Deaf Idol Rewind

Last Saturday night was Deaf Idol sponsored by DeafNation!!! Szymanski and I met up at Blondies' apt sans Blondie (much to our disappointment but she had other commitments-boo hoo). Anyhoo we met up at 6pm and promptly went to the website to pull up Deaf Idol and prepare for the start at the show which started at 7pm. After downloading a needed file in order to view it on Szymanski killer mac laptop we sat down to eat our dinner in which she cooked up grilled cream cheese sandwiches with tomatoes and bacon, delish! Kudos to Szymanski's originality in cooking.

As we waited we were able to download the program booklet, very cute layout. I was happy to see John Collins was the technical director (an awesome photographer). He and I have worked many events together such as NYTD, MICA, etc., etc.. Anyways the show opened with John Maurcere of Deafywood as the host. He did an EXCELLENT job, I absolutely felt he was the equivalent to Dick Clark or Pat Sajak. He had a great personality and charisma. I kept remarking how much he reminded me of a different host name Ant from Celebrity Fit Club and the Last Comic Standing, only our Deaf version was better! The only complaint I had for him was during the breaks after each round of performances and it was time to vote, he never explained to the Internet audience how to vote back home.
ANT Instead the cameras panned to the judges who for 5 minutes we watch them watch I guess John M on stage or the audience voting I am not sure but Collins, come on, never leave the camera on dead air :( the same thing happened the 2nd time we voted, instead of explaining, the camera rested on the stage with NO ONE on it and occasionally you could see someones reflection on the stage floor.

Szymanski and I decided to create our own forms in which we had 4 criteria. I was Judge #1, she was just Judge Bitch.
the following criteria were the following;
1- Execution (how well the performance was done and was it consistent?)
2- Creativity
3- Originality
4- Entertainment factor (did it entertain me?)

Contestant #1 Laurie Anderson

She decided to sign and dance to a song by Paula Abdul (she lost points on that alone, I mean how outdated!) It was a cute performance. I would say the last 1/3rd of it was the best. She really took it up a notch with the gymnastic and unusual dance movements. I had seen her perform before for Rathskeller in the past. She also maintained excellent stage presence right up to the end of her performance.

Contestant #2 Robert DeMayo

He choose to sign a song and I wasn't overly impressed with it at all. It didn't captivate me and I was kind of disappointed he didn't choose to do an ASL story or some kind. Apparently he's a well rounded actor but it just didn't come across for me.


Contestant #3 Jasmine Garcia

Jasmine appeared on stage dress like an old woman, completed with the gray hair wig and flower mumu. She begins to talk about the past, saying how she wished there was a Deaf Idol similar to American Idol. It goes on and in the background they show footage of her from school performing in different productions and she continues to talk about her love for Lexington School for the Deaf (this is where the show took place). I kept expecting any minute for her to rip off her old lady getup and perform for us something fresh but she never did. It just ends on kind of a flat note if you asked me. While I gave her points for originality it wasn't very creative. I mean so what, you performed on and off your whole life. So have I. You love your old school, so do I. I mean it just wasn't special or memorable as it could've been.

Contestant #4 Russell Harvard!!!

I love Russell Harvard. He's a doll and a big heart to match it! I had met him previously in June for MICA runway 2008. His performance was TERRIFIC. He opted to do what I refer to as the "Deaf Cheer." Basically its a type of performance usually done before or during sporting events in Deaf Schools. What the signer does is follow the beat of a huge snare drum and claps rhythmically. He decided to focus on patriotism, RED, WHITE & BLUE. It was sooo cool to see it performed live and with such enthusiasm. Russell is so like the energizer Bunny, he keeps going and going... awesome job! I gave him thumbs up in all categories especially ORIGINALITY, I don't think anyone else came close to him in that category except for 1 other performer Roger Vass who I will write more about later. (photos show were taken by John Collins during MICA event, but you can see what kind of intensity he displays when performing!)

Contestant #5 Aidan Mack

Ugh where to start? She choose to sign a song and it was in my opinion HORRIBLE. She neglected to make eye contact with the audience. Her choices of signs and how she implemented were not to my liking. The only credit I can give her is her commitment to the song itself, she NEVER WAVERED. But that doesn't make it a good performance. What's more she's a filmmaker, but I've never seen her work except for one or two Vlogs and if her performance is any indication of her filming skills, we are in deep trouble.

Contestant #6 Chase Nolan (Kristy Ann's dad- I went to MSSD with her)

I HATED this performance so much and only because of 2 things. His choice of clothing was atrocious and the stupid doll he carried with him. His focus was on the perks of growing old. But he dressed like a toddler and I felt bad for anyone who is a senior citizen watching him because he looked so undignified and had he worn something age appropriate instead of looking like he was senile I might have been able to focus on his performance itself but due to the MAJOR wardrobe malfunction, this piece went down the toilet. I applaud the fact he was the only older contestant and again had he dressed dignified, then I would've felt differently. But dressing like a stroke victim only hurt his chances.

Contestant #7 "Q" Jeremy Quiroga

I met Q last June at MICA as well, when he was there prompting his artwork (mostly sculptures made from various materials, excellent work). I was very curious this time to see him as a performer. He choose to do Malz' version of Jabberwocky from Alice in Wonderland. Unfortunately for me, I do not know or understand Jabberwocky even tho I have seen it performed several times in the past 2 decades. He had great stage presence and had he picked a piece that the mass audience including myself could understand and appreciate. I am sure he would've been in the 2nd round but he screwed himself by picking a piece that most people couldn't understand. I found out later through gossip he has the actor ego complex. Apparently during the rehearsal he was was quite uncooperative especially for the tech set up such as the lights etc, etc.. Come on Q, leave your ego at home and bring your skills to the set! I hope to see him perform again in the future in a piece that I can actually follow :)

Contestant #8 Doug Ridloff

Man his performance in my opinion was the BEST of all! He did an ASL story about Cochlear Implant and how it affects different people in different ways. His story-telling was mesmerizing and I was just captivateded by the whole thing. I know Doug through my student teaching gig from last year. He's a nice guy and always makes time for other people. I was actually in the computer lab the day Joe Joy filmed his audition tape for Deaf Idol. He did the boxing ABC story, the same one from the 2nd round. He (on the right) and Jason Norman (on the left) host ASL in the RAW *warning sexually graphic ASL* Which I have never been able to attend because it usually take places on Monday night and I work Monday nights. My friends who have seen the show have given me mixed review. The biggest criticism with ASL in the RAW is some of the skits are too long and tedious. But anyhoo as for Deaf Idol, I felt he should've won.

Contestant #9 David Rivera

I like David Rivera. I've worked with him in the past for the Rosen Project (ASL Curriculum). He's a good guy generally. Unfortunately for me, his ASL story telling was a lot of fluff and no substance. Too tiresome and uninteresting for me. Its kind of like reading a Stephen King book. That author has a knack for taking up pages and pages with descriptions of the most mundane actions or surroundings which runs parallel to DR's story telling bit from the 1st round. I just tuned out and it was bad too because the camera kept freezing up on him as dramatized his way through his story-telling. Szymanski joked that even the cameras rolling fell asleep! I think there's more to ASL story-telling then just heavily relying on classifiers, as if that makes the story. Later at the bar one obvious ASL terp student when I asked her what she thought of his performance. She remarked at how phenomenal she thought it was! Then I replied how superficial the whole performance truly was. Its obvious she has a long way to go in order to identify when a person is actually saying something that's not drivel. Any ways David, if you're reading this, pls do not take my review personally. I think if you had help with the actual story or gotten to the point sooner, I might've enjoyed it. But as friendship goes, you're a cool guy in my book. Unless you're trying to get me to go to an "investment" meeting where the minimum is $10K ;)

Contestant #10 Regan Thibodeau

Regan choose to do a song and some dancing. I was frustrated by this act. I know she could've done a whole lot better and I was so surprise to see it lacking the fierceness I usually associate her with. But I also know that everyone has an "off" day. Maybe I highly doubt it, but so was Aidan Mack? I am aware too of the fact that this woman works non-stop in real life and I have no doubt that time was limited in rehearsing for this show. Anyways at the end of each performance, the 3 on stage judges gave feedback. Karl Ewan being our "Simon" remarked something to the effect of "I thought summer was over." Because her song had been based on summer love. I quickly SK emailed her saying I wanted to slap him for being so nasty to her and that it was unnecessary. She replied Its ok ;) I'm enthralled he was willing to be blunt ;) I know he didn't like it and thats ok ;) This is why I am crazy about this girl! I've never met a more honest one! Plus I give her props because before each performance they showed clips of the contestants responding to how they feel to be on Deaf Idol and she made it clear she was more about the opportunity to be a part of something bigger and meet new people. And lastly I give her an A- for costume/outfit. She was the only one who even dressed the part next to Jasmine Garcia as grandma for reasons unknown to me.

Contestant #11 Roger Vass Jr.

His performance was an ASL story in which he used a headgear microphone and made special sound effects. I wasn't wearing my hearing aid so I have no idea how good these sounds came out or if they added any real meaning to the performance itself but apparently to the people who were there in the audience, it made a major difference and was considered very creative even tho hearing people have been doing it for years. Remember the guy Michael Winslow from SpaceBalls who did the sound effects when Dark Helmet asked what happened to the radar and it had been "jammed." This is sort of what Vass' performance was like, although I doubt it was as good as Mr. Winslow's ;)

There were also 3 judges. The first judge was Frank Dattolo who currently works at Lexington School for the Deaf. I would say that Frank offered no real feedback or criticism to the performers where as the other 2 judges did. He did nothing to add to the show and I found myself wishing him gone. The 2nd judge was Laurene Simms works at Gally. I have never had her as my teacher but have seen her name over the years. It was a bit disturbing to see her next to Karl as they were both bald, with shinny heads and I felt like it was the attack of the Coneheads...But at least when she made comments, they were generally meaningful and well said. The 3rd judge was Karl Ewan of the Ewan family, if you ever went to MSSD or Gally you would know that the Ewan family is interwined with both schools, his mom or aunt worked in the post office, I went to school with his sister and his cousin. Karl was our "Simon" for Deaf Idol, not only is he huge and slightly fat but he had the bitchy attitude and a way of saying things that were in between the lines. He was entertaining to watch!

In the end Russell Harvard won! And it couldn't of happened to a nicer guy! In my mind he deserve 2nd place and Doug first but I guess the rest of the Deaf community disagreed? Or else like me and Szymanski we were not able to get thru to vote the 2nd round and perhaps the network was overloaded with so many deafies trying to vote. I would be very curious to know how many of us watched this event and how many people voted? Some people said that RH won because he is well known for being in the movies and has a bigger fan base. Others disagree. I would've liked to have seen the audience reactions to the performers and that instead of all that dead air time, they could've had the host asking various audience members who they were or did vote for and why?

I sure hope they continue with this event yearly or every 2 years. It was a blast to watch and for the 1st time in my life it felt as if I were watching a channel just for us deafies. I mean theres BET, Lifetime, Spike etc etc, where our Deaf programming? Its ridicoulus because in England they have 3 different tv channels devoted only to deaf programming and England isnt that big, at least not the size of this country.

After it was all said and done, Szymanski prettied ourselves up and went to the bar where all of the performers and attendees went to and met up with a lot of friends. Including Russell himself who gave me a great bear hug and was in wonderful spirits. I congratulated him and Szymanski and I had our picture taken with the Deaf Idol winner (I am waiting on her to send me the photo). I also saw Doug who I flat out told he deserved to win and he was "robbed." but he won 3rd place. 2nd place went to Vass Jr which I thought sucked because his 2nd performance was all toilet humor. what is up with deafies and being majorly gross. If Jack only knew how graphic us deafies can be he'd appreciate me a little more when I am gross to him which is rare like an occasional fart or burping. I am nothing compared to that guys graphic description of using the toilet while taking a shit, come on. Thats jr high school not for grown ups!

All in all, if you somehow missed it *tsk tsk!* you can catch it again on Sept 25th and 26th, they are running a 48 hour marathon so now its your turn to write up a review of Deaf Idol, I want to see what YOU think :)