ASL Cabaret Brings Inspiration to the Vanguard Art Gallery

The Moreno Valley Cultural Arts Foundation brought and hosted another special event to the community: the American Sign Language (ASL) Cabaret. The Cabaret is a “huge hit” throughout the Los Angeles areas and this weekend they came all the way to Moreno Valley to perform at the Vanguard Art Gallery. This month’s theme for the performance is the “Little Shop of Horrors”. On Sunday, Oct. 18, all of the ASL performance artists showcased their talents in front of a myriad of community members at the Gallery located in the Stoneridge Towne Centre in Moreno Valley. “This is an incredible cast of talented deaf and ASL performers,” President of MVCAF Richard Archer shared. There were various performances which included singing, dancing, poetry, comedy, storytelling and more, in which incorporated ASL within the acts. “We are very excited to have brought the ASL Cabaret to the Vanguard," he added. "This is a great turn out, expecially since we only had about a week's notice." The inspirational show was separated into two different acts. The first act was put on by the professional cast in which they displayed a medley of inspirations from the Little Shop of Horrors. Act two was basically treated as an “Open Mic” session in which anyone was welcome to take the stage to perform anything of their choice as long as it incorporated “ASL” into the performance. Mona Jean Cedar took the stage to perform her poems that left the crowd in awe. Norman Gallapin was also an obvious crowd favorite as he performed "Dirty Diana" and "Beat It" by Michael Jackson. The talented Megg Rose performed "Girl on Fire" by Alicia Keys. Many other talented cast members and attendees took the stage, which made it a successful night for the ASL Cabaret and the Vanguard Art Gallery. Archer shared that this is the start of MVCAF program to bring communities together while putting an emphasis on deaf/hard-of-hearing, blind/visually impaired, physically disabled and mentally challenged. He added, “Moreno Valley is dedicated to making certain that our Vanguard Art Gallery welcomes everyone through visual, performance and literary arts. We want to celebrate the rich talents of our community and find common ground that unify rather than divide.”