“Oh, why can’t the deaf community be more like a family?” is the plaint of a character in Raymond Luczak’s title play
Whispers of a Savage Sort
. It also goes far in characterizing the main thread that runs through his remarkable collection of work offered in this new volume.
Whispers of a Savage Sort and Other Plays about the Deaf American Experience
presents a progression of plays that depict Deaf people in situations well-known by the community’s members. Written to be signing-driven, these plays feature Deaf characters from the various strata of Deaf society. Each play centers on different yet equally familiar issues.
Snooty
brings to life the difficulties of surviving the social pecking order in a deaf residential school. The main character’s only escape is a rich fantasy life in which he is in control.
Doogle
confronts its characters with the intrusion of technological communication devices parallel to the virtually forced intimacy of such a small, close community. Brought into stark focus by the specter of AIDS,
Love in My Veins
explores how trust, betrayal, and ultimately forgiveness can transform a Deaf couple’s love for each other in a Deaf community. The collection’s eponymous
reveals the relentless damage that rumor and innuendo can do to a diverse group of Deaf individuals. The emotions, identities, and consequences created by Luczak in these dramas illuminate the Deaf American community in fascinating detail rarely seen in any medium today.