Dramatic touch
This Mountville man loves the theater despite not being able to see or hear. For him, EPAC’s ‘The Miracle Worker’ carries special meaning.
Lancaster New Era
Published: Feb 09, 2009
10:07 EST
Ephrata
By JANE HOLAHAN, Staff Writer
Andy Stender loves the theater.
Andy Stender holds hands with his two interpreters - Joanne Reiley
(left) and Tara Potterveld - durin...(more)
Stender communicates with Potterveld.
This Mountville man loves the theater despite not being able to
see or hear. For him, EPAC's 'The Mira...(more)
3 of 3
He's gone to the last three shows at the Fulton and is planning
to attend "The Miracle Worker" at the Ephrata Performing Arts Center
on Thursday.
"I love being there, being a part of it," Stender explains.
The fact that he is deaf and blind does not lessen the pleasure
for Stender, 45, who lives in Mountville.
With an interpreter by his side, signing into his hand, Stender
is able to follow the action on stage.
As he explained through interpreters Tara Potterveld and Joanne Reiley
— who is herself deaf and Stender's girlfriend — his reasons
are no different than anyone else's.
It's a fun night out and a chance to let his imagination take him
into different worlds.
Since he goes to a performance that features interpreters for the
deaf, he often runs into friends.
"There are deaf people who come from Philadelphia and it's great
to see them," he says. "We'll go to the Prince Street Cafe across the
street before the show and have a meal and catch up."
His first date with Reiley was to go see "42nd Street" at the
Fulton in December.
"He came out of the theater and said he had the best time,"
Reiley says. "He said he remembered old Fred Astaire movies."
And he could feel the vibration of all the tap dancing.
But going to the theater requires help.
Someone will sign the performance and then another interpreter
signs into Stender's hand, a process called tactile signing.
Reiley says it can be tough over a long period of time.
"It wears you out — your hands and your shoulders," she says.
While it takes a little longer than regular signing, both Stender
and Reiley communicate at a rapid pace.
Stender has a genetic disorder called Usher Syndrome, which
caused him to be born profoundly deaf and to begin losing his eyesight when
he was a boy. He became totally blind about eight
years ago.
To help prepare for life without sight, Stender went to the Helen
Keller Center on Long Island, N.Y., several times in the last 25
years.
"I did training there and I learned Braille. It's a great place
because it teaches you independent living skills, job training," he says.
"And best of all, it gave me computer training. I didn't want to be
left behind."
Stender is especially interested in seeing "The Miracle Worker,"
which is the story of how a young Helen Keller, who, like Stender, was
deaf and blind, learned to communicate with her teacher, Annie
Sullivan.
"I am curious about it," Stender says. "I remember the movie with
Patty Duke as Helen. The first sign she had was 'water.'"
There is actually not a lot of signing in "The Miracle Worker,"
according to its director, Matthew Good.
"Most of the signing is finger spelling. Because the entire
audience has to see it, we had to make it more pronounced, sharper," he
says. "But there are long passages with no dialogue, where it's all
stage direction. That's been challenging for me."
Both Amy Hoke, who is playing Annie, and Lauren Elledge, who is
playing Helen and at 9 is one of the youngest Helens to grace a local
stage, know sign language, as do several others in the cast.
Good is thrilled that Stender is coming to see the play
|
E-News & Videos + 
