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“[Swift’s] music is so smart, she’s such a poet, so it’s very hard to put into Auslan,” she said.
“It’s not just a matter of directly translating English into sign, it’s about trying to give her language justice to her deaf fans.”
Marni Van Vliet brings a range of emotions to her Auslan interpretations of popstars’ songs. Credit: Steven Siewert
Auslan Stage Left was created in 2013 by a group of Melbourne-based interpreters and deaf artists wanting to encourage more arts events to provide interpreters and provide dedicated training.
Since then, it has provided interpreters for more than 3000 live performances across Australia.
Its director, Susan Emerson, said the agency grew rapidly in response to demand for interpreters at plays and musicals, but there had been less immediate interest in live music.
The breakthrough, she said, was their presence at Ability Fest, an inclusive music festival organised by former Australian of the Year Dylan Alcott first held in 2018.
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“Before we were at that, we got a lot of declines. So many didn’t understand why people would go to live music when they were deaf,” she said.
“But they have access to it through the vibration, the lighting, and the interpreters can translate the lyrics to their true meaning.”
Audience members wanting an interpreted performance can contact the agency, although Emerson said the arrangements were increasingly being made by show promoters themselves, anticipating demand.
In larger stadiums, like those hosting Pink and Swift, members of the deaf community can purchase specific seats to ensure they will see the interpreter, who performs in front of that section of the crowd rather than on the stage.
Van Vliet started working as an interpreter in 2019, seeking a career change with more flexibility after working as a dancer and actor.
“I didn’t know anything about the culture, and I just came in and fell in love with the community,” she said.
After a couple of years interpreting at smaller events, she is now firmly on the concert circuit.
Interpreters typically don’t meet the artist when working on a big stadium tour. But Van Vliet said it was much more exciting to meet the members of the deaf community who she helped enjoy the performance.
“This is their language, and they’ve given us approval to use it to show what we can hear every day,” she said.