Friday, December 13, 2013
Open Letter to the Seattle Men's Chorus This letter was penned in response to this letter from Ms. Liz Dawson. You may find it at http://openlettertosmc.blogspot.com/2013/12/letter-from-ms-liz-dawson-to-concerned.html If you wish to share your concerns with Mr. Frank Stilwagner, you may email him at
[email protected] Thank you for your support.
Open Letter to Seattle Men's Chorus 12 December 2013 at 12:26
Dear Liz Dawson, Marketing & Outreach Associate, Thank you for reaching out. It means a lot that you would take the time to get in touch to further dialogue about our concerns. We were baffled that comments expressing concern about Mr. Gallagher working as an interpreter with the Seattle Men’s Chorus were taken down from the Seattle Men’s Chorus Facebook page. We’d like to further explore this with you, starting with addressing several points you brought up: 1. This is not a new situation. The Deaf community has been sharing concerns since 1989 about Kevin Gallagher’s position as an ASL interpreter with the Seattle Men’s Chorus. Numerous Deaf individuals and their partners have shared specific examples of why he is not qualified and ways that utilizing his services creates barriers to accessing and enjoying the Seattle Men’s Chorus performances. We are aware that several individuals have even requested and followed through with formal meetings with the Seattle Men’s Chorus. The last attempt was several years ago when two Deaf women met with the Chair of the Board of SMC and one other person - very possibly the Chorus Director. The Executive Director of the Pride Foundation facilitated the meeting. Both of the men from SMC had no idea there were issues with Kevin’s “interpreting” and of the 1989 attempt to change things. One solution these two Deaf women came up with was for SMC to hire a qualified and certified interpreter and allow Kevin the other side of the stage as a compromise. The idea was well received but when the idea was presented to Kevin he was so angry and so adamant that HE was an interpreter that the whole idea fell apart. Deaf community members and their allies have also sent in letters outlining their concerns, and despite those efforts absolutely no changes have been made. We are very concerned about his lack of concern for his poor quality of interpreting and unethical behavior towards the hearing and deaf patrons alike. 2. You are incorrect about Mr. Gallagher’s credentials. Based on our research, he is not certified. The only legitimate body that recognizes certified interpreters {evaluates and assesses} is Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID). They have no current record of his certification on file. The language “accredited” that has been used to describe Mr. Gallagher’s interpreting status is very misleading and
inaccurate. There is no such thing as an “accredited” interpreter, only certified and non-certified interpreters. Even if an interpreter has received certification 25 years ago, as some have indicated may be the case regarding Mr. Gallagher, one must complete 80 hours of professional training every four years and pay annual dues to keep their certified status. But regardless of his status “accredited” or “certified” he is absolutely unqualified to be doing the work he is doing. Mr. Gallagher has been “interpreting” for 31 years. To our knowledge, in those 31 years your organization is the bulk of his “interpreting work”, which is further evidence of concerns regarding his skills. 3. To our knowledge, Mr. Gallagher is not affiliated with any known and reputable ASL interpreter agencies. 4. While Mr. Gallagher puts his heart in the work he does, he is not qualified. Deaf patrons and ASL professionals have taken note of this. When he is on the stage his signs are not clear, his sign choices are incorrect, he does not follow ASL grammar rules, his expressions are odd and do not match the signs, his interpretation of the songs do not match the intention of the songs, nor does his interpretation reflect what is happening on the stage, and his transliteration from English to ASL is inaccurately done. He is not a fluent signer. To the trained eyes of Deaf persons and professional ASL interpreters, his “performance” does not accurately convey the valuable work of the men in the chorus. Their choral vocalizations are not matched in skill by Mr. Gallagher’s signs, which is unfortunate. Your talented performers deserve to be matched by an interpreter of equal ability in his own field. 5. In addition, Mr. Gallagher was encouraged in the past to consider a mentor to help improve his performance and to develop a better understanding of his role as an ASL Interpreter. He refused. 6. Julliard in the past had a weeklong intensive program for those interested in theater interpreting. Taking the course and graduating from it does not an interpreter make. Think of it an intensive camp. Esteemed, perhaps, but does not give automatic legitimacy to someone claiming to be qualified for theater and musical interpreting. Most interpreter training programs are between two and four years, not one week. The name Julliard gives a false sense of credibility, to which clearly Mr. Gallagher has used to full effect. He has not taken classes from or graduated from any known Interpreter Training Program. Your agency has an enormous responsibility and is accountable for denying access to Deaf consumers. We do not understand why despite numerous letters and meetings, your organization has been absolutely unwilling to implement changes or make an effort to remedy the situation by exploring alternative options. It is our understanding that the Seattle Men’s Chorus is simply stating that Mr. Gallagher is qualified. You are in no position whatsoever to objectively determine that; individuals who are in a position to make that determination have told you that he is, in fact, not qualified. And still you have refused. This informs us that you are putting a personal relationship above the needs and access of disabled individuals. We do understand that people who work in theatre often do develop close personal relationships and feel as if they are members of a family, and this is difficult for you to hear. However, Deaf patrons, your talented singers and hearing patrons all deserve better quality ASL Interpreting that will complement the work you do.
We ask that not only these concerns be addressed publicly with full transparency for both hearing and Deaf patrons, we ask for changes to be made: · That Kevin Gallagher be removed from his position, and no longer to be referred to as an ASL Interpreter. · Appropriate accommodations are made for Deaf patrons using certified interpreters who are additionally qualified to interpret musical performances. · We further ask for an apology, made public, to the community for the decades of ignoring, dismissing, and belittling the concerns made time and again. · We ask that you collaborate with Theaters, Allies and Deaf Audiences {TADA} an advocacy organization that helps theaters and other venues provide appropriate access in ASL for Deaf patrons and educates those venues on cultural sensitivity, best practices, and norms for the field of theater and musical interpretation. And to use their experience, expertise and suggestions in determining who to hire for your future performances. Once again, thank you for this opportunity to open a dialogue. We look forward to working together to give Seattle Men’s Chorus the quality interpreting they deserve. Regards,
Concerned Community Members Katie Roberts, Crystal Green, Marilyn J. Smith, Tiffany Young CC: Frank Stilwagner, Executive Director
