Students will have the opportunity to watch a free performance of Green Day’s “American Idiot” musical performed live at the Mark Taper Forum this Sunday.
Vision and Voice’s event begins at 4:30 p.m. with transportation and dinner provided. Registration is currently closed but students can still join the waitlist.
Based on the hit 2004 album by punk rock group Green Day, the musical originally toured on Broadway from 2010-2011. Center Theatre Group and Deaf West Theatre have collaborated to create a deaf-inclusive production that is performed in American Sign Language and spoken English. The show will run until November 16.
Jessica Doherty, an associate content director at Center Theatre Group, highly encourages students to go and see the production.
“If you have never seen a Deaf West production, I truly feel that it is life-changing,” Doherty said. “Part of the reason why Center Theatre Group wanted to produce a show with Deaf West is because their work is transformational.”
Disclosure: Doherty was the co-executive editor of Annenberg Media during the 2021-22 school year.
The show is meant to challenge preconceived notions of what theater is meant to look like.
“It’s moving away from that stereotype of the stuffiness and the quietness of sitting in a theater and clapping when you’re told,” Doherty said. “This is truly a fully responsive show. Like, get up out of your seats and clap and cheer and sing along and dance in the aisles kind of show.”
This performance is a great way to learn more about the Deaf community, Doherty said, adding that one of the goals of Center Theatre Group is to promote accessibility. Working with Deaf West Theatre is one way of ensuring that their shows are as accessible as possible.
“We also have an access performance for people who are low-vision,” Doherty said. “We also have opportunities if you need mobility assistance, there are ways that you can go see the show as well.
“I think the intersectionality of accessibility for this show in particular, is really beautiful and amazing and an experience that you won’t necessarily always have in a theater space and in the theater community,” she continued.
On top of that, Center Theatre Group has a means of providing low-price tickets, including a “FreePlay” program that gives free tickets to anyone under the age of 25 to see shows held by Center Theatre Group.
Fiona Yang, a senior majoring in communication, said that Visions and Voices is a great way for students to get off campus.
“One of the things that makes USC so special is how connected we are to all these things that L.A. has to offer,” Yang said. “They’re giving us that chance, and oftentimes it’s for free, and that’s really great for people who typically might not be able to afford these opportunities.”
Though Visions and Voices offers great opportunities for students, most of the time students don’t know about them before they happen, Yang said. She has never been to a deaf production before, but was interested in it after hearing about the show.
A deaf production that’s easily accessible to students sounded amazing to Cecilia Belle, a freshman majoring in business administration. Being able to see performances and explore new ones is one of the great things about USC, she said.
“One thing about me is when I hear like foreign languages in movies or just people talking, I always try to kind of understand what they’re saying to try to pick up on the language,” Belle said. “I think being able to do that with American Sign Language would be really interesting.”
Reaction to the production has been positive, Doherty said. Because of the unique nature of the show, with the three main characters being played by two actors, one signing and one singing actor, it’s something that’s “artistically rewarding” to watch.
“Folks have been leaving feeling energized and excited about what they just saw, and hopefully they walk away feeling like they can learn from what they saw, and go out into the world and make art that hopefully inspires others,” Doherty said. “Also thinking more critically about who your art is for and how you can tell stories through a variety of different ways, through a variety of different languages, and make it an accessible experience for every type of audience member imaginable.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the production would run until November 6. The production will run through November 16, and the story has been changed to reflect this.