Nettle Shirts Puppet Show Entertains the Deaf and Hearing
At 3 p.m. on March 22, the Nettle Shirts puppet show took place in the PVCC Maxwell Black Box Theatre in the V. Earl Dickinson Building. The performance featured an old folk tale retold as a story of queer acceptance for all audiences.
The puppet show is the brainchild of Miranda Elliott-Rader, who is responsible for the creation of the show alongside a cast of sign language speaking actors. It’s clear from the performance and accommodations that a great amount of care has been taken to make the Nettle shirts’ performances accessible for deaf audiences. Every aspect of the performance has been crafted with this in mind.
The story was told using layered paper and puppets alongside silhouettes of live actors speaking sign language, all projected on a white background for the audience. The projected sign language acting and the puppeteering were complemented by narration in English and sign language. There were also subtitles projected on the top part of the white background.
The tiny theater was full, and many of the guests watched on a flatscreen TV broadcasting the performance in the building’s common area to accommodate the large crowd. Fortunately, a sign language interpreter was stationed in the common area as well for deaf viewers seated there. Technical issues rendered some early parts of the performance inaudible to audience members in the common area.
The performance showed the artistry that went into its creation. One of the key plot points was the main character’s quest to create five nettle shirts for her brothers, and, early in the play, the narrator walked the audience through the process of crafting nettle shirts. “First, she cut the tallest nettles at the base and stripped away the leaves. Then, she laid the green stalks in an open place where the dew would fall,” said the narrator, explaining the first part of the process.
The V. Earl Dickenson Building’s art gallery displayed a step-by-step tutorial on how to create the nettle puppets used in the show as well. The shadows of actors’ hands were often visible during the puppets’ working. Most of the puppets and backgrounds were black drawings layered over the white background, giving the whole performance a unique visual style.
A tea reception was held in the common area after the play. Two different flavors of tea were offered, one of which was a nettle mint tea made with plants grown in Elliott-Rader’s garden.
The performance featured instrumental music throughout. The conclusion also featured a musical send off, complete with haunting lyrics, to close out the performance.
