"Made Possible by Pop Culture" Auto-feed

ABC Family’s Switched at Birth introduced the beauty of sign language — not only to its audience but also to a slew of hearing actors who were asked to learn American Sign Language (ASL) as part of their roles.

The Kennish family learned their daughter had actually been switched in the hospital just after she was born. And when they reunited with her years later, they learned she had fallen deaf as a result of an illness as a toddler. She was fluent in sign language, as was her mother.  And as the Kennishes got to know her, they learned to communicate that way, too.

Though Katie Leclerc, who plays Daphne was fluent in ASL before getting the role, everyone else has been learning as the show has been unfolding…

It’s been a long and rocky road for the Switched at Birth gang—on-screen, and slightly off, considering their first season has gone on for near-record length. By the time the season finale rolls around, they will have completed thirty episodes of its freshman year, and in that time, they have seen relationships start and end, a past family member come back more permanently, the start of new careers, the end of professional records, and one best selling book…

A couple of years ago my friend Patricia Steffy let me in on a little secret: she was a blogger, too. Only, her blog was written in secret, under an alias, and exaggerated slightly for comedic and narrative effect. It started out as a very real and raw way for her to explore a past relationship and the still-present marks it left for her future, but occasionally it diverged into commentary on issues that piqued her interest in current events or celebrity happenings. She first told me about the blog, “Dating in L.A. and Other Urban Myths,” about two years after she started writing it. The night I learned of its existence, I went back and read every entry to catch me up to the day, and then subscribed to her updates so I could read her new pieces immediately. I was so inspired because at that point, my own blog here was taking a tangent, and I was dealing less and less in my own personal stories. So rather than rectify that, I sat down with Patricia to flesh out a first season pitch for her blog as a web series centered on her “Kate Dating.” The web series still has yet to come to fruition. Long story short, we have kicked around many ideas for how to get it off the ground, including creating a half-hour cable comedy series pitch for the show, as well. But over the weekend, a version of the blog came to life in another, even more amazing way: as a staged reading charity benefit for the East L.A. Women’s Center, thrown by the charity Patricia and I serve on the board, IBG Inc.

In case you find yourself with a spare afternoon on Sunday and you haven’t already purchased your tickets to see IBG Inc’s charity staged reading with stars of Switched at Birth, Dallas, Pretty Little Liars, Chuck, Eastbound & Down, Stargate Universe, Bones, and more, you’re in luck! There are still some tickets available at both the VIP and general admission level.

Local Los Angeles area non-profit IBG, Inc has announced today a very special headlining performer for their “My Letter to Fear” charity staged reading in Los Angeles. Switched at Birth star, and benefiting charity East L.A. Women’s Center spokeswoman, Constance Marie will be joining the special, one afternoon only production on June 24th.

Last night the TV Academy here in Los Angeles honored ABC Family’s Switched at Birth with a special screening and Q&A event, celebrating the strides in diversity programming it has taken by featuring deaf and hard-of-hearing performers in such significant storylines and prominent roles. LA TV Insider Examiner was on hand to chat with the stars about upcoming on-screen drama and what the outpouring of fan support has meant to them.

Growing up did you sometimes feel like you were so different from your family you might have been plunked down in the wrong one? We’re not talking fallen-from-the-sky like Clark Kent or anything, but maybe you wished you were adopted, just no one told you about it? Maybe you dreamt— or simply assumed— you had another family out there, a different family— one who looked a little more like you, talked a little more like you, thought a little more like you, and actually liked the same things you did. Well, then ABC Family’s newest one-hour scripted drama, Switched at Birth, is probably for you.