Missing Links: Interview with Deanne Bray
- By: PetrelliByNature
- On: 10/31/2009 11:58:59
- In: General
House Petrelli: You have a Bachelor of Arts in Biology, teach math and science to deaf and hard of hearing children, and you are close to getting a teaching certificate. Yet while you were in undergrad, you were, as you have said, “bitten by the acting bug.” How were you introduced to acting and how did you make the decision to become an actress?
Deanne Bray: I am student teaching right now at California School for the Deaf, Riverside, and I cannot wait to get my teaching credentials, hopefully by this December! I was in drama club in high school up in Seattle, Washington. Have done some dance stuff with other Deaf and hard of hearing performers. One of them was a good friend of mine, Kelly Casey, who took off to California State University, Northridge. She was a year older than I was. The following year, I enrolled at CSUN as well. During my first year of college there, Kelly suggested my name to an independent dance group called PrismWest, founded by Lisa Hermatz. She took me in as one of the dancers. PrismWest performed at the Deaf Festival at CSUN and that was where I was approached from and agent who was sitting in the audience. He gave me his card and asked me to contact him. I didn’t take acting seriously and thought it would be fund to do on the side while my goal was to get into vet school at UC Davis. I also got involved with DeafWest Theatre and have done many stage play productions. I grew into the kind of actress who started taking acting seriously and realized that it’s not as easy as some people think. I enjoy the journey of soul searching and painting the character into what the writers imagine or even bring it to an even better painting than they imagined. I always respectfully try to match what the writers want unless I’m asked to try something else. I feel in love with this whole thing but always fear this industry because of seeing what my father (gaffer, cameraman, still photography) went through. Sometimes you’re working for a little while and then might not work for months then get back to working again. It’s unpredictable when you will work and when you won’t be working.
DB: I worked with the best veterans, such as Ed Waterstreet, Linda Bove, Phyllis Frelich, Bernard Bragg, and Freda Norman. Some of them were established founders of the National Theatre of the Deaf that was established in Connecticut on 1967. It’s a school where deaf talents get their training with many different acting classes and workshops related to performing. I went there as a student in 1996. My husband went there as a student and worked as one of the performers in the theatre company in 1992 for two years. The actors I mentioned above are the pioneers of opening doors for younger generations. Phyllis Frelich had a big influence in literature that educated many hearing people about Deaf culture when she developed a play with a writer, Mark Medoff, in the 1970’s called “Children of a Lesser God.” It then became a movie with Marlene Matlin. But the play is totally different from the movie. It has a lot of political stuff in the play which I feel is educational for many to understand Deaf culture and how Deaf and hard of hearing were back then. I am currently teaching that play to my students in my American Literature class and they will see the play that DeafWest Theatre is producing. It’s celebrating its 30-year anniversary this year. Phyllis Frelich was the original character, Sarah (she was the first Deaf actress to have won a Tony Award in 1980). She will visit my school as a guest speaker to meet the students! That’s what I mean…I got the acting bug. I just can’t stop admiring the idea of creating stories and bringing characters to life like Phyllis did with that play.
HP: What do you look for in a character or show to help you decide to audition for and accept a role?
DB: When I was younger, I would play Deaf roles (not having to use my voice). However, I did a play, Eqqus, where my character had a few lines using my voice. I didn’t enjoy that because I didn’t have the confidence in acting through using my voice. Speaking was not natural to me as with was in signing. Until “Road to Revolution” written by Mark Madoff and Phyllis played my mother, was when I gained confidence to use my voice and explore my emotions when acting. My character voiced and signed at the same times. I felt real for the first time. I hired a voice coach who taught me how to breathe in certain areas and how to project my voice on stage. Once I’ve practiced that, I finally felt real with what my character was emotionally going through. After that production, I auditioned for Sue Thomas F.B. Eye who had a character who is mostly oral. Because I had more confidence, I went ahead and auditioned. I played the character in new TV series for 3 seasons. It can be seen on the Gospel Music Channel now. If I had not done the production of Road to Revolution, I would not have auditioned for F.B. Eye. I don’t know if I can try hearing roles yet. I had many people asking me where I was from because they hear an accent when I speak when I was younger. But now, less and less people mention anything about my accent. I don’t know if it’s because I speak more fluently, now compared to many years ago or not. I wouldn’t mind auditioning for a hearing role in television. Maybe I’d play a hearing character from a different planet so whatever accent I have now would work for what character. My next challenge is to play around with different ways to speak. I haven’t tried that. I don’t know if I can yet.
HP: When considering roles, do you consider the content of the role? Would you turn down a role that bases a character’s identity on their deafness, instead of simply focusing on them being a person living with being deaf?
DB: Now that I have grown so much doing this, I’d try my best to focus on the character whoever she/he is deaf, hard of hearing, or hearing.
HP: As an actress, do you have different approaches to playing characters who are based on real people (like Sue Thomas), who are well-known but fictional (characters in plays), and who are completely new (like Emma)?
DB: If the writers are alive, I’d take the advantage of asking questions or just discussing about the character so I can understand or see their visions of what they’ve imagined their character to be like. I got together with the real Sue Thomas and interviewed her and just watched how she interacted with people. She is indeed a great lip reader for being profoundly deaf. I didn’t believe the myth of Deaf people being good lip readers. I’m not. When my hearing aids are off, I don’t read lips that well. I read lips better when hearing sounds with my hearing aid. But that’s what I was trained to do all my life…meeting Sue Thomas and a very few people in my life, I realized that just because you don’t read lips that well doesn’t mean that all Deaf people don’t. But I know many of them who don’t read lips. To be fair, the character, I had to erase my personal experience and focus on what that character or person’s background experience and absorb it. If the writers are not alive, I explore the character by getting clues in the writing. Sometimes doing some research on the writer’s life background can help me understand why or how this character was developed. For instance, Mark Medoff (writer) did an interview with JewishJournal and he explained that he had a lot of rage growing up and expresses that through his writings. He explained how one woman character he developed was his father going through oppression through the 1950’s because he was Jewish. His father was passive. Mark was angry seeing how other people treated his father. I try to find as many clues as I can to help bring the character to life. Emma for Heroes. I had a couple of meetings with the writers and they expressed to me who Emma was and they listened to my views as well. It was a back and forth thing in making Emma more fleshed out and real. We still e-mail each other. I’m trying to get the writers to let Emma wear two hearing aids. I feel that Emma is Deaf but had training to hear sounds with her hearing aids yet she does not hear exactly what hearing people hear. I was hoping that they will play with Emma’s point of view in playing distorted sounds so that the audience will understand her world better. I have seen on television that when a person takes off their glasses, their vision is blurry. Why not do that with sounds? I don’t know when or if they will do that. I think Emma will look more gorgeous with two hearing aids.
HP: What is your favorite role and why?
DB: Adela from “The House of Bernarda Alba.” She’s daring and strong. Miss Sally from “Big River.” I was in the original cast, she’s fun and bouncy. You can view the pictures on my website, deannebray.com; I have pictures of when I was doing stage plays. Emma Coolidge, she’s witty, bright, and fascinating. Sue Thomas, she’s not afraid to be who she is, her humor.
HP: If you could play any role, what would it be, and why?
DB: I’d love to do a movie or feature film working in Europe. Never been there. I DON’T want to play a victim or “poor me, I’m Deaf” character. Playing someone like Adela, Emma, or Miss sally would be fun.
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