As a recent project to translate Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" into sign language shows, "body language" can speak volumes.

A troupe of professional translators/performers from the National Theatre of the Deaf in Chester, Connecticut, came to Trumbull College this summer to prepare an all-signed version of the classic comedy. Their work here demonstrated just how complicated, subtle and eloquently beautiful translating from print to sign can be.

The project is the brainchild of Peter Novak, dean of Trumbull College, whose fascination with sign language dates back to his childhood, when he lived near a school for the deaf. A doctoral candidate in the School of Drama's department of dramaturgy and dramatic criticism, Novak has reviewed two productions at the National Theater of the Deaf for American Theater magazine and has taught, acted, and served as dramaturg for many Shakespearean plays.

Novak saw the adaptation of Shakespeare from printed to signed "text" as an opportunity to explore barely charted territory. He submitted a proposal to Yale's Digital Media Center for the Arts for a grant to create a video transcription of a signed version of the play. While the National Theatre of the Deaf has performed certain adaptations of Shakespeare -- including a version of "Hamlet" from the women's point of view -- this is the first time the troupe recorded the "translation." Novak is the project director for the endeavor.

Although most of those associated with the production are themselves deaf, a few (including Novak) are not. All of them, however, are fluent in American Sign Language, and use it in everyday conversation.

Challenges of translation

The process of translating from print to sign is a lesson in the art of communication and the communication of art, according to Novak. It is also a process fraught with challenges that test the limits of imagination and ingenuity, he says.

"The most difficult part is rhyming," explains Novak, noting that rhyme is by definition a similarity of sounds, a concept that is inherently foreign to sign language. The way out of the paradox, he explains, is to find close visual images to translate the text. Sometimes, it can take hours to come up with just the right adaptation, he notes.

Double-entendre and irony, however, lend themselves more handily to sign language, according to Novak. In "Twelfth Night," for example, the character Malvolio fantasizes about being a count and passing the time by playing with "some rich jewel," which carries a sexual innuendo. To render that speech into sign language, the translators arrive at a sequence of gestures that convey both literal and connoted meaning, which is subtle and suggestive without being crude.

"American Sign Language is a physical language," says Will Rhys, artistic director of the National Theatre of the Deaf. "ASL is not just signs. It's body language."

This "body language" was very much in evidence as the translators went through the lively but painstaking process of developing their unique adaptation. As they worked, the artists conversed, disagreed, challenged each other and made jokes in a kind of improvised dance from the waist up that manifested the athletic agility of a gymnast, the supple grace of a Kabuki actor and the dexterity of a magician.

As a first step in creating their "script," the translators had to reach a consensus on the actual meaning of the line of Shakespearean text. Then they developed ways of conveying that meaning in sign, often substituting certain words with those of similar meaning for the purposes of visual adaptation. After taking into account nuance, connotation and word-play and trying out different ways of expressing the meaning and spirit of the line, the artists would agree on a final "text." While ASL users sometimes spell out words letter by letter, the translators used that method only as a last resort when the right combination of physical signs couldn't be found.

Once the translation for each scene was completed, the "script" was recorded using the high-tech video facilities at the Digital Media Center for the Arts. The resulting video transcription ensures that the signed translation of the play is not lost, explains Novak. The recording will serve as a vehicle whereby actors learn their lines.

Will Rhys, a veteran director of signed productions -- including musicals -- says that Novak "is making a big advance" through the innovation of video transcription. Until now, actors had to depend primarily on written notes, a method that is notoriously deficient, notes Rhys.

An all-signed, full-scale production of "Twelfth Night" based on the translation videotaped at Yale is scheduled to open at the newly founded Amaryllis Theatre in Philadelphia in October 2000. Thanks to his video transcription, the future of this production can extend long beyond its Philadelphia run, notes Novak.

Video clips of the translation in progress can been seen at the project's website, http://www.yale.edu/asl12night.

-- By Dorie Baker

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