The Sound of Waves, 3-12 Oct, 2014

 Performed by Jodie Harris
Written by Gareth Ellis, directed by Naomi Edwards
45downstairs,  3-12 October,  2014
 I  will not be reviewing this show this season but I wrote a short review of it in 2008. See below.  KH

The Sound of Waves by Gareth Ellis

Where and When: VCA, Nov 28-30, 2008

Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Stars: ***

http://kateherberttheatrereviews.blogspot.com.au/2008/11/sound-of-waves-nov-28-30-2008.html

The Sound of Waves is a whimsical fairy tale and an allegory for performer, Jodie Harris’s own experience as a young deaf woman who received a cochlear implant then studied acting and voice at the Victorian College of the Arts.

Harris portrays a child who is slowly becoming a fish, growing gills, losing her hearing and choosing to live at the bottom of the ocean with the sound of waves and the company of other fish.

This performance is captivating on several levels for the audience. Harris’s performance is lyrical and physical and we are constantly aware of her voice bearing only occasional signs of her deafness after her years of Actor-Vocal training with Geraldine Cook (Head of Voice at VCA).

The play is preceded by an extraordinary seminar about Ms. Cook’s vocal training with deaf teenagers with cochlear implants. This program movingly demonstrates what Ms. Cook describes as “The joy of hearing and the joy of being heard.” It was a joy to be hearing it.

By Kate Herbert

From Media Release
 "Meet Shelly, a normal girl who unexpectedly finds herself becoming more and more fish-like every day. She takes refuge under the sea only to find that one day even the sea is not enough, and she must search for a way to walk on land again..."

"Written by Gareth Ellis and directed by Naomi Edwards, this premiere season brings together a highly respected creative team and promises to be a spellbinding event some six years in the making. Running from 3 to 12 October at fortyfivedownstairs, The Sound of Waves is an allegorical tale tracing the emotional landscape of performer Jodie Harris’ journey through losing her hearing, receiving a cochlear implant and finding her way in the world again.
"At the age of six, Jodie Harris’ parents witnessed her racing around the house, panicked, unable to hear them, and it was soon confirmed she had a moderate to severe hearing loss. She would later come to rely on well developed lip reading skills through the next 23 years of her life, as her hearing gradually progressed to a profound loss.
"Navigating the world as a deaf person in a time with no email, texting, and internet was an incredibly exhausting challenge, and required vast amounts of concentration to stay connected with people and the community. As time went by, Jodie began to retreat further and further from those she loved, and from the world.
"Then, on the 11th of June 1999, while already studying acting at the prestigious Victorian College of the Arts, Jodie became the recipient of a cochlear implant, as a research patient.
What followed was years of hard work, discovery, and finding her voice again."

KH