Our stories don’t have to be heard to be understood
A group of dramatists taught learners from Kamagugu Inclusive School a special way to portray their ideas.
Photos: Marinette Potgieter
KAMAGUGU – You don’t need the ability to hear to leave crowds speechless with your acting skills.
Last Friday learners at KaMagugu Inclusive School experienced this first-hand when the renowned From the Hip Kulugahle (FTHK) held a workshop as part of its Tell-Tale Signs (TTS) programme.
The purpose of TTS, which started in 2007, is to teach children with hearing disabilities to mime their ideas by using their hands and bodies. This has reached more than 50 000 learners in eight years.
“We want to prove that you don’t need words to convey a simple idea, like a flower growing out of the ground,” said FTHK project manager Sherna Fester. “We don’t teach them sign language, they already
know it.
“We teach them universal gestures and to display their ideas with exaggerated emotion. If they use their eyes and their whole body to tell a story, no matter which language you speak, you can’t misunderstand the story.”
FTHK is a remarkable organisation, setting trends in the theatre industry that will extend far beyond class or riches.
“We want to teach people to listen with their eyes.”
Its TTS programme consists of various tours which extend over three provinces: the Western Cape, Mpumalanga and Gauteng, focusing specifically on rural areas. Programmes like this earned the organisation the critically acclaimed Fleur de Cap Award for Innovation in Theatre in 2011.
The company boasts a powerful team to unleash the learners’ potential.
For this leg of the programme, FTHK has acquired Ramesh Meyyappan (a UK-based deaf artist who has worked with the organisation previously), collaborator Sjaka Septembir, company member Liezl de Kock, and Sherna Fester.
Freddy Sidebe, a school teacher, assisted the instructors and Kate Reynolds interpreted the sign language.
The company’s next stop will be in the Western Cape where they will visit the Dominican School for the Deaf in Wittebome, Cape Town; Del La Bat School for the Deaf in Worcester and Noluthando School for the Deaf in Khayelitsha.
