Interpreting: April 2006 Archives

because working alone leads to bad decisions. :-( Al Franken was terrific and I really wanted to be interpreting. But I'm not an exhibitionist. Truly. It is not fun or fulfilling to interpret for an audience of non-deaf people. The feedback, the interaction that makes it communication doesn't happen. People like it, yes, but they don't understand it!

It didn't help that I was scheduled to work solo for 90 minutes. It's a long time, longer than I usually do since that good ol' repetitive motion injury, but I considered that the energy of the event would keep me going. However, not without an audience!

I probably won't get to meet him, but I'm sure I will enjoy interpreting Al Franken in Brattleboro today. Gotta love this job!

I also like interpreting public events, because I think the rules for talking about them are somewhat different than the intensive confidentiality that is absolutely vital for most other work. I would still regard any private/professional conversations as confidential (among stagehands, say, or members of the audience with staff or performers or other members of the audience, etc.), but those things that occur on stage, in public, and for the public open up a space for some commentary.

ps: the cows are on the march!