Anyone employ deaf actor(s)?

[zombietoxin]

Just met an super nice guy that really wants to be part of the show, but happens to be deaf.

I toured him around (doing a hellofa lot of writing) and I got a good, solid vibe from the man.

I explained that safety is #1 and I at least needed time to consider every possibility that may endanger him or the guests.

He took that in complete stride and an understanding smile.

So... anyone add an experience or thought?

[Darksidestew]

I have had 4 deaf people. They only need to see the person coming and jump out. Infact, some of them make noises that would scare the shit out of you.

Stew

[austind]

People with disabilities are treated like they are freaks daily, we run around trying to be freaks, I have had the pleasure of working with people with disabilities in the past and find the are make great actors. They really understand how to creep people out and are better focused as a actor. Hire him it can't hurt to give him a try and you may get a pheasent surprise and fine a great actor for your haunt.

[zombietoxin]

Thanks fellas.

We shall see!

[monsterwax]

Yes, one of our best cast members is deaf. We have to write him notes to communicate, but it's well worth it. He's great.

[mrfoos]

We hired a guy last year who was deaf and could only communicate by looking directly at your lips. Obviously it made talking to him a little difficult in the dark recesses of a haunted event. He was probably the most focused and realiable (role wise) actor we had. He never complained even though I know he probably missed out on a lot of the camradarie because of the communication barrier. He was awesome and I never worried once I saw him in action regarding his or customer safety. I had some concerns like you to start with but turned out I ended up being more worried about some of my high energy / very enthusiastic actors. I think that disability hones their other attention skills.

[JamBam]

YES, this year is a first

Hi,

I have been in haunting since 1986 and have seen many customers that were deaf come through over the years but this year at my new event one of the regulars, Jerry, asked if his deaf friend, Jason, could join the team. He said he would work near him and so we had him come to an orientation with Jerry signing for him as well as the lip reading.

First several nights went fine and then when we got ready to do a surprise fire drill, one of my leads asked how do we let Jason know that he needed to evacuate the building. Jason had been close to Jerry, but that night Jerry asked for another room. Jerry happened to come to the break room and we asked him the sign language for emergency, fire drill, get out, and finally the universal 911. The 911 sign is three characters, with only two different.

So, we let the person working with Jason know that a fire drill was about to happen and taught him the 911 signing. We pulled the alarm and the guy next to Jason didn't wait for him nor did he have him follow him. Another actor got his attention and brought him out. We realized that we needed to teach everyone to sign 911 and have everyone remember that if they find Jason when they are evacuating, to give him the sign and grab his shirt on the arm and get him to evacuate.

There is always something new to learn in this business and this was a good lesson.

[zombietoxin]

And THAT is exactly why I come here. Thanks for bringing that up!

Already printed a couple signs with basic ASL for the break room- but that was not on it!

Fixing....