Auslan

...

I know, I have a diploma of Auslan, so I do know-

Mm

... and I, I worked in the deafblind space as a support, volunteer support-

Actually, I don't have training in theatre myself.

I did direct a show in 2019, which was really more of a mixed media type of performance that involved projection, sound, performance, poetry in Auslan.

But my background is multimedia arts.

I've always been involved heavily in the arts world with a range of different media, because I've got a lot to say.

through colours, through shapes, through movement, not really understanding or having language in the form that we would understand it as communication.

My earliest memory is actually a visual language.

So later, of course, I came to learn Auslan, but that was much later in life.

So up until that point, I was really encouraged to leave sign language aside.

Right? And-

Australian Sign Language.

Uh, but- [laughs]

Yeah.

That's a lot.

We're in Auslan in Australia.

Yeah, and it's kind of funny, isn't it? Because you kind of think of spoken languages, of course, we speak differently.

But in my head, I go, oh, why couldn't there be one sign language?

can do the alphabet.

That's about where I go.

My sister can speak Auslan, which is

really cool.

My...

One of my favorite things at shows now, gigs, is the Auslan interpreter.

Oh, yeah.

Because they will sign a song.

Looks like dry humping.

A lot of dry humping.

I've done gigs with the Auslan interpreter.

Yeah.

Not a problem at all, mate.

And if I can just do a real quick shout-out for my daughter, Emily, who did the Auslan signing last night at the Festival of Music at the Entertainment Centre.

Oh, wow.

So she actually specifically asked me to say that.

That is to say that it, it's unrelated.

Like Australian Sign Language is completely different than American Sign Language because they were developed separately, so they're completely unintelligible on another.

And a lot of the parents were kinda having debates of like, "But if we give our kid a cochlear implant, they won't speak our, they won't need to speak our language.

Maybe our language would die out." And so there were these kind of internal debates as to like if, if we, if we, quote-unquote, "fix ourselves," is our culture gonna disappear? 'Cause we don't want our culture to disappear.