SALT LAKE CITY – Improv Salt Lake’s first ASL Improv & Poetry night on September 3rd was a rousing success! This sold-out show  at the Alliance Theater brought laughter to the audience while raising awareness and funds for the Sego Lily Center for Abused Deaf.

The show featured an all-signing cast and was completely presented in American Sign Language (ASL). For the hearing audience not fluent in ASL, there were two interpreters providing English dialogue. The staging was quite unobtrusive with the interpreters sitting in the front row with microphones, allowing the focus to be on the signers onstage. Intermittently, the interpreters stood onstage to provide ASL interpretation when an audience member was speaking to answer a prompt. This strong collaborative spirit between the interpreters and players as they worked to ensure everyone’s understanding made the show accessible and engaging for both the Deaf and hearing audience members. The audience was further drawn into the production with the interactive use of glow sticks. Due to the inability of some of the poets and players to hear the audiences’ reactions, glow sticks were distributed to the audience to wave in appreciation and signify laughter to the players onstage. A simple, but highly effective way to allow for connection between the poets/players and the audience.

After a collection of poetry, the remainder of the evening featured an Improv show. Though shorter than the improv section of the show, the poetry segment was a wonderful insight into the expressive and emotive nature of ASL. Mary Beth Baierl started the night with three clever number poems. Before beginning she explained to the audience that a number poem uses the ASL handshapes to tell a story while simultaneously counting numbers. As Mary Beth signed onstage, one interpreter interpreted the story of the poem, while the other recited the numbers. Thus, playing into the duality of different handshapes in this visual language. Jasi Sefcik-Razo’s poem about a man being chased by a gorilla had the perfect build of hilarity that resulted in a wave of glowsticks in the audience. Other talented poets of the night included Nicole Banks, Malika Grossinger, and Cali Urla.

The improv segment was a playful insight into the physical comedy possibilities of signing. During this section of the night, the poets were joined by players Helen Taylor, Karmina, and Lacie. The Improv games played included: Late for Work, Party Quirks, Conspiracy Panel, Murder Mystery, Red Flag? I Can Explain, and ASL Handshape Game. During the games, Jasi continued to prove her keen sense of comedic timing with her vibrant expressions and use of physical comedy. Lacie’s enthusiasm and creativity throughout the night made her a memorable player. The players all had an easy camaraderie as they supported each other and worked together to follow the prompts.

Co-producers and directors, Helen Taylor and her partner, Brady Genessey, worked together throughout the show to keep the improv games running smoothly. Brady did an excellent job as the MC moderating the games, explaining the rules to the audience and keeping them engaged with “would you rather” questions in between games. He used a lightsaber to signify when a scene started and ended, capturing the attention of both the hearing and Deaf audience members. Helen’s ability to wear many hats throughout the performance was truly impressive. She performed as a player in the improv games, assisted in explaining the rules of the games, and frequently coached the players onstage when the game started to stall.

An innovative aspect of the show was the fundraising interactivity of the improv games. Three of the seven games had a pay to play element. The top donors of each round were able to control an aspect of the game and give the actors special qualities affecting their character choices. This was a clever and fun way to encourage donations and involve the audience in the creative process. By the end of the night, the audience had donated $650 from the pay to play games alone. It was later announced on Improv Salt Lake’s social media pages that ticket sales and matching contributions raised the donations to approximately $2000.

Improv Salt Lake’s first ASL Improv & Poetry night was thoroughly enjoyable. The show not only entertained the audience, but also raised vital funds and awareness for the Sego Lily Center. Through laughter, expressive storytelling, and inclusive design, the event showcased the power of ASL as both an artistic and comedic medium, laying a strong foundation for future inclusive performances in Salt Lake City.