Stella, Blanche and ASL

I read with interest Ira Rothenberg’s reactions to the Deaf West Theatre production of “A Streetcar Named Desire” (Letters, March 19). He bemoans the fact that a talented hearing actress in the play’s cast cannot do justice to Deaf West since her sign language skills may be “lacking.”

That actress, Suanne Spoke, learned American Sign Language (ASL) under my tutelage. I, too, am a deaf person from a deaf family with native fluency in ASL. Working with Spoke and watching her in the play was a revelation for me: She was a hearing sister who had been away from her deaf sibling (Stella) for a long time and struggled with communication. Not only did she grope for the words she wanted to say, she also needed to remember the signs from her childhood with Stella to help her get those words across.

BOB DANIELS

Universal City