ASL on "Whose Live Anyway?"

American Sign Language is more than just a visual version of English. It is a language with its own structure, grammar and syntax that gives deaf communities the opportunity to enjoy day-to-day events that hearing people may take for granted.

The Covey Center for the Arts in downtown Provo is one local business striving to be more inclusive for their deaf viewers.

The Covey Center for the Arts hosted the live tour of "Whose Line is it Anyway?": "Whose Live Anyway?" They collaborated with InterWest Interpreting to provide American Sign Language services for one of these special performances.

The Emmy award winning television show's live tour made a quick stop in Provo at the end of August. The touring cast of "Whose Live Anyway?" included Jeff B. Davis, Greg Proops, Joel Murray and Gary Anthony Williams. But on August 28, "Whose Live Anyway?" got a new cast member from InterWest Interpreting, Sam Farley.

"I'm a big fan of 'Whose Line Is It Anyway?" I've grown up from the British version to the American version and I still watch it to this day," Farley said.

Farley learned ASL in high school when he befriended a deaf classmate. As the years went on, he became an ASL missionary in New York City, interpreted for students at Brigham Young University Idaho, got officially certified and interpreted for Disney Parks until he moved back to Utah.

"Most of my interpreting is focused in the performing areas. So I do a lot of theatre, a lot of concerts, things like that," Farley said.

Farley now typically gets called in to interpret concerts and musicals, but interpreting an improv comedy show is not the same as any old live performance.

"I love comedy, I love improv. So being able to interpret that is always fun, but it definitely comes with some challenges. Because even the people who are on stage don't know what they're going to do," Farley said.

Though Farley is the one who is performing on stage, he does not actively seek out the spotlight for himself.

"We get, as interpreters, we get a lot of notoriety a lot after the show. I'm not here for you though. I'm giving the deaf consumer access to the entertainment that everyone else gets access to," Farley said.

Sam Farley's one-time performance with "Whose Live Anyway?" may be at a close, but he teaches a ASL 101 and ASL 202 over at Brigham Young University.