A few days before each new Clin d’Oeil festival kicks off, the grounds slowly begin to reassemble and animate. Every two years, approximately 20,000 deaf people from around the world come to Reims, France, to celebrate the best visual storytelling the deaf world has to offer. This year marked the first time an American theatre group performed at the festival, made up of enthusiastic Gallaudet undergraduate and graduate students, who also assisted Clin d’Oeil staff and volunteers in setting up, running, and breaking down the festival.
Fiona Grugan, manager of Gallaudet’s Global Education program, says, “This is the result of two years of building something real. These students didn’t just attend an international festival, they worked it, performed in it, and held their own inside a global Deaf arts community.”
Getting “Off the Rails” on track
The project originated as a conversation between Gallaudet University Performing Arts (GUPA) co-director Annie Wiegand, E-’99, and James Caverly, ’11, after which GUPA co-director Ethan Sinnott and Andrew Morrill, ’16, quickly came on board. “Ethan and Annie came to me with the idea, and we spent two years turning it into something real: academic credit, logistics, funding, all of it,” Grugan says.
GUPA students got involved in Fall 2025 with an exciting devising workshop led by Caverly and Morrill. The group collaborated to create “Off the Rails,” an original script centered on a series of subway vignettes. “The process encouraged creative problem-solving, active listening, and openness to different perspectives as students shared ideas and shaped a collective vision. It was a true testament to teamwork,” says Wiegand.
School of Arts and Humanities Director Teresa Blankmeyer Burke says the entire program is a testament to the value of liberal arts education at Gallaudet, since students must draw on their knowledge and creativity while deftly applying people skills and judgment, both in the classroom and abroad. “Navigating unfamiliar places and communicating across languages gave students opportunities to build independence, cultural awareness, and confidence in connecting with others,” says Wiegand.
From start to finish, students took a proactive role in the project. They earned one credit through the devising workshop and another through the spring orientation course, in which they prepared for their travels, applied for scholarships, and held additional rehearsals with Morrill and Caverly.
It takes a village…of faculty, staff, and alumni
Behind the scenes, Grugan and the Global Education team (formerly Education Abroad and International Fellowships) handled the logistics that made the trip possible. Students and faculty applied to perform at the festival, went through the rigorous screening process, and were selected to perform, competing alongside seasoned performers.
In France, Performing Arts Associate Professor MoMo Holt led the five-week Education Abroad course, serving as mentor and guide for the students. She kept students grounded in the experience by having them journal and giving feedback on those journals throughout the trip. Lighting Supervisor Norah Matthews, ’11, was instrumental in coordinating production needs while providing mentorship and support to the cohort. She served as the program’s stage manager, running daily schedules and keeping everything backstage moving.
Wiegand and Sinnott joined the team for rehearsals and performances in Reims, alongside Caverly and Morrill, to help bring “Off the Rails” to the Clin d’Oeil stage.
Destination: France
Equipped with their campus-based preparations, students traveled to Paris at the beginning of June in the midst of an historic European heat wave. They spent the first three weeks on an intensive schedule to prepare for the festival. Each morning, they spent four hours studying Deaf history, Langue des Signes Française (LSF), and International Sign (IS).
Afterward, they rehearsed for 3 hours every afternoon at the International Visual Theatre (IVT), a Parisian hub for Deaf culture and performance that has been bringing sign language to the stage since 1977. There, they had an incredible opportunity to study acting techniques with deaf French master teacher Bachir Saifi and his assistant, Malek Masmouli. “Bachir brought the stern approach of a traditional French acting teacher, challenging students to sharpen their skills, respond to feedback, and adapt to a different teaching style,” says Wiegand.
Beyond tourist sites: connecting with local Deaf people and history
The group visited attractions such as the Eiffel Tower, the Paris Opera, the Comédie-Française, and sites connected to the French playwright Molière, accompanied by local deaf guides. They also co-hosted a community event in Paris to meet local deaf people and explored direct links to Gallaudet and American deaf history firsthand by touring the Institut National de Jeunes Sourds (INJS), the first deaf school in France. Gallaudet students dined there daily with INJS high school students and used its campus chapel for additional rehearsals.
Before heading to Reims, they also traveled to Lyon to learn about the life and legacy of Laurent Clerc at the Musée d’Histoire et de Culture des Sourds in Louhans, and Clerc’s birthplace and museum at La Balme-les-Grottes. Many students expressed how special it was to see the history they learned about made real.
Ready, set, festival!
The Gallaudet team arrived in Reims on June 24 to help get the Clin d’Oeil up and running on July 2. The cohort exercised teamwork, initiative, and flexibility while communicating in LSF, IS, and ASL. “Students practiced following directions across languages, asking questions, and coordinating tasks with new colleagues. They helped set up and take down tents and fencing, moved equipment and materials around the festival grounds, and assisted wherever extra hands were needed,” Wiegand says.
During the festival setup, the company also found time to squeeze in more rehearsals with Wiegand, Sinnott, Caverly, and Morrill. Once the four-day festival began, the students performed eight times, following a rigorous schedule of two shows per day.
“They only had 15 minutes before and after each show to set up and clear the space for the next production. They practiced time management, clear communication, and accountability, learning to anticipate needs, solve problems under pressure, and support one another through a demanding schedule,” says Wiegand.
As students helped the temporary city of Clin d’Oeil fold up, Wiegand says the experience and benefits reach far beyond the classroom or stage. “I saw our students strengthen their interpersonal skills, take responsibility for their contributions, and see themselves as part of an international Deaf arts community.”
The experience was striking for students as well. August Bird, ’16, a senior in the group, says, “The biggest thing that stuck with me from Reims was how, for the first time, Deaf people were the majority in this small town. Everywhere you went, on the bus, on the stages, on the screens. It’s unlike anything else. You see people from different countries who have never met become instant friends despite any language barrier.” Their tangible contribution to that sense of belonging is not likely to fade anytime soon.
On or off stage, Gallaudet’s Performing Arts program equips students with what they need to thrive. See how Education Abroad brings learning out into the world.
