Pioneering theatre production Meat Expectations comes to Gallaudet

Meat Expectations defies expectations in every way. Born out of a pioneering playwriting method that centers American Sign Language (ASL), the one-of-a-kind play will arrive in Gallaudet’s black box theatre for a run of ten shows in April.

The story features a meat factory that has been owned by a Deaf family for four generations. After the longtime family patriarch passes away, the new CEO tries to introduce modern technology to the factory’s workflow. Needless to say, things don’t go as planned. The audience goes on a comedic journey with the new CEO and factory crew, including musical numbers and showstopping visuals designed exclusively for the play.

The concept for Meat Expectations was developed by a team of collaborative playwrights at New York Deaf Theatre (NYDT) in 2017. The upcoming shows at Gallaudet will mark the last level of workshopping before Meat Expectations is brought back to New York for a long-awaited world premiere.

The Gallaudet run is being co-directed by Monique “MoMo” Holt and Jules Dameron, ’03. Holt is an Associate Professor for Gallaudet’s theatre program and a longtime NYDT artist. Dameron, the Artistic Director for NYDT, is an experienced television and film director. While co-directing the play, Dameron is also teaching a class about ASL music videos during Gallaudet’s spring semester.

A New Approach to Deaf Theatre

Meat Expectations was developed using a radical approach to theatre. The script was created entirely in ASL by Deaf playwrights. This process is known as “Viscript”, a combination of video, visual, and script. For the Gallaudet show, student actors are working from the original ASL script in video form, rather than a typical paper copy. Only the backstage crew and the creative team will receive the stage directions translated to English.

The new approach hasn’t been easy. Even experienced Deaf actors are used to learning plays through written English. “The actors were skeptical at first,” says Dameron. “They had to learn how to play without paper.”

Over time, the Deaf-centric process has become freeing for the cast. In a typical theatre production, Deaf actors are forced to split their focus on stage between acting and translating English words into ASL in their heads. Working from an ASL-only script, the Meat Expectations actors are free to focus on the finer details of their craft like honing their characters, perfecting their line deliveries, and immersing themselves in the world of the story.

This innovative approach to Deaf theatre was sparked in 2016 in New York City, where Deaf playwrights were hungry for something new. Annie Wiegand, E-’99, the former NYDT Producing Director, was part of a developmental workshop with other Deaf writers. The group had expressed a shared frustration with the typical playwriting process. Drafting plays in English and translating the written words to sign language didn’t feel like it honored Deaf culture and ASL.

Wiegand brought the discussion to her close collaborator, legendary theatre actor Lewis Merkin. Together, they began to envision a new way to produce a play that was truly Deaf-centric.

The ideas from that partnership eventually attracted other Deaf playwrights at NYDT like Dameron and Holt. To assist with the process, software developer Seth Gore, ’11, created a Viscript app that allowed the playwrights to build their script in ASL. After Merkin passed away in 2022, Wiegand, Holt, and Dameron, along with JW Guido, decided to honor his memory by finally bringing the story to life on stage.

Coming to Gallaudet

With a pool of eager student actors, studio space, equipment, and a built-in community audience, Gallaudet is the perfect place for the next stage of development for Meat Expectations. Wiegand, who is now the Production Co-Program Director and Associate Professor in Gallaudet’s Theatre and Dance Program, made the connection.

While it’s only on campus for a limited time, the ASL-centric script has allowed the cast and crew to make this version of the production unique to Gallaudet. Holt and Dameron promise that the show is riddled with references to Gallaudet history, as well as Deaf culture and jokes aplenty.

It will also be the first musical developed with ASL in mind. Rather than the Deaf cast following fixed music, live musicians will be tasked with adapting their playing in real time to the action on stage. The cast and crew are hard at work to make it look seamless before the show opens.

“It’s a good team”, Dameron says. “They’re all committed and excited.” If you’re hungry for something new to sink your teeth into, Meat Expectations looks to be a satisfying meal.

Meat Expectations will present ten performances from April 17-27 in the Gilbert C. Eastman Studio Theatre at Gallaudet University. Tickets are available now.

Gallaudet offers a BA in Theatre Arts, as well as minors in Dance and Theatre Arts: Production/Performance. Visit the Theatre and Dance webpage to learn more.