By Kera Wanielstra

Skagit Valley Herald

BURLINGTON — Comedian Keith Wann owned the stage in the Burlington-Edison High School auditorium — jumping, dancing and emoting his way to laughs from the audience.

But most of the time, Wann was silent.

Though Wann can hear and speak, his first language — and the language in which he performs — is American Sign Language.

“I say English is my second language, even though I’m a hearing person,” said Wann, who is the son of two deaf parents. “That’s my goal, to bring these two worlds together.”

Wann, a California native now living in Brooklyn, was brought to Burlington-Edison by the school’s Happy Hands ASL Club.

“He’s like the Kevin Hart of the deaf world,” said Happy Hands Club member Abbey Maroney, a sophomore. “He’s really famous.”

Some of Wann’s jokes — like unplugging the vacuum while his mother was using it to see how long it would take her to notice — resonate more with the deaf community than with the hearing community, he said.

By drawing from his own experiences, he is able to give the speaking and hearing ASL students a glimpse of life as a deaf or hard-of-hearing person, reported the Skagit Valley Herald.

“It’s a great way to share culture,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Wann spoke with ASL students, who were thrilled to have him around.

“(Having Wann is) such a big deal for our school and our club,” junior Jayla Dunn said.

“And also our town,” junior Jenica Medina chimed in.

While Burlington-Edison High School has no deaf students, Dunn said she became interested in learning sign language to be able to communicate with more people.

“I was really excited to be able to make conversation with such a diverse population,” she said. “You can always have them lip read, but it’s such a deeper connection when you speak the same language.

For Wann, the students’ excitement is a sign of change. He remembers the stigma his parents faced while he was growing up.

“Now it’s cool,” he said. “If I was a teenager now, I’d get a lot more dates than I did in the ’80s.”

During his 20 years as a performer, Wann’s parents have remained an inspiration for his comedy show, he said.

“I feel like I want to sign in case my parents ever came to a show,” he said.

While his wife has served as his speaking interpreter for his comedy shows, Wann said he also often has local people — such as Happy Hands adviser Liza Bancroft — interpret sign language into speech.

“He’s so well-respected and well-known in the deaf community,” Bancroft said. “So it’s a real unique opportunity.”

Opportunity awaits the students continuing their ASL education as well, Wann said.

“You are learning our language,” Wann signed during his show. “You have two choices: You can use that language to help deaf people … or you can use it to hurt them. I know you guys want to use it to help. Really, I hope some of you become interpreters, or maybe lawyers. Or maybe you’ll work at McDonald’s.”

Published by adviser, Author: Rebecca Marcucci - Campus Life Editor

During the course of his childhood in the 70s, his face was glued to his television set studying the art of comedy from Richard Pryor, Steve Martin, Bob Newhart and countless others.

From watching the comedy greats, soon Keith Wann began performing stand-up routines on his own.

Though Wann admit he needed to watch his comedy heroes ever so carefully, he explained. Wann grew up as a CODA, or child of a deaf adult. Both of Wann’s parents are deaf. He laughed to himself as he remembered the days before closed captioning when he was watching TV.

“I would be watching Richard Pryor on TV and my mom would stop to sign, ‘What is that man saying?’ as she would try to read his lips and I said, ‘Mom he’s saying mother, father deaf.’ (in place of an expletive) and she would say to me, ‘Oh! You should go clean your “mother father” room,” Wann said.

Keith Wann was welcomed to SRU Wednesday evening in the Smith Student Center Ballroom by SRU’s American Sign Language Club.

Keith also performed in a deaf improv show together called “Whose Sign Is It Anyway?”

His journey through comedy and ASL has led him to where he is now but Wann distinctly remembers his roots, he explained.

“I grew up in Oakland, California in the ‘70s,” he said. He is now 45 years old. “Before closed captioning I would interpret TV for my parents. Then the deaf community was a buzz when shows like Laverne and Shirley and Dynasty became closed captioned. Everyone was talking about that.”

Keith said he never minded signing for his parents. In fact, he enjoyed it.

Wann explained through his comedy that the deaf community is a very unique group of people. They are proud of who they are and do not see themselves as broken. They will drive with their legs while signing with passengers. With Wann's family, practical jokes with their CODAs were always a good time, he also added.

When it came to advice for being a skilled ASL communicator Keith adamantly suggested, “ASL is a very different language. It’s very conceptual. The best way to learn it is through interaction from a gaggle of deaf people.”

DREW HARWELL St. Petersburg Times

CLEARWATER - Santa's videophone rang the other night. An elf answered.

A boy in blue pajamas appeared, calling from Wisconsin. He stared into the camera with a look of doubt, then curiosity.

The elf traced a flurry of sign language with his hands, made funny faces into the camera, shook his head until his hat fell off. The boy giggled, showing a gap in his teeth.

His name was Humberto, he signed with a smile. He wanted to speak with Santa.

The elf tapped at his cell phone. Santa stepped into the shot with a heartily waved hello, lifting his list of good children to the camera. Would you look at that, he jokingly signed - Humberto was at the top.

The boy laughed and hopped in place and signed his wishes for Wii games and Bakugan toys. He promised cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. Humberto's dad, smiling behind him, signed messages above the boy's head.

The elf signed that other children were waiting and reminded Humberto to sleep all night on Christmas Eve. They signed their goodbyes - "I love you" - and closed the connection.

Here, for the first time, was a Christmas rite many deaf people had missed: speaking with Santa. He didn't ho-ho-ho and didn't need to. This Clearwater Santa just watched the signs and shared his own. He understood. And for a few hours, he was a phone call away.

Keith Wann, the 40-year-old elf, could relate. He had joked earlier of his childhood with two deaf parents, how they got him socks when he wanted an Atari.

"This little kid is me," he said of Humberto, his funny face turning serious. "That's why I do this. For this little kid to be able to tell his deaf dad what he wants."

A few seconds later, the phone rang again. Like many of the calls, this one wasn't asking for toys.

The wives of Wann and Tony Barraza, the 39-year-old Santa, laughed from off-screen. Emilia Lorenti-Wann, 42, and Jenn Barraza, 26, poured the actors ginger ale and tallied the callers' wishes on Wann's Facebook.

"We're live tonight," Jenn updated, "Rocking and rolling."

During the day, the four worked for callVRS, their relay interpreting service, from the closed-in garage in Wann's back yard. But during the off-time, they decided, they could share Signing Santa with the rest of the country.

Wann, a touring comedian of deaf stand-up, advertised they would take calls every week until Christmas Eve. Last week was their first.

For the first half of the night, the calls, more than a dozen and growing, never seemed to stop. Wann drew wishes of cars and laptops on a whiteboard, feverishly cleaning it with his knee. Barraza jumped out between calls, wiping away sweat, awaiting his next grand entrance.

Jena, an older woman, wanted a BMW. Destiny, a young girl, wanted a doll. Heather, her mother, wished for prayers for her family.

A deaf father called next with a phone number and a request. Could they call his daughter, he signed? She spoke from the other room.

Barraza conjured his first-ever Santa voice. "Hi, is this Jada?" he bellowed. "This is Santa Claus."

Jada clasped the phone to her face and walked to her father's side. He looked at her as she asked for "a doll that pees and goes to the toilet." Wann signed her wish back to the dad.

"That's so cool," he signed. He leaned back in his chair, his smile widening. "Thank you. Thank you."

When the ringing calmed, Santa's helpers settled. The Wanns found coupons and ordered a Jet's pizza. Barraza, in socks and the Santa suit, stepped outside for a cigarette.

They proposed a Walmart trip to research toys. They laughed at their family members who kept calling in. And they shared a realization. This had all been for the little ones, the mall Santa miss-outs, who couldn't sing carols or listen for sleigh bells but could still share in the spirit.

Yet many of the callers had no kids in sight. They were middle-aged men crumpled into desk chairs, frizzy-haired women in sweats, asking for mansions and luxury cars.

Grown-ups with wish lists, performing a childhood ritual, seeking someone who understood.

Even if that person was dressed in a Santa suit.

It was 9 o'clock, log-off time, when Wann and Barraza prepared to shut down. The phone rang before they could. This would be the last, they swore.

One man, maybe in his 20s, with thinning hair and a gray hoodie. "I saw you on Facebook," he signed, "and saw how you were asking if people want something. Is that right?"

Santa and the elf hid their fatigue. They joked and made faces and scribbled. His name was Kohl. They asked about his gift.

"I just want a peaceful life," he signed. "So I can just be cool, and be cool with people. Know what I mean?"

Santa nodded, stroked his beard. His fingers signed the night's last message.

"You're on the list."

Dad, Husband, child of Deaf adults, with a dash of entrepreneur, performer/actor, access provider, and ASL interpreter.

Q: What is the most common first question you get when people find out you grew up with Deaf Parents? And how do you reply?

A: How do they drive? How is it having Deaf parents?... I always respond with ‘don’t know, never had hearing parents to compare to’. I understand most assume it is a different experience but I remind them my wife grew up with Spanish-speaking parents and our experiences were the same; our parents worked, they fed us, and sent us off to school. The only difference would be the language used in the house, was different than what was used out in the ‘world’. So then adding the difference would be most of us with

Deaf parents are bilingual. Ok, wait…loud cupboard slams, smoke detector alarms always beeping from dying batteries, tv captions 24/7 (a must for me even to this day), foot stomping, wall banging, light flashing, mischievous interpreting between teacher and parent, learning to talk

without moving lips so parents won’t know, and flashing ILY sign since day one!

Q: What advice would you give younger KODA/CODA’s? 

Conversely, what advice should they ignore?

A: Embrace the language and culture. Eat up the ASL, absorb it, share it, provide access. My mom handed me a SEE book (we lived in San Jose during the 70’s and that was the epicenter of Signing Exact English) which confused me since both my parents were strong ASL, unless talking to a hearing person then my mom would code- switch to english ordered asl but I didn’t realize that to later. I asked why and my mom’s answer was because you might meet a deaf person who uses these signs and I want

you to be able to talk with them, she was huge on access.

When I was growing up our Deaf parents were called mutes and ‘deaf and dumb’, today’s kodas see people like their parents and their language on tv and in the movies, in popular culture, sporting events, and being taught all over for many to learn. Embrace the language, any version that allows for communication. 

Q: You’ve done some pretty cool events in your career, what have been some of the most memorable?

A: The first time performing a song on stage with ½ and ½ - two codas from the bay area I grew up watching, the first time doing my comedy show in Fremont and having both my parents (divorced) in the front row looking at me and then each other and laughing. My mom would also start to stand up and sign “that’s not true…oh wait that’s right that happened” and then sit back down. The first time my wife (certified trilingual

interpreter) voiced for my show while we were dating. The first time my kids got on the stage after a show and jumped around and Jan Nishimura played with them. So many memories to last a lifetime and more.

Ok wait, always signing my shows so my parents would have first access and having the hearing audiences depend on the voicing, sometime good sometimes not.

Q: What is one leadership, life, or love lesson 

that you learned from your parents?

A: Experience life and find your path. You may end up going down the wrong path for a short minute but as long as you can see that and turn around then you will be ok. My mom had a very hard life as a child and I can tell she tried to make sure everyone including me felt loved/included. She would talk to signing strangers, nosy neighbors, rude teachers all with the same smile. One memory that always jumps out is at a restaurant when I overheard the table next to us commenting about my parents ‘look at

those deaf and dumb people…’ and I would ‘interpret’ this and my mom would always say “don’t interpret, ignore”. I wanted justice done, those people weren’t nice, but my mom would just love and look towards them and smile. Once I learned this practice as an adult, had to muddle my way through and make many mistakes, it brought more peace to my life. Just love others. Ok wait, sharing jokes – that’s where my love for my dad’s storytelling led to the stage.

Q: What is the book (or books) you’ve given most as a gift, and why? Or what are one to three books that have greatly influenced your life?

A: In my entrepreneur life I love personal development and don’t have one particular book but many favorite chapters in many different books. As a coda I was able to read books at a very early age before I could pronounce half the words (yes I had to go to speech therapy all of second grade). When in first grade they would send me to the third grade class to read with them. I have always loved reading, including the teenager

years of reading all the Stephen King, John Saul, and Dean Koontz stories. As a young adult I transitioned to the personal development books like The Secret, How to win friends and influence people, and anything by John Maxwell. I also have to say the Bible is instrumental in my life too.

Q: Safest driver?

A: Dad

Q: Most flavorful cook?

A: Dad

Q: Most likely to join you on the comedy stage?

A:Mom

Q: Deaf School?

A:Both - Berkely

Thank you Mickey Carolan - Coffee with Coda!

By Michelle Rafter

Without uttering a word, Lydia Callis had the nation eating out of her very expressive hands.

An American Sign Language interpreter for New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Callis’ signings were some of the brighter spots in the bleak days before, during and after Hurricane Sandy.

“Thank you Michael Bloomberg,” says Keith Wann, a long-time ASL interpreter and like Callis, a CODA, or child of deaf adults. “There are deaf people in New Orleans who said during Katrina they didn’t know what was going on. Hopefully other employers saw that and said, ‘That’s what we have to do.’”

Callis’ emphatic gestures and sympathetic facial features during Bloomberg’s Sandy-related press conferences made her an Internet sensation and spawned a skit on "Saturday Night Live." But it also pointed a spotlight on a sometimes overlooked career that has grown steadily - and is expected to continue growing - since the Americans with Disabilities Act passed more than 20 years ago.

Jobs for sign language and other types of interpreters and translators in the United States are expected to increase 42 percent by 2020, to 58,400, according to the 2012-2013 U.S. Occupational Outlook Handbook.

Interpreters for the deaf continue to be in demand because there aren’t enough of them to go around, according to the government report.

Educators are working to fill the gap. Seventy-eight colleges offer some type of sign language interpreter associate degree, 40 schools offer bachelor’s degrees and three offer master’s degrees, says Nataly Kelly, author of the new book, "Found in Translation: How Language Shapes Our Lives and Transforms the World."

ASL interpreters must be certified to work at schools, government agencies or translate for hearing-impaired people during doctor’s appointments or other medical visits. One of the biggest certifying bodies is the nonprofit Registry for Interpreters for the Deaf (RID), which in 2011 had more than 15,600 members.

Like Callis, good sign language interpreters add a personal touch to their work, Kelly says. “It’s like how much an individual’s speech would vary,” she says. “Nobody uses language the same way, and it’s the same in sign language, except it’s visual, with facial expressions, and the speed of your signing.”

Despite the attention Callis’ signing brought to the field, some veteran interpreters are discouraged by increased competition and declining pay.

Wann, 43, worked as a staff or freelance ASL interpreter for 20 years in elementary schools, colleges and for the U.S. Defense Department. But he quit last year after seeing rates drop from $70 or $80 an hour to $40 or less. ASL interpreters without his high-level certifications or years of experience are commanding the same fees, he says. “It causes resentment.”

Today, Wann sells insurance during the week and on weekends travels to colleges across the country performing a standup ASL comedy act that’s earned him the reputation as the Jim Carrey of the ASL community.

But he hasn’t stopped advocating for the deaf community’s right to be heard. "It’s been the law since 1991, but deaf people still have to fight for an interpreter,” he says.