Linda Bove

Linda communicated only in American Sign Language and interacted with other members of the Sesame Street community as a citizen and resident of the community. The person who most often interpreted for her was Bob and eventually, he and Linda were portrayed in a romantic relationship. Linda made her living as a librarian, and had an assistant, Micki Barnett, who would read stories to the children, while Linda signed them.^{[citation needed]}

The staff writers at Sesame Street were initially unsure of how to write for her. Bove said,

When I joined the cast I found the writers would write about 'How would a deaf person do this?' 'How does a deaf person do that?' and it was just related to my deafness and it didn't feel like they were treating me as a person. I found my character one-dimensional and kind of boring. It showed how brave a deaf person was to do this and that in everyday life. I said it was no big deal. I have a sense of humor; why don't you show that? I can be angry over something. Show that I can have a relationship with another person. Maybe a love relationship with Bob. It's not perfect, but... We do have misunderstandings over sign language, make fun of it, and show the funny side of it. It's OK."^{[citation needed]}

In addition to playing Linda, Bove appeared frequently in various sketches and silent segments, where she was often paired up with Maria, played by Sonia Manzano, often playing a supporting role in Manzano's Charlie Chaplin silent film sketches (with occasional voiceovers), usually just as a woman in the sketch, but played a second Tramp if two were needed (e.g. the mirror sketch and the opening umbrellas sketch). Manzano and Bove worked in many other sketches together, both with and without dialogue, on-camera, or voiceover.^{[citation needed]}

Theatre

In the 1970s, Bove and some of her colleagues started the Little Theatre of the Deaf to attract more deaf people, including children, to theater and the company gained national and international attention. It dealt with communication among deaf people and the importance of teaching sign language to deaf children.^{[citation needed]}

In 1979, Bove and NTD traveled on a 30,000 mile world tour. Their biggest success was in Japan, where their show was attended by the royal family and they were invited to appear on a Japanese television show.^{[citation needed]}

In 1991, Bove and her husband Ed Waterstreet founded Deaf West Theatre in Los Angeles, the first theater company run by deaf actors. While working with DWT, she starred in George Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan, based on Joan of Arc. The company performs plays in sign language and adjusts dialog accordingly. Signed dialog is interpreted into spoken language in order to bridge the gap between the deaf and hearing communities.^[8]

She appeared in several roles in the national tour of the Deaf West production of Big River in 2005. ^[9]

Bove was also involved in a number of other projects in the Deaf community, several related to children. She had a brief role in

In 1970, Bove married Ed Waterstreet, who she met when they both worked at the National Theatre of the Deaf.[10]

Filmography

Publications

In 1980, Sesame Street and the National Theatre of the Deaf collaborated on publishing a book, Sign Language Fun With Linda Bove^[2]

Recognition

• Bove received an award in 1974 from AMITA, an Italian-American women's organization, in recognition for her work on television.
• 1991 - received an honorary degree from Gallaudet University^[11]
• 1992 - Bernard Bragg Artistic Achievement Award^[12]
• July 3, 2012 Bove was presented with the Media Advocacy Award in recognition of her "success in advancing the civil, human and linguistic rights of the American deaf and hard of hearing community through use of the media and social networking".^[13]

References