Hey everyone!

** quick note --- Don't forget that as of May 1st, the
registration fees for the STFBE Fan Convention will go up to $75.
Take advantage of the low rate and register now! **

Something very special happened last weekend, and I wanted to share
this experience with all of you. I was in Los Angeles and I attended
the play "Sleeping Beauty Wakes", at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. It's
a modern adaptation of the Grimms' classic fairy tale, performed in
both spoken English and ASL - all the lyrics are sung and signed
simultaneously. I really loved it, it was amazing! The actors are
brilliant, the singers have fabulous voices, and the contemporary
sleep-disorder clinic brings hilarious moments.

But what does this have to do with STFBE and/or the Convention?
Well, the cast features both hearing and deaf performers, including
two of our favourite actors, Deanne Bray and Troy Kotsur! They are
excellent! Deanne's characters are so different from the kind and
caring Sue we know, it's a bit weird at first, but she's great! And
Troy… His body language expresses so much, he's simply marvelous! Be
prepared to be surprised - I don't want to say too much, but believe
me, after seeing this play, a wake-up kiss from the Prince Charming
will never mean the same thing again…

For more information, visit the website http://www.deafwest.org/.
The show has been extended until May 20th, but hurry up, it's almost
sold out! And take a minute to look at the pictures on the site -
Deanne is on the second picture, with the dark suit; and Troy is on
the third picture, with the cowboy hat.

After the performance, I met both Deanne and Troy. I was so nervous,
my hands were literally shaking, so imagine what it looked like when
I tried to sign - and the emphasis is on the word tried, because I'm
really not fluent in ASL… Deanne is such an admirable person! She is
so nice, she immediately reminded me of Sue, in STFBE - the same
kindness, generosity and, of course, the smile. When Troy joined us,
she helped me with the translation, to make sure we would understand
each other. I really had a wonderful time discussing with them.

Of course, we talked a little about STFBE, the Convention and the
future… Deanne shared some very interesting information with me… She
said that . . ey . . . . ld . . . i . . . B . . . a . . . .
to . . . . ug . . . Oops! I'm so sorry, my keyboard won't let me say
it because it has not been announced yet, but believe me, it's
something big that should make all the fans ecstatic! I really can't
wait!

Stay tuned, and I hope I'll be allowed to fill out the blanks soon!