From the late 1600s to the mid-1900s, Martha’s Vineyard was home to a rare and inclusive community of deaf and hearing residents who shared a unique signed language. “It wasn’t taught formally — it was lived,” says Lynn Thorp, director and producer of MV Signs: Then and Now, a volunteer project honoring Martha’s Vineyard’s nearly 300-year-old sign language community legacy.
In the early 2000s, Lynn and her husband Bill discovered the legacy while learning fingerspelling and basic American Sign Language (ASL), an attempt to bridge their personal communication gap due to Bill’s diminished hearing.
“What began as a small personal effort grew into MV Signs: Then and Now — a volunteer-based project encouraging signing as a shared, practical communication tool on the Vineyard today,” says Thorp. “MV Signs: Then and Now has just completed filming a practical sign language television series for our local public access channel, MVTV, which will also be available online.”
The 26-lesson series is designed to help hearing people initiate a shared visual language using gestures, fingerspelling, and basic ASL signs to help bridge communication gaps within families, workplaces, and the wider community.
Each lesson includes two parts, THEN: a brief historical glimpse into an aspect of the signing community, and NOW: a 20-minute lesson to help anyone initiate their innate ability to begin bridging communication gaps in daily life using visual communication.
The series will air this year on MVTV, on Thorp’s program “MV Signs: Then and Now,” and online. With the generous support of a Mass Cultural Council grant and GoFundMe contributions, Thorp recently completed the filming of the lessons for the “NOW” segment of the series.
The historical “THEN” segment is underway, with photos, descriptions, narration, editing, and prep for airing each lesson three times a week, with availability online for practice.
“As the project unfolded, the true scope of time, travel, and professional involvement became clearer, and the overall costs grew well beyond what was originally anticipated,” Thorp says. “I am now seeking to raise additional funds ($4,600) to cover these essential expenses and bring the series fully to completion. Every contribution, large or small — or simply passing the word along — helps bring a shared visual language back into everyday life on Martha’s Vineyard, where everyone can benefit.”
Thorp is raising additional funds to complete the editing and cover remaining production costs.
If you are interested in learning more and donating, visit: gofundme/320d36d9a.