SASL Newsletter - Spring 2018 Issue Issue 9 - Spring 2018 | Page 14

Motorcycling to Win
As shown, "Motorcycling to Win" is a recently released YouTube video of three young boys
doing a group performance in ASL. This presentation involves a short story of a motorcycle rider
getting ready for a variety of riding stunts. The story ends with the rider winning in the midst of flashing
bulbs and a trophy. Had this story been told by one person, it would have been ordinary, however, the
manner in which the story is told dramatically increases its entertaining value. The signers clearly spent
much time on rehearsals for the presentation, as one boy leads in telling the story, with two boys
standing behind him as co-signers supporting him in telling the story as well. The resulting coordination
between the three boys is amazing sequential and simultaneous hand and sign movements. This
highly synchronized ASL work shares some analogies with one playful performance, that is, with adult
signers and the story about a rescue at sea in the National Theatre of the Deaf's 1973 production of
"My Third Eye."
(1 minute long)
The Power of ASL
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Spring 2018 – Issue 9