amador taps her feet, waiting for the country music star to croon his first tune. Like many in the audience, Amador has been listening to Keith's albums for months in anticipation of this moment.

She has memorized every word to every song and, like the most rabid of fans, Amador won't miss one second of this concert. She can't afford to -- Amador is working as a sign language interpreter, sharing Keith's music and message with fans who can't hear it.

Amador has been an interpreter for 22 years, signing at concerts from Green Day to Reba McEntire to Credence Clearwater Revival. Her first? John Denver, in 1981. Her feelings ran from pre-show butterflies to exhilaration.

"I enjoy music, love to perform in front of people and being an interpreter allows me to perform vicariously through the artist while being able to express myself," she says.

Jenny, a hearing-impaired college student who asked that her last name not be used, enjoyed the concert a week ago thanks to Amador's efforts. Jenny attends concerts as frequently as her student budget will allow. Her favorite performers are Christian and country artists and tonight she is seeing Toby Keith for the first time.

"The most important characteristics of a good interpreter are being familiar with the material and putting spirit into the songs," says Jenny. "If an interpreter is not into the song, I can tell. They have to show the emotion, as well as convey the lyrics."

Jenny lost her hearing eight years ago when she was in a near-fatal car crash, emerging from a coma after three weeks with the realization that she was fully deaf. Cushioning the blow slightly was the fact that she already knew American Sign Language (ASL) before the accident. While growing up in Seattle, Jenny had befriended several deaf classmates, and although she never took ASL classes, she became well-versed in sign language under her friends' tutelage.

Since the accident, Jenny also has become a skilled lip reader, but in order to get the full experience of a concert, she relies on the interpreter to transmit the type of music being played with facial expressions and body language.

"If the interpreter is good I can tell what kind of music is being played," says Jenny. "Also, most artists today use other visual stimuli, such as lights or strobes, to convey the tone of the music."

When not moonlighting as an interpreter, Amador is an ASL teacher at Skyline High School in Sammamish. Facial expressions and body language are two of the areas she emphasizes in her classroom.

"With the spoken word, so much of the meaning is conveyed through tone," explains Amador. "When you speak with your hands, there is no tone, so meaning must be picked up through facial expression and body language."

Inspired by her students, Amador looked into signing for the Keith concert. Several of her pupils wanted to attend the show and were hoping to watch an interpreter, so Amador called the Tacoma Dome and was assigned the job.

John McClees, event services manager at the Dome, says providing interpreters is a requirement of the Americans With Disabilities Act. KeyArena and The Gorge Amphitheatre are other Washington concert venues that provide interpreters upon request, for no extra charge. McClees says the Tacoma Dome receives about five requests per year, usually for concerts or "Disney on Ice," and stresses the importance of making a request early.

"It's always a plus to give the interpreters a chance to practice the songs for the show," says McClees. "We would be hard-pressed to find an interpreter willing to work a show at the last minute." McClees recommends that requests be made up to two months in advance.

Amador usually begins rehearsing for a show six to eight weeks in advance and estimates she will average 40 hours a week of preparation for the performance.

After securing the interpreter position, Amador held a tryout for the advanced ASL students, with the winner serving as the second interpreter for the event. Meghan Myers, a senior at Skyline, won the contest and alternated songs with Amador so each could take breaks during the three-hour concert.

Amador takes her role as an interpreter seriously. On Jan. 26, Super Bowl Sunday, as so many other people scurried about in preparation for the game, Amador and Myers rehearsed for the concert at Skyline. Not only did they memorize each of Keith's songs, but also the repertoire of Rascal Flatts, the opening band.

Before this rehearsal, the interpreters have already familiarized themselves with Keith's material and have transcribed the words in English and then again in ASL word order. As Myers rehearses her favorite Keith song, "Good To Go to Mexico," the signed words mesh simultaneously with the recorded version and her facial expressions manage to convey the song's upbeat attitude perfectly. During one portion of the song there is an instrumental break and Myers explains why she is still signing even though there are no words.

"When there is only music playing but no words I need to sign the word 'music,' " explains Myers. "If I stop signing then the deaf would think the song is over and start clapping."

Interpreters are responsible for more than simply translating lyrics. They provide directions to the restrooms and even instruct the hearing-impaired on how to proceed in an emergency.

The Keith concert presented a special challenge. Fans who are hearing-impaired have a special section reserved near the floor level, but as Jenny took her seat she realized the guardrail and bobbing heads of fans, many of them topped with 10-gallon cowboy hats, made it difficult to get a clear view of the interpreter.

Using sign language, Jenny communicated the situation to Amador, who verbally explained the situation to an usher. A Ticketmaster representative finally told Amador that because the show was sold out, Jenny would have to just try and exchange her seat with someone else to get a better vantage point. Amador relayed the information to Jenny and, fortunately, Jenny was able to quickly trade for a seat with a much better view.

Lori Steik, a friend of Jenny's who attended the show with her, says this kind of annoyance is routine for hearing-impaired fans.

"I've requested interpreters and purchased tickets for several concerts on Jenny's behalf and it's not a simple process," says Steik. "Every venue is different and it can be frustrating trying to obtain the proper seating."

Myers does a lot to make sure Jenny enjoys the show.

"Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue," a song inspired by 9/11 , is Jenny's favorite and as Keith belts out the lyrics, fireworks erupt and red confetti streams from the stage. Myers scoops up a handful of the confetti and brings it to Jenny's seat as a souvenir before rushing back to replace Amador for the next song.

Keith breaks out a few surprises for this show. Midway through the concert, he plays two numbers he calls "bus songs" -- unreleased numbers they have fun writing on while traveling. Amador stays calm as he launches into "Taliban Song," followed by "I'll Never Smoke Weed With Willie (Nelson) Again" and by the middle of each song she is confidently signing the chorus in perfect unison with Keith's vocals.

In addition to being quick on their feet, interpreters must devise a method to convey the meaning of the nonsense words that litter the musical landscape. When a song like "Tutti Frutti" comes up Amador has several options. "I can either put the words in quotes or in ASL and explain the meaning before, during or after the song. If there is no visually conceptual way to share the word, sometimes I will just fingerspell it."

Amador remembers one humorous moment at a workshop when she was signing Sir-Mix-A-Lot's "Baby Got Back": "There is a line in the song that goes 'My anaconda don't want none unless you've got buns hon.' How in the world do you sign that gracefully in front of a group of parents?"

Fortunately, there were no such awkward moments at the Keith concert. Jenny was on her feet almost the entire time and for several songs does not even need an interpreter, as she knew the lyrics and signed along as she danced. Frequently she raised her arms above her head and wiggled her hand from side to side, which is the ASL equivalent of applause.

As the concert came to a close, Jenny bounded down the steps clutching her red confetti and gave each of the interpreters a big hug, thanking them for giving her a helping hand.

"What is it like to be deaf and alone?
In the company of those who can hear,
And you only guess as you go along,
For no one's there with a helping hand,
As you try to keep up with words and song?
You have to be deaf to understand."

-- Excerpt from "You Have To Be Deaf To Understand," by Willard J. Madsen

Chelan David is a Seattle-based writer and can be reached at chdavid10@hotmail.com.

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