Signs, not just sounds, of music

As Paul McCartney took the stage to headline the second night of the Bonnaroo music festival — almost every eye in the crowd was trained on the former Beatle. However, at a small platform several hundred yards away, a young woman prepared for an equally important performance, albeit for a much smaller crowd.

She lifted her hands like a conductor, a white spotlight beaming off her glasses, and as Sir Paul started crooning “Eight Days A Week,” she began to sign along with the famous words: “Ooh I need your love, babe — guess you know it’s true.”

There is something for everyone at Bonnaroo — and for many — it can be a sensory overload. There are writhing throngs of thousands of sweaty people, psychedelic sights, pungent smells and of course the sound of music. Concert organizers go out of their way to make sure the experience is memorable for everyone, and the handicapped and disabled are no exception.

At every performance there is a designated Access Area, usually occupying the same space as the sound board, where those in wheelchairs can get an elevated view and the hearing impaired can seek out the services of the Bonnaroo Access Team.

This was Tina Orzali’s fifth year interpreting for deaf and hearing-impaired Bonnaroo attendees.

Like the other two members of the three-woman team assigned to sign the iconic McCartney tunes, Orzali is a professional interpreter in the Manchester, Tenn. and Nashville area.  

“This is our day job — something we do professionally,” Orzali said after McCartney’s set. “But this is something that we really look forward to every year.”

Orzali and her fellow interpreters applied to work the McCartney set and were assigned after their interpreting skills were vetted and approved.

While the McCartney songs are well-known, the interpreters still prepare a great deal in advance. “We spend weeks researching the artists and memorizing the words. It’s a lot of work,” Orzali said.

This year was sign language interpreter Jessica Howell’s second year of involvement with Bonnaroo. While it was exhilarating to be a part of the performance, Howell said McCartney put their team to the test.

“This show was a really long one so we had a team of three which worked out amazingly because it actually almost went three hours,” Howell said of the set which included nearly 40 songs. “Most shows use only two interpreters working as a team, so you support each other and help out if someone doesn’t remember the words.”

However Howell said it wasn’t an issue with McCartney playing famous songs like “Lady Madonna” and “Love Me Do” that she had grown up listening to with her parents.

Before the show begins, those with hearing impairments are encouraged to identify themselves to the interpreter, but asking for assistance is not required. The interpreters are positioned at the front of the Access Platform, putting them on something of their own stage.

The interpreters could not help but dance along with the show, and they say their movements and percussive gestures are all a part of their service.

Amy Adkins has been volunteering her interpreting services at Bonnaroo for five years. She says it’s natural to want to move to classics like “Get Back” while signing the words. “I think that we’re all here because we love music and we love this job and its fun and so we should dance,” Adkins said. “If we stood there like a stick in the mud, like, what kind of fun is that? That would not be natural.”

Adkins, like the other two interpreters for McCartney’s show, is not hearing impaired. But she says she came by her knowledge of sign language through necessary circumstances. “I met a handsome boy when I was seventeen and I needed to learn how to talk to that boy,” she said.

Adkins pointed out her sign language services are not just for the deaf. “There’s such a wide variety of hearing impairments,” Adkins said. “So we might have one patron that is profoundly deaf but they feel the vibrations. You can still feel the energy — you feel it here,” she said pointing to her heart.

“But then you also have other patrons who are just hard of hearing who have the ability to hear somewhat. Maybe they love Paul McCartney and they can blast it in their car but they need that extra support at the show to know what’s going on,” Adkins said.

McCartney’s show had an extra touch of significance for the hearing impaired. While he sang a new song entitled “My Valentine,” videos featuring Johnny Depp and Natalie Portman signing the lyrics played alongside McCartney as he sang on stage. Adkins said she thought it was a touching tribute and something she hopes will raise awareness for the deaf community she works to serve.