Working on the ECHO set made me just plain giddy, but when the breakdown first came through (“Untitled Marvel”), the thought crossed my mind not to audition. (How nuts is that?) I thought: I haven’t used American Sign Language regularly in over 2 decades; there is no way they’ll cast me. But my agent, Rusty Wiggs, said “Well then it’s time to hit the books!” And so I did. And then they did.
And signing again, honestly, was the best part of this entire job—it felt like coming back to a previous home. It was warm and beautiful. Sign language is visual music. And communicating with music is one of the most wonderful feelings EVAH! Plus, I got to meet Alaqua Cox who is so bright, curious and delightfully chatty—if you meet her, you cannot help but fall in love with her. Also, Vincent D’Onofrio IS a freaking boss! He is a true advocate for actors on set—and he also spearheaded a few moments that helped with production efficiency. If you love Vince D’Onofrio, good. You should. The director, Sydney Freeland, has so much energy. She was kind, hilarious, and focused in an expansive way that allowed her to truly listen to her crew and to clearly connect with her cast. And Doug Ridloff, the ASL Master/Producer was the absolute best when it came to helping me to refine my signing. He was patient and incredibly supportive—he came up to me after we shot the car scene and said “Good work! Did you rehearse?” (Hahaha! Very funny, Doug.) The ECHO shoot will forever live in my memory as a career highlight and I am grateful to have been able to work on a production with such heavy machinery, resources, and brilliant talent. It was humbling. And I so hope to do it again!