Sign Language Interpreting

Inspired by Ashley Fontes

Keith had no idea sign language was a career choice growing up, as the interpreters he knew were either other codas like him or church volunteers. His first job was pumping, gas, cleaning houseboats, and working at a chain restaurant.  After the Americans with Disability Act was signed into law July 26, 1990, one of his friends came into his restaurant and asked him to interpret for him over at the local college. Keith asked what that meant, and his friend explained the concept. Keith stated “Oh, I’ve been doing that my whole life”.  Once Keith decided to start interpreting he wanted to fully support the Interpreting community. In 1992 he received the Quality Assurance California VR rating system.  Since then, he has acquired six additional certifications. They include in 1996 two from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, certificate of interpreting and certificate of transliterating. In 2006 he acquired the NIC: Master certification. In 2023 he took the EIPA (4.5), and in 2024 he took and passed the CoreCHI certification, as well as the BEI Master certification. When asked why he stated. “I want to support my industry and show it's a learning journey from day one.

Keith states that his experience and specialty is in mental health, medical, religion, and theatre. He has been actively interpreting in the mental health field since 1995. In 2007 he started to interpret for Broadway shows, 

and in 2014 he began providing asl access to church services. 

When asked about his focuses he stated that the “bulk of my career has been in mental health, most people know me as an entertainer for 20 years, but behind the scenes I was interpreting for 30, keeping confidential and abiding by the standard code of ethics established by the field. I worked with a Deaf therapist that had hearing clients.” 

Church interpreting became a way for him to continue his journey to God. He never wanted to be one as they were historically, in his opinion, “the worst signers”. However one day a Deaf person showed up to a church he was attending and there was no interpreter. So he stood up and started interpreting, providing access, a role he has done all his life. The preacher started to tell the story of Daniel in the Lion’s den, and it just came alive for him.  

His last area of specialty is theatre. While Keith loves to perform during his solo comedy shows, he stated “performance interpreting for me is an adventure, it is not about me, but the character on the stage. I want to make sure I am throwing it back on stage, showing it's the actor's moment, not mine."

As a well-known Broadway Interpreter Keith was asked to step in for a single Broadway show, something that he was called to do often since his role with the organization was as an interpreter/trainer for new interpreters, including new BIPOC interpreters since 2007. The show was “The Lion King”, to be performed in April of 2022, with a month to prepare. Industry standard is 4 months preparation time, with several table discussions with the team, then viewing the show 2 times as an audience member to capture the moment to identify when to throw it back to the stage for action, and one more going hands up in the back of the theater with the DASL’s feedback afterwards. This request would only be a single performance as two of the original three BIPOC interpreters were unable to work, and Keith had done this show several times before so could slip into the role easily. 

Shortly after the Organization that asked him to interpret sent him an email stating that due to the fact he was white, even though he was qualified, experienced, and one of the trainers, to step down.  This came from a new Director of ASL who was also a white female (the Deaf BIPOC DASL was added later, as email correspondences show in the investigation).  After going back and forth with the organization regarding the language in the email violating a Federal law, he was again asked to interpret Lion King a second time when another BIPOC interpreter was unable to with only a week’s notice. Keith was also asked to be a part of Wicked during the same timeline with other BIPOC and Deaf BIPOC interpreters but was confused because the original email about Lion King was not resolved.

Keith decided to sue for discrimination since wrong is wrong and a federal law was broken, ignoring it didn't make the problem go away. 

In November 2022 he made international news. https://nypost.com/2022/11/12/lion-king-sign-language-interpreter-keith-wann-says-he-was-fired-for-being-white/

The Deaf response was explosive. Both against, and in support of him. Some used it to address issues in the interpreting field locally and as a whole, and others used it to tear down while elevating themselves in an opportunistic manner. Keith remained quiet because he was being attacked for something that wasn't his stand. Keith let the courts and RID (certifying body) do their investigations with ALL the information and not hearsay or gossip.

Many Post readers and others in the deaf community came out in force to support Wann and condemn the outrage he faced. “I’m baffled by the hate,” Jared Allebest, a deaf civil rights attorney, told The Post. “There are some people justifying why they don’t support him through the lens of racial identity politics.”

In Wann’s statement this week, the interpreter addressed the criticism he faced online and the debates his lawsuit spawned.

“Over the last week I have seen a lot of pain in our community and have also seen some much-needed conversations,” Wann wrote. “It is unfortunate that assumptions were made, and conclusions were drawn without all the facts.”

Wann's lawsuit received a lot of media coverage and some interpreters felt uncomfortable about this. Some falsely claimed that as an interpreter he should know and understand that he was not the right person for that role as the cast has been POC for years, but ignoring or not knowing his established role with the organization since 2007, having already done this particular production, and assuming he was just called by a random agency, as most freelance interpreters are, to do work and accepted because he wanted money and the spotlight without knowing what the job needed. It was misinterpreted by many that said 'Keith thinks it doesn’t matter black or white' and wanted to keep the job. His position was “you can’t say this in the email or even behind closed doors, it doesn’t matter black or white, if you see this you must speak up, along with age, religion, etc. I moved forward to get policy changes and opportunity for all including BIPOC interpreters." Changed happened in the organization as part of the agreement and Keith is proud to have been a part of that.

"Behind social media some attacked my wife, and I don’t blame her for posting in the beginning when her emotions were raw, she saw the lies coming in, the ‘friend’ using the opportunity to attack to elevate themselves, and wanted to get all the correct information out there." Then she started to see the love and support and realized those who knew were the ones that mattered, not strangers behind a camera looking for hits.

"The support I received was overwhelming and full of love, from my friends and people I worked with throughout the years, from well-known tv and stage actors, people in the acting and interpreting industry, including many other interpreters who also experienced this, to the people who knew me off the stage, to the people who took the time to call and say ‘hey what’s going on’, Wann shared.

"The wildest was being contacted by the person who played Lionel on the Jeffersons tv show and having a great conversation".  Many organizations reached out to Keith including Dr. Phil, Inside Edition, Fox News, NY Times, and many more including actors on Broadway and past interpreters Keith had worked with who knew what the process looked like inside.

Around two weeks after the news storm Keith and TDF settled the lawsuit. 

When interviewed Keith stated that the whole story was never out there, once the attacks started he just said this was between two businesses and a policy change. His focus was never about the money or spotlight, but rather addressing the known history of discrimination in the industry. Working with other BIPOC interpreters in other theater circles nationwide including several theme park destinations with daily Broadway shows, and noticing his certified and tri-lingual interpreter wife only got called to interpret for West Side Story and Gloria Stefan, as she is Latina, even though she is qualified to do any production, but the organization would use the same pool of interpreters over and over again with little diversity.  Many in the local community complained but nothing changed for years. Keith was excited to push and be a part of the change with others championing for adding BIPOC interpreters, including coda and non-certified interpreters, to the list around 2017. "I would continue to recommend other BIPOC interpreters to their list, including some who did interpreting part-time while their other occupations included being a mental health therapist, a law enforcement officer, and a dancer."

He stated that “It was the fact that it was in writing for all to see the culture already there, meanwhile they were inviting me to do other jobs that would also require BIPOC interpreters. As someone who has been involved in this industry for many years, I have a history of recommending BIPOC interpreters and sharing my experience to help add to the theater roster.  I have never fought for myself to take space in any majority black production, nor have I ignored the need to amplify BIPOC interpreters. I support Deaf, Deaf-BIPOC, and BIPOC performers and interpreters. There is huge value in cultural experience. Most of my own personal voice interpreters for my comedy show have been BIPOC interpreters."

Pursuant to the RID Code of Professional Conduct, interpreters are expected to engage in self-introspection, self-critique, and ongoing dialogue and partnership with marginalized and oppressed communities. This helps to ensure authentic representation, which creates an unparalleled dynamic language and cultural equivalency interpretation experience.

In an email a month after the Lion King situation they invited Wann to do Wicked with a Deaf BIPOC interpreter to help train them, which is something Keith has always done, "...but this was right after the Lion King email, from the same group of people that wanted to replace me. They said ‘you would be a fantastic addition to the interpreting team. __ will be Glinda and she will be working with an interpreter feeder and can use the support of someone with your expertise'. Then in September of the same year they asked me to do Lion King again without addressing the email I received in April stating I wasn't a good match."

Wann added, "In all my interviews/statements I never said I disagreed with their decision to use a BIPOC interpreter, that was my goal too, but rather you can’t say what they did and then keep asking me to do it several more times for the same production. They needed me to fill in and ‘help’ because that was historically how they would use me, last-minute since I had experience interpreting Broadway for years and was comfortable in that role with little prep time."

The Registry of Interpreters did their own investigation and found no violations when presented the emails, training, shows, timeline and background role established. Keith is still a working certified interpreter doing theatre.

TDF asked Keith to stay on their list but he declined deciding to move on and work with other agencies on a national level.

When asked which Broadway show was his favorite he adds “I was most alive with you”, a play that had 10 deaf actors. “I had the honor and opportunity to be Harold Foxx’s personal interpreter for several months, through auditions, rehearsals, tech-week, and the play’s run”  They became good friends and still keep in touch trading comedy ideas and recording videos together. https://thetheatretimes.com/i-was-most-alive-with-you-pays-proper-tribute-to-the-d-deaf-community/

"I worked with Mr. Keith Wann in 2018 in New York City for Off - Broadway Production “I Was Most Live With You” by Pulitzer Prize Nominated Craig Lucas. He was always right there with us from the beginning to the end. When the media team from outside to interview us, Mr. Keith Wann was the right fit for me to do voice for me. He understands the importance of timing when I do my comedy stand-up and he is able to do it perfectly in a way for me to stay authentic. All I can say, you cannot go wrong with Mr. Keith

Wann because he will ensure that you will have accessibility no matter what.

That’s why I highly recommend Mr Keith Wann as an interpreter." -H.Foxx

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.