PDDCS first youth film: A deafeeeee's dream

Last October PDDCS members enjoyed an inspirational evening at the Deaf  Role Model night with film makers; Ted Evans and Charlie Swinbourne. This was followed up with acting workshops through November and January with deaf actor, Jacob Casselden. Throughout February youth members, aged 10-22, from the PDDCS independently planned, acted and edited their film 'A Deafeeeee's Dream' on a zero budget. Although it was not successful for shortlisting for the Youth DeafFest, it is still a fantastic effort and evidence of what PDDCS young people can do. Well done!!

Alex Nowak - Ambassador for Young Deaffest

Last week, PDDCS members attended the Youth activities at DeafFest 2013. For the young people one of the highlights was the presentation by Alex Nowak, Ambassador for Young Deaffest. In the words of the young people "He was inspiring".

And thanks to Limping Chicken's Editor, Charlie, you didn't have to be there to learn more about Alex. Charlie has interviewed him: Below is the interview posted on Limping Chicken:

Alex Nowak has starred in a range of Deaf films, including The Beach House, The Silent Killer, and most notably The End. Just last weekend, he was offering young deaf people advice about acting at Deaffest in Wolverhampton. But what makes him tick? We interviewed him to find out.

Could you tell us how deaf you are and what growing up deaf was like?
I was diagnosed with profound deafness at the age of one-and-a-half years old. When my parents found out I was deaf, they focused on my education and my ability to speak, making sure I was up to date with my hearing peers.
I’ve attended mainstream schools all throughout my childhood. Lower and middle schools were all plain sailing until I arrived at secondary school.
Before this, I was very quiet due to my deafness and didn’t understand what everyone was saying around me. Sometimes I used to nod and pretend I understood what was being said. However, at secondary school, communication became more important to my identity.

How did you become interested in acting?
The acting bug came when I started drama lessons at the age of 12 in secondary school. I had a small group of friends at the time and we all enjoyed portraying various roles, this gave me the confidence and encouragement to participate in the lessons as well as the schools drama club.
In 2004, I remember staying at my Nan’s when my Mum was on holiday in Madeira, Nan watches all the soap operas, which I had to watch! ‘Home and Away’ in particular, there was a storyline that had me hooked where this crazy stalker was killing lots of people! This made me think about how other people act. I went on to complete my GCSE drama and received a Distinction in my BTEC level 3 Performing Arts.
My acting became more serious in Sixth Form. I began to meet inspirational deaf people out of school, this made me truly believe in myself and it was then that I knew I could achieve as a deaf actor.

I remember the first film I saw you in – Death by Deafness, thinking you had enormous potential. How has your career progressed since then?
Thanks Charlie. ‘Death by Deafness’ reflects on the emotions a fragile young girl is experiencing due to her deafness, which has devastating consequences. This film was purely based on my own experiences when I was at secondary school; feeling alienated and neglected from the hearing world, also not having many good friends to talk to.
I used to find myself in a local park alone to gather my thoughts. It got to a point where I thought to myself “This is stupid, I’ve just got a hearing loss, I’ll move on”. Not long after, an proposal came about – creating a short drama based on my previous emotions and that’s how ‘Death by Deafness’ was born.
The film has a strong message and I hope hearing people learn a message after viewing it. The fact that the film went onto win awards at film festivals not only gave me motivation but also helped me feel more at ease in front of the camera.

What happened after that film came out?
This led me to London, attending auditions and gaining lead parts in professional short films. I then completed a course at ALRA drama school in 2010, which gave me lots of theatrical and film knowledge.
Since then, I’ve done a variety of acting projects, landing parts in music videos, feature and short films (such as The End), TV auditions, pantomimes, theatre productions, etc. I’ve taken on a range of roles, created many strong friendships and met role models on my journey. I learn something new every day about the media industry, it’s never boring!



Which film and role are you most proud of?
The film I’m proudest to have appeared in is ‘The End’ – it had such a huge impact on the hearing and deaf viewers, and still does. It gave the audience food for thought with its strong storyline.
Quite a few deaf people have approached me and said “the story really hit me, will the stem cell treatment actually happen?” Part of that I believe is due to the fantastic ensemble cast and powerful acting from some performers that makes the story truly believable. And it could occur in the future…
My most rewarding role is Emmet in ‘The Beach House’. The film focuses on a deaf family which has one hearing member, thus they are the outcast – not the deaf person, for a change! I portrayed the role of the deaf brother, dealing with the loss of his parents and expressing his anger towards his hearing brother doing a disappearing act for the past six years.
It was a demanding role as Emmet is full of mixed emotions. An actor very rarely gets to play this – it was an enjoyable performance, too, being on location at the beautiful Putsborough Beach in Devon.

You’ve worked with a number of directors, who stands out for you as the best you have worked with?
There’s two. Ted Evans, who I worked with on ’The End,’ and co Kelly Ferguson and Stuart Elms of Beg Borrow Steal Productions that I teamed with on ‘The Silent Killer’ and more recently ‘Falling For Vilma’.
Ted is such a skilled expert – he’s definitely one of the UK’s up and coming film directors. Kelly and Stuart are such professionals and know what they’re undertaking and make the actors they work with feel at ease. I look forward to working with all of them again.
I don’t disregard the hearing world and not get involved, like some deaf actors do. I truly believe qualified hearing people in the media industry need to know that able deaf actors are out there! Together, we can create understanding, total communication and equality.

Tell me how you get into character?
Well, I look back to when the character was a child and view the whole timeline of his life to try and recognize why the character is who he is now.
I delve into the character’s family history, too. If I play a deaf, BSL character – does he have any other deaf family members? If he has a stubborn personality – why is he stubborn? All of these are important factors that help me get into the role of the character, which I believe gives a realistic portrayal.
I always read the whole script once or twice, not thoroughly over and over again as the character becomes too unrealistic. Yes, read and learn your lines but I try to think of it just like a real life situation – you don’t know what will happen around the corner.

What are your future ambitions?
I’m yet to portray a horror character in a thriller film, this has been a dream role of mine for a while as most of my roles have been poignant ones.
Travelling and observing as much of this wonderful planet we live on is another goal of mine. I’ve just very recently returned from Sri Lanka after spending two glorious months there on a volunteering project, teaching written English, Geography and Drama to young deaf children at a specialist school.
I’d like to see more deaf characters in mainstream TV programmes – there just isn’t enough currently. This is something I’d like to see change in the next couple of years. I’d also like to see a film that does not focus on the aspects of deaf people’s deafness, but a film that just stars a general deaf person in it.
Further down the line, I hope to relocate to either the US or Australia and carry on acting till the day I die!
Interview by Charlie Swinbourne, Editor of Limping Chicken

Check out the winner of Young Deaffest! 'I won't do that again' by William Horsefield

This is the winning entry for Young Deaffest this year by William Horsefeild. It's a fantastic short story and shows the high level of imagination and creativity William has. Well done to him from all at PDDCS and hopefully we'll be there next year!

Jacob Casselden Deaf Drama Workshop - details announced

The date for the first of Jacob Casselden's Drama workshops have been announced. It's the 27th November and it's free! Jacob has agreed to help PDDCS Youth in their quest to make top a film for DeafFest 2013. Clocks ticking kids - Film needs to be in by March..

See the poster below for full details. Please pass it on..Jacob Casselden Peterborough Acting Workshop

Award Winning Deaf Actor Jacob Casselden coming to Peterborough

Award Winning Deaf Actor @jacobcasselden coming to Peterborough to give drama classes. On the road to @deaffest 2013! pddcs.co.uk/2012/09/Jacobc…
— PDDCS (@PDDCS) September 29, 2012

Following hot in the footsteps of Ted Evans and Charlie Swinbourne coming to talk about their careers in writing and film making, Award winning actor and dancer, Jacob Casselden, is coming to Peterborough to deliver acting and drama classes.

Jacob has starred in film and on stage and is well respected - winning Best International Deaf Male Actor award at the Milan Festival Internazionale di Cinema E Video Sordo, for his role in the film Nectar and shortlisted for his role in Tribes in London's West End in 2010. (see video below)

The class dates are yet to be arranged - but keep checking PDDCS news for updates.

There will be an announcement soon on PDDCS plans to make film to enter into Young DeafFest 2013 and how to get involved. Jacob's involvement means that PDDCS have a top trio of British Deaf film making and acting talent on board to help with the production of a film. With Charlie Swinbourne and Ted Evans already agreeing to act as consultants to the project, Jacob's contribution to the performance side gives the kids of Peterborough the best start possible.

Keep checking back for more news on the film making project and dates of Jacob's acting sessions. Follow Jacob on twitter here

This video is from 2010 - the dates mentioned have now passed

Charlie and Ted dazzle Peterborough

Ted meets Jamie McCullough

It was a night to remember for those at the John Clare Theatre in Peterborough's city centre on Friday as Ted Evans and Charlie Swinbourne shared their stories of how they made thier careers in film making, script writing and journalism.

Intertwined with the fascinating and inspiring stories were specially made video clips from Ted and captivating examples of Charlie's film making work including 'My Song' and 'Four Deaf Yorkshiremen'. Ted gave glimpses of his award winning film 'The End' and revealed how he put together the film for the opening ceremony of the London Paralympic Games.

It was revealed at the end of the evening that Ted and Charlie have agreed to work as consultants on a potential PDDCS film project and that two deaf actors have also agreed to come down and help any budding deaf actors or actresses from Peterborough learn how to do it. Add to that PDDCS have also got the support of the BSLBT (British Sign Language Broadcasting Trust) to develop a film in readiness for Deaffest 2013 and everything is in place for PDDCS's first film! Keep an eye on PDDCS news for updates.

I would like to thank Jack Hunt School for their funding of the evening and Teresa Quail for her efforts in organising the night. Finally - thanks to Ted and Charlie for an outstanding evening - it was an evening we won't forget. Poigniantly the evening ended with the final sequence from Ted's film 'From us to you'.

Charlie meets Jamie too - Jamie made his own film and is a potential storyboard creator

Andy Palmer with Ted and Charlie

Charlie asks for Tara Forkin's autograph

Charlie and Ted take the questions at the end (and maybe about The End)

Charlie looks on at one of Ted's captivating custom made clips for the event

In conversation - Charlie looks impressed as Ted tals about his film making roots



Andy shows Ted and Charlie his biceps

TLM

As if by magic ... He's got a winning smile that lad Calum..

Mo shows how to groom the perfect beard.

Ted and Charlie get the attention they deserve from the audience

Calum = cool



Andy: Can we all stop chatting and get on with the show? 

 

Ted, Charlie and some aspiring film makers..

Deaffest 2012

Deaffest is the UK’s only Deaf-led film and television festival, which celebrates the talents of Deaf filmmakers and media artists from all over the world. Why not go along?

The 2012 festival will be held at Light House in Wolverhampton from Fri 25 – Sun 27 May.

Young Deaffest will be taking place on Sat 26 May

If you would like to submit your film to this dynamic and thriving festival then do so before Mon 19th March 2012. This festival is known to help nurture talent in the Deaf community and showcase the work of Deaf filmmakers and producers.

Whatever your age, download the submission form and start sending your films in!