Classical Theatre ASL Interpreter Intensive
Sign Language Meets Shakespeare
Join us in Staunton, VA, at the Blackfriars Playhouse to train in ASL live-theatre performance interpretation, specifically for Shakespeare and classical texts.
Designed for ASL interpreters, interpreting students, Deaf interpreters, and ASL-fluent theatre artists, this intensive builds practical skills for interpreting live theatre for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing audiences with clarity, creativity, and confidence.
You will explore Shakespeare’s language, practice live performance techniques, receive feedback from Deaf artists, and build interpreting skills through a rehearsal setting on the Blackfriars Playhouse Stage.
ASC’s Classical Theatre ASL Interpreter Intensive Details
- Location: Staunton, VA
- Application Deadline: Extended to Friday, August 28th, 2026
- Intensive Dates: October 16th-18th, 2026
- Tuition Price: $225 with CEU/$200 without CEU
- CEUs: pending approval
(Joe Mucciolo as Peter, Geoffrey Warren Barnes Benvolio, and Nick Ericksen as Romeo in ASC’s Romeo & Juliet 2025 with ASL interpretation by Dr. Lindsey Snyder & Emily Haynes McGee.
Video by Madison Patterson.)
Who should apply for ASC’s Classical Theatre ASL Interpreter Intensive?
No prior experience with Shakespeare required. This training is perfect for:
- American Sign Language interpreters
- Interpreting Students
- Deaf Interpreters
- Theatre Artists who are fluent in ASL
- Those interested in developing skills in interpreting theatrical and classical texts for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing audiences.
Apply By Friday, August 28th, 2026
Why train in ASL Interpreting at the Blackfriars Playhouse?
ASC’s Classical Theatre ASL Interpreter Intensive places participants inside a working Shakespeare theatre. This is not a classroom-only workshop. Participants study shakespeare’s language, attend a performance, then practice how that language lives in space, movement, rhythm, character, and audience connection.
At the Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton, Virginia, participants gain practical tools for interpreting classical theatre for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing audiences under shared light.
Questions?
Email us at asl@americanshakespearecenter.com
We’re happy to help.
Sponsored In-Part By
What You’ll Learn
Discover innovative strategies to bring Shakespeare’s timeless stories to life through American Sign Language. American Shakespeare Center’s Classical Theatre ASL Interpreter Intensive helps participants deepen their connection to Shakespeare’s language while strengthening their stagecraft as interpreters.
By the end of the intensive, participants will explore:
- Acting and directing techniques that support ASL classical theatre interpretation
- How to interpret Shakespeare’s verse, sonnets, and rhetorical structures for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing audiences
- ASL performance choices for character, space, rhythm, timing, and audience connection
- ASL interpreting and live performance training sessions led by Deaf artists’
- Real-time scene work with ASL evaluation and feedback
- Collaboration with ASC’s acting understudies in a rehearsal setting
- Practical performance training on the Blackfriars Playhouse stage
- Dr. Lindsey Snyder, PhD, CI, MFA – Dr. Snyder is an ASL/English/IS interpreter and educator, Shakespeare/performance studies scholar, and theatre practitioner. She is currently a lecturer at the University of Maryland in the School of Theatre and Performance Studies. From 2021-2025, Lindsey was the first on staff CHI (certified hearing interpreter) at the White House under President Biden. As a freelance interpreter, she specializes in Shakespeare, performing arts, federal government/diplomatic interpreting, conference and education. Lindsey has presented her academic work at national and international conferences. She works in various roles with national and international theatre companies including The Kennedy Center, Arena Stage, Southwest Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare’s Globe, The RSC, and the Stratford Festival.
- Crom Saunders – Crom is currently a certified Deaf interpreter working as an Associate Professor in the School of Communication and Culture at Columbia College, Chicago. Crom works extensively in translation, including PSA videos and children’s stories, with organizations such as PBS, Fun4TheDisabled and Sally Is Sarah, LLC. Crom has interpreted dozens of plays over three decades including Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Bushnell, the Benedum, and Steppenwolf. He has taught dozens of ASL linguistics, educational, and theatrical workshops across the nation, in addition to working as a Director of ASL for several theatre companies and projects across the nation. Crom has also presented for the American Society of Theatre Research, the American Shakespeare Association, The Modern Language Association, and the World Shakespeare Congress.