Focus Group: Sign Language Professionals, Employment, & the Canadian Theatre Industry

Led by Anita Small

Participate in a focus group exploring possible solutions to barriers to the employment of sign language professionals in Canadian theatre.

Background: The Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf (CCSD), Sign Language Institute Canada (SLIC) received a federal grant from the Sectoral Initiatives Program (SIP) to establish a train the trainer program to empower disenfranchised groups, LSQ, Deaf Indigenous, Black, Racialized (Deaf IBR[1]) and LSQ sign language users and to research capacity building for sign language employment in Canada. The goal is to increase the number of qualified Deaf sign language instructors and build capacity for employment opportunities.

Focus Group Participants:

Theatre Leaders: artistic directors, executive directors, general managers, producers, production managers, access coordinators, directors, stage managers, and others with experience of the focus group topic.

Focus Group Questions:

1.How can theatre companies best connect with Deaf intersectional communities to find the appropriate individuals to fill the positions needed (Deaf interpreters, sign language coaches, Deaf community consultants, actors, etc.)?

2. How can theatre companies support Deaf sign language professionals on the job vis a vis theatre experience and practice?

3. How can theatre companies create DeafSpace together with intersectional Deaf sign language professionals? 

4. How can theatres maximize financial capacity to build sign language professionals into the theatre experience as a long-term natural component of and asset to theatres?

Registration is now closed.