THEATER versus THEATRICAL

[Jason Pettus]

Back in the 1990s I was a slam poet, and I've been told that my signing is particularly theatrical as a result. I know that the sign for THEATER is backwards pinwheeling of thumbs-up "A" hands in front of your chest; but is there a separate sign for THEATRICAL, or do I simply sign THEATER in an exaggerated way?

[Daron McNutt]

Late reply, but you are right to sign THEATER in an exaggerated way.  This sign would interpret to mean closer to "dramatic."

PS. Facial expression will get you even closer to your intended meaning

[Jason Pettus]

Thanks! Now that I've been learning more ASL, I've also come to realize that I could probably say something more accurate like, "When young I was a performance poet," or "My signing same as theater why? When young I performed poetry S-L-A-M."

[Daron McNutt]

Sure!  Kinda on this topic, have you heard of ASL slam?  Its an event that is popularizing ASL slam poetry and the like.  Might be something you are interested in😃

https://www.aslslam.com/

[Jason Pettus]

Oh, this is great! Thanks for sharing this. I'm still heavily involved in Chicago's literary community, only now as a publisher instead of an active writer, so I'm already starting to think about ways I can bring more Deaf accessibility to our large live literary and theatrical calendars here. I'm looking for as more things like this as I can hear about, so people should feel free to drop me a line directly at [email protected] with more recommendations.