In 2014, Willam Martinez was working on a cruise ship when performers were required to come up with a one-person show. He didn’t want to do what everyone else was falling back on – their audition book or Sondheim.
So he decided to go with what the other singers didn’t have.
“Actually I can sing and sign. I can tell them a little bit of my story growing up in a deaf household. I can teach drunk cruise ship passengers sign language,” he said, laughing.
The result was SIGNing the Song, opening this week at Stages theater. It turns out that among those passengers were Harry and Rosemary Wong, two of the most celebrated education authors in the world. They came up after one of his shows and told him he should share his one- act play with more people.
“In the show I shared just a little story on how I became a singer growing up in a deaf household. My mom was very strict. So we didn’t have a TV. We didn’t listen to the radio, no movies. My mom really wanted me to experience the world in the way she did.”
“So I didn’t have access to music or pop culture or any of that. I was sharing how in eighth grade I get stuck in choir. Why are you putting me in choir? I can barely talk. So, there I am just sitting there. I was as quiet as I could be. I was just standing there with my mouth open and just observing.”
As a child, Martinez had little chance to build connections. His mother moved residences constantly with him. He went to 18 different elementary schools. “My mom and I were homeless most of my childhood.”
“The music teacher made me feel like I belonged. I didn’t feel any of those differences in that room with her. One day we were alone in the choir room and she invited me to come up to the piano. She played a simple scale. If you sing for me today I’ll pass you in the class. I was doing terrible in school. So finally I sang. “
And that’s when they both discovered he had a beautiful voice.
“I’m sharing this story with all these cruise ship passengers who just want to see an ABBA show and here I am making them cry. After one of performances, Harry and Rosemary Wong approached me and they said we’re teachers and we’re really inspired by this story. You really should share this. What was a five-minute interaction for me and her was your entire life. “
Martinez developed his show further. “I took a big ole risk. I got off the ship. I used all of my savings. I rewrote the show. I hired a Hollywood composer to do all of the arrangements. I toured all over LA, these cabaret spaces and churches.”
And he began taking it to general audiences just as he’s doing with Stages. During middle school he went to live with his father who is hearing. His mom agreed to that, he said, seeing his passion for music.
“The deaf world is beautiful. It’s perfect. It’s an incredible world. My mom specifically was a difficult parent. Nothing to do with the deaf world. Through a lot of discussion I went to live with my dad,” he said.
“As a kid I had to interpret for my mom. It was difficult conversations. You’ve got a five-year-old at a doctor’s office trying to explain personal things. I remember one time my mom brought me to court to fight a speeding ticket and I’m like 7.”
He said his mother loved to read and he read. “I understood the language, I just didn’t have the ability to extemporaneously speak. My language wasn’t as developed as other kids. I spoke more conceptually in the way that ASL is executed instead of linearly like spoken and written English.”
But after the discovery about his voice, his world expanded and by high school he immersed himself in plays.
“Arts in school saved my life. Having the ability to learn how to express in English through lyrics of a song or reciting a poem or doing a scene or a musical got me really comfortable and the community of it all. I went to college and got my degree in musical theater.
“It’s such a unifying and beautiful story. The story is that we all have this experience. Either someone truly was that person for us but also understanding the power of the educator and how we can be that educator in our lives. It extends beyond just being a teacher. How are you fostering a place of belonging for those around you and accepting people unconditionally for who they are?”
Performances are scheduled for November 4-9 at 7 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at The Gordy theater at Stages, 800 Rosine. For more information, call 713-527-0123 or visit stageshouston.com. $25-$76.
