21 July 2009

Hey! I got a new column!

Before I forget again, please check out my new Thursday column "Which Reminds Me" over at CLERC SCAR. What am I writing about every Thursday? As my editor says, "Readers are invited to suggest a thing, person, place, event, or concept for Raymond Luczak to write about. You can suggest anything up to three words and send it to editor@clercscar.com and Raymond will pick one to respond to each week." So far, I've covered Paris, blueberries, Sean Penn, and peak experiences (that's coming up on Thursday). (Yes, the web site has my columns archived, so please sign up and check out the latest creative efforts by the Deaf and signing communities all over the country!) I think you will enjoy the diversity of opinion and creative work from "out there."

15 July 2009

Did I just "hear" a rumor? WHISPERS OF A SAVAGE SORT AND OTHER PLAYS ABOUT THE DEAF AMERICAN EXPERIENCE ...

FINALLY. I am now able to post the cover of my next book Whispers of a Savage Sort and Other Plays about the Deaf American Experience, which Gallaudet University Press (GUP) will bring out by early September. I'm very grateful to Orkid Sassouni for her wonderful photographic contributions to the cover (and the back). Check out her web site orkidsfotography.com!


Instead of trying to explain what this book is about, I'll quote what the kind GUP folks have written about it (I'm feeling a tad tired at this late hour):

“Oh, why can’t the deaf community be more like a family?” is the plaint of a character in Raymond Luczak’s title play, Whispers of a Savage Sort. It also aptly characterizes the main thread that runs through the remarkable collection of work offered here. Luczak presents a progression of plays that depict Deaf people in situations well known by the community’s members. Written to be signing-driven, each play features Deaf characters from various strata of Deaf society and centers on different yet equally familiar issues.

Snooty brings to life the difficulties of surviving the social pecking order in a deaf program at a hearing school. The main character’s only escape is a rich fantasy life in which he is in control. Doogle confronts its characters with the intrusion of technological communication devices parallel to the virtually forced intimacy in a Deaf residential high school. Brought into stark focus by the specter of AIDS, Love in My Veins explores how trust, betrayal, and, ultimately, forgiveness can transform a Deaf couple’s love for each other. The collection’s eponymous Whispers of a Savage Sort reveals the relentless damage that rumor and innuendo can do to a diverse group of Deaf individuals. The emotions, identities, and consequences created by Luczak in these dramas illuminate the Deaf American community in fascinating detail rarely seen in any medium today."

The book's ISBN-13 number is 978-1563684203. Will I have an online trailer for this collection? Of course! I hope to post it sometime next week or early next month. (I'll post it on YouTube, Facebook, and here, so look out for it! And no, I don't tweet on Twitter. I have more than enough distractions in my life.) And one last thing ...


The actor Christopher Smith is a renowned performer from Chicago, so I'm very happy to have him come here and do the show for us. He previously appeared in my play This some years ago; before that, he was always--and still is--one of my favorite people ever since we met in 1984. And of course, I'm delighted to have the lovely Michael La Rocca on board to voice Christopher's character who is a furniture salesman who develops a very unhealthy obsession with chairs ... need I say more? Tickets are now on sale at the Minnesota Fringe Festival's web site! YAYYYY. And please do check out Deaf Blender Theatre as well!

07 July 2009

Happy Birthday, Rocky!

Hello all:

While Rocky tries his best to act like an old man at the tender age of three today, I was told that he's made his first appearance on YouTube! At this link, look for him at the 5:47 mark and after. The clip is a long montage of different things and people who made this year's Chicago Pride Fest such a blast! (Yes, I was wearing a T-shirt that said: INTELLIGENT HOMO SEXUAL, a visual takeoff on Tony Kushner's latest title THE INTELLIGENT HOMOSEXUAL'S GUIDE TO CAPITALISM AND SOCIALISM WITH A KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES. Quite a few people smiled when they saw the shirt. I felt I had to wear it that day because it was my own quiet way of saying, "Hey, we're not deaf and dumb!" And of course, it's a most appropriate thing to wear if you're autographing Deaf GLBT books on a hot summer day.)

A number of friends at the Rainbow Alliance of the Deaf conference also snapped quite a few pics of Rocky so I'm waiting for them to email me those. :) I want to thank everybody for making my stay in Chicago so incredibly enjoyable (and exhausting in a good way). I'm definitely interested in going to RAD 2011 in Denver!

I have lots more exciting news coming up soon. Just need to confirm a few details first; be prepared for an avalanche soon. Having an enjoyable summer so far. Ta-da!

Hugs,

Raymond