Hi I'm Brice, I'm a communication assistant and interpreter for Leute wie die. Today I'm signing the speech for the Vera Gerdau Prize, which we received in 2023.

There were 3 jurors back then who gave us a very positive laudatory speech. Now the audio recording is started and I sign the content:

"The artistic collective summarises on its website: ’Leute wie die have been working since 2015 in both languages on the question of how deaf and hearing performers can act on stage on an equal footing, how the audience can participate and what aesthetic artistic images emerge from this.'

This is an important sign of inclusion!

The productions by Leute wie die succeed in connecting the Deaf and hearing worlds in a multilingual way, bringing them into contact with each other and showing and constantly developing a sensual aesthetic in which a common theatre language inspires their cross-generational audience. I was able to meet Leute wie die for the first time in 2018 at the Grenzenlos Kultur Festival in Mainz with the production FLIRT. This festival in particular, which for a long time was aimed exclusively at an adult audience, made it clear how important inclusive theatre work is for an audience of children and young people.

FLIRT was also awarded at the WESTWIND Festival 2019.

An important approach for inclusive theatre makers for children and young people is also to include the thoughts of children with disabilities. This is demonstrated by the performers of Leute wie die in your production Wach?: stories and drawings by Deaf and hearing children were brought to the stage. The sentence: 'Not about us, but with us' is lived here.

At conferences and festivals, the members of Leute wie die work tirelessly to promote the perspective of Deaf artists and inclusion in the performing arts for young audiences through lectures, workshops, educational work and talks. The collective shares its knowledge again and again in an accessible, convincing, power-critical and encouraging way.

Subtitles are used in the application video and on stage so that the hearing audience always understands what is being said. Overall, the way in which multilingualism is dealt with so naturally is simply good.

The productions started under the direction of Wera Mahne. Since 2020, they have all been working under the label Leute wie die (english: People like them) and are constantly developing their collective way of working.

Dear Leute wie die! In your productions and the exchange with the audience as well as in your way of working together, we see a convincing and best practice example of joint work and the equal artistic creation of disabled and non-disabled artists for an inclusive audience!

You're good with penguins and you can flirt too!

We can't wait to see what's next!

Congratulations on the Vera Gerdau Prize!"

Mehr Infos über das Festival Spurensuche findet ihr hier: Link
Unser Einladungs-Video (in DGS) an die Venus Boys findet ihr hier: Link

Zur Homepage von CHICKS* freies performancekollektiv: Link