Anne Fife
In Zach Curtis’ Theatre 1030 class, there is a lot of chatter and laughter among his students on a day in February when they are learning the art of “unarmed stage combat.”
In one corner of the dance studio at Salt Lake Community College’s South City Campus where they train, it’s relatively quiet as Anne Fife pays rapt attention to her American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters.
On this day, Fife is using two ASL interpreters, Katie Hoover and Heather Beck, and an intern, Drake Heap. All are here through the resources of SLCC’s Disability Resource Center, which helps about 50 deaf or hard of hearing SLCC students and is providing ASL interpreters to 11 students for the spring 2020 semester. Fife’s crew takes turns signing what it is that Curtis is saying as he instructs students on how to fake a punch or make it look like you’re dragging a person around by the hair.
Anne Fife and an acting partner work on a combat technique.
Fife’s face turns serious as she appears to grab a fistful of her partner’s wavy brown hair, making it look like she’s jerking his head back and forth. When it’s her turn to be the subdued, she conjures a convincing look of pain and horror. Then they laugh. Everyone is having fun this day in Theatre 1030.
It wasn’t at all fun when Fife, 43, first tried in high school to take a theater class. Profoundly Deaf, Fife recalls the oppression she felt when told there was no place for her in the class. “The teacher came up and said, ‘I don’t think you should get credit for this class. I don’t think we can help you be successful and learn in this class,’” Fife remembers being told. In fact, that experience scarred Fife.
No one knew until over a year after Fife was born that she was Deaf. Clues started to add up: a dropped pan and no reaction, no response when her parents called her name, Anne. There were lots of tests. About the only thing she could hear was the roar of a jet engine.
Anne Fife receives instruction in Jon Clark's stage makeup class.
Fife would be the only one of five sisters in her family who is Deaf. She attended Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind and graduated from Hillcrest High School. Would - or could - college be next?
“Some of the most significant challenges Deaf students face include transitioning to a postsecondary institution and learning English skills,” says Jodi Kinner, DRC accessibility advisor for deaf and hard of hearing students. “Many of our students are accustomed to the support services provided by their high school, and they expect to receive similar support in college. … The Disability Resource Center is available to provide support and guidance to students and connect them with resources to help them achieve their academic and career goals.”
“Some of the most significant challenges Deaf students face include transitioning to a postsecondary institution and learning English skills,” says Jodi Kinner, DRC accessibility advisor for deaf and hard of hearing students. “Many of our students are accustomed to the support services provided by their high school, and they expect to receive similar support in college. … The Disability Resource Center is available to provide support and guidance to students and connect them with resources to help them achieve their academic and career goals.”
Fife attended SLCC in 1994-95 in pursuit of a business management degree and had a “good” job when she decided to tap the brakes and start a family with her new husband, who is also Deaf. They’ve been married almost 25 years and have three sons, ages 21, 17 and 13.
In 2017, a sister who taught at a middle school in South Jordan gave Fife the opportunity to direct a production of The Lion King Jr. musical, teaching children ASL so that the characters could speak and use sign language. It was a success. She did the same thing with another play at a different middle school in 2019.
Those experiences comprised the epiphany she needed to enroll again at SLCC, this time with the goal of earning degrees in theater arts and general education. In addition to the college’s DRC, Fife relies on Utah Workforce Services Vocational Rehabilitation to help with things like securing a wearable “listening” device that will help her feel vibrations as notes are played in her musical theater class.
Fife in her role during A Sharp and Infectious Silence production.
Once she finishes her four-year degree in theater and art education, Fife says she’d like to teach at a high school and work on theater productions that also incorporate ASL. “I want to be able to build bridges between the Deaf or Hard of Hearing and the hearing community,” she says. With one role during a production at SLCC under her belt as an actor, she’d also like to continue acting.
This time around, theater is fun. Her family is supporting her journey. There are more resources to help ensure success, not just for her but in general for Deaf people, Fife notes. “The mountains might seem big, but march on – you’re able to climb over those mountains, to reach the other side,” she says. “Even though oppression is there, you can sweep it away.”
Fife shows appreciation for a student demonstration.