Sun


Sunday, October 2, 1994
Woman helps the hearing impaired experience the rhythm, melody and lyrics of a performance.
MUSIC to their EYES
By Gina Binole
Sun staff
Sometimes her hands fly as fast as eggbeaters. And sometimes, her hands waft slowly like ocean waves. Anne Clark says the movement she makes depends on the music she hears.
Clark is an American Sign Language interpreter for the deaf and the hearing-impaired. But unlike many of her cohorts, she does not limit herself to the classroom or casework.
Clark, who can hear. also takes to the stage, helping deaf people relate to the rhythm, melody and lyrics of a performance. This summer she stood on the side of the Centrum stage at Fort Worden State Park, signing to the music of Michelle Shocked, performers at the Blues Festival and American Fiddle Tune participants. She also emceed the Jazz Festival.
Centrum's next few events involve dancing and chamber music and most likely won't lend themselves to sign language. But venues across the country.
"Doin' what I do is like making sure wheelchairs can move down an aisle. Most musicians want their shows to be available to everybody," Clark savs. "There are some deaf people who are not interested in music, but for ones that are. (signing to performances) is wonderful for them." Peter McCracken. prograrn manager at Centrum, says people-- those who can hear and those who can't--have been very supportive of Clark's spirited interpretations. She's opened up a lot of minds; says McCracken, who helped secure grants to pay for Clark's services. Clark says although there are others who will sign musical performances. she is unique because she also is a musician. And she insists she really has a touch for interpreting those tunes. 		She plays the mandolin and the fiddle. She started nearly two decades ago. She says she was tone deaf, shy and determined. "I thought it would be neat when I got to be a little old lady to sit on the porch and squeak out fiddle tunes:" she says. It was several years ago, during one of her own gigs in California. that she became interested in learning sign language. was interpreting for her," Clark recalls. Sitting on her living room couch. she is both fawnuke and forceful. The twinkle in her hazel eyes rivals the wattage of a Christmas tree. "This young woman was so enjoying what we were doing and had such a great smile, I went up to her after the show." Clark put the girl's hand on her fiddle and let her feel it. She put it under the girl's chin and let her play it. "I was intrigued:" Clark says. "I thought combining music with signing and getting more of a feeling would be beautiful:"
Indeed. this woman can mesmerize an audience like a metronome. She moves her hands, of course. But she also just moves. Everything from her long brown hair to the bottom of her skirt.
When she can. Clark rehearses with each performer and listens to their tapes. It's not always easy.
I have worked with people who mumble and have really strong accents" she says. "If they're playing something in a minor key, it has a real different feel than a major key," she says. "Minor is a sort of longing. I pick up on that kind of energy." She says she has to think in sign language. And in music. "I find a way to move to the music and interact with the musicians without being a distraction:" she says. "I seem to get into it but I don"t steal the show."
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