Our idea is to combine the two. Acting, or better, ‘miming’ and using expressions and actions to convey the emotions and thoughts that one would generally do with sign language. It‘s very difficult for a deaf and mute person to convey even the simplest of messages, and since sign language isn’t universally known, acting seems like a fun thing to experiment with.
A friend and I put up an act together as mimes combining sign language and the art of miming. Our concept was to make communication for the deaf and mute easier as a common man wouldn’t understand sign language without training. It also encourages this part of our society to indulge in performing arts. We prepared four narratives and performed at around our college campus’ and got people to fill feedback forms to check if our act worked. We got a good feedback which said that the acting really worked and helped communicate better. Everyone understood the act and thought sign language and acting played equally important roles. (2012)
Ria Bajaj 