Chapter Six

Chapter Six

I am constantly amazed at what an expressive language American Sign Language is. Not only does it act as a wonderful way for people of all walks of life to communicate with one another bur it also serves as one of the most beautiful forms of performance art I have ever seen.

Simply by using facial expressions, body language and hand gestures (e.g. signs) one can convey any meaning or message they like. Seeing a story signed and or performed in American Sign Language (ASL) is one of the greatest forms of expression that has come out of this beautiful language, in my opinion.

As the final exam in one of my ASL classes, my fellow classmates and I had the opportunity to sign individual stories to one another and what an experience that was. We had about a month to prepare our stories and on the day of the final exam our professor would video tape them as they were performed on stage in the auditorium.

I truly enjoyed signing my story in front of my fellow classmates. I have always had a passion for performing so when it came time for this I found myself immersed in the process. Our professor encouraged us to become each character, through the facial expressions we picked, the signs we used even the space in which we took up. 

You see, without putting emphasis on facial expressions and the meaning behind how each of the signs is expressed there would be no connection as to what was being expressed through ASL. It's similar to how in English we put punctuation on certain words or phrases.

The next time you see someone signing, take a moment to think about the amount of work and preparation it took to get their point across.

Until next time....Happy Signing Everyone!