Page 16 HIGH GEAR-APRIL 1981

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Film fest seeks deaf audience

The Cleveland Internationa Film Festival salutes 1981, the Year of the Disabled, with a unique project designed to enhance the enjoyment of film for deaf and hearing inpaired audiences.

The Deaf Audience Development program (DAD), offered in cooperation with the Joint Council of Deaf Organizations, runs throughout the Festival, April 3-19, at the Cedar Lee Theatre, 2163 Lee Road in Cleveland Heights. Twenty-six films from nine countries are scheduled. The Festival, now celebrating its fifth anniversary season, is a

showcase for English language and foreign language films, first run in Cleveland. It is the first festival to accommodate the needs of the hearing impaired audience. Greater Cleveland has the 4th highest deaf population in the United States.

Several innovations are incorporated into the DAD program for the first year. DAD participated will purchase tickets at the membership desk in the outer lobby, at a reduced rate of $2.50. (Regular ticket price is $4.00) (This special admission also applies to films in the Festival's

Nationally Film Series at the Capitol Theatre, 1400 W. 65th Street, but does not include the addtional aids that follow.):

A more detailed, printed synopsis will be available for all films as a supplement to the regular Festival program.

A sign language interpreter will be present at all screenings to answer questions before and after films.

For the English language films, a portion of the auditorium will be set aside for DAD audience, where an interpreter will sign (Continued on page 17)

Four on the way up

(Continued from page 15)

glasses and singing “Jackie,” a song about someone speculating about how popuiar ǹe could be as a performer, and what a sex symbol, if he could be for "one little hour every day "cute, cute, cute in a stupid ass way." Christian's delivery of this song was so potent that people were coming back to see the show again to make sure that their yelps of glee had not caused them to miss anything the first time they heard him sing it.

If Steve Snyder did not come off as a new discovery in this production, it was simply because everybody aiready knew how good he is. Seeing outstanding work from him is less a matter of being surprised than of having your eager anticipations completely fulfilled.

P.O. Box 6177 Cleveland, Ohio 44101

Snyder is a good example of what might be termed the Clevelan Area Style of performing. Off Broadway in New York performers think that they are being great. In the Cleveland area you see performers like Snyder actually working at it.

The Cleveland Style of performing consists of avoiding certain pretensions often seen in New York and avoiding a certain fake glossiness frequently seen in Hollywood. It consists of conscientious delivery of the material, showing faith in the ability of audiences to recognize solid material and good performing without a lot of subsidiary ballyhoo.

Cleveland delivery at its most potent was Snyder's rendition of "Fanette," a song about feeling bitter at seeing the object of an intense and unreciprocated love walking arm in arm by the sea with someone else. Snyder's clear diction and precise musicianship allowed him to be overwhelming emotionally with nothing ever seeming to get between the audience and the song's content.

The only stylistic flourish that Snyder used in the show that did not have its intended effect was the bit of falsetto he used singing the word "me" at the end of the song "Batchelor's Dance." Snyder and John J. Turchon, his director, are evidently too young

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and innocent to be aware that this vocal effect was once always used by comedians to conclude parodies of John McCormick singing "Mother MacCree."

Local reviewers have been pointing out that Sandy Kucinich has an excellent singing voice that has been well trained, but they have neglected to point out how well she does as an ensemble performer.

Someone with the mentality of a pro is someone who is conscientious in supporting capacities in a show. Each of the singers in a production of Brel has about the same number of solos with no singer technically a star above the others. There are a number of fairly intricate choral effects and all of the case members have to work together very closely. Kucinich showed that she is very well suited for this kind of work.

Most of her experience as a live performer has been strictly as a singer. She began acting in musical shows only within the past year or two. Her acting has some rough edges but you can clearly see that she is a hard-working and alert performer with a talent for responding to the other players and getting into a production's overall rhythm.

Musically some of the show's best moments resulted from how well her voice was supporting and blending in with the voices of the others. Particuarly memorable was the deep rich duo created by her using the firmly controlled lower registers of her voice as an accompaniment to a deep voiced solo spot by Christe. The classy sound that these two can produce together deserves to be further explored.

With Kucinich's musical talents obviously well developed, one hopes that she will not be missing out on the experience and solid training that go with acting in many different support ing roles in many different productions.

No harm seems to have been done so far, but one hopes that she will not be denied the sort of actor's training that nothing usually can replace due to producers rushing her into every available starring role to get a few extra box-office dollars from the use of her name.

Producers need income like everybody else, but one hopes that it will be kept in mind by all that in addition to immediate needs to be considered there is also her future..