Download National Theatre of the Deaf – HISTORY

National Theatre of the Deaf – HISTORY
In 1967, six people bought tickets to see the first performance of the
National Theatre of the Deaf, most of them out of curiosity. Now, more
than forty-five years and one Tony Award later, NTD has brought
audiences to their feet across the globe and received rave reviews from
New York to New Delhi.
In the 1950’s, Dr. Edna Simon Levine, a psychologist working in the area of
deafness, formed the concept of a professional company of deaf performers.
Arthur Penn and Anne Bancroft, the director and leading actress of
Broadway's The Miracle Worker, were approached with the idea and, in
turn, brought it to their colleague, Broadway set and lighting designer,
David Hays. Struck by the beauty and strength of Sign Language on stage,
Mr. Hays persisted in his vision of bringing this powerful form of
expression to theatre audiences.
A federal grant in 1965 from the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare provided planning funds. In the spring of 1967, a
national television program was aired which explored the experimental idea of NTD. Working with David Hays and Broadway
professionals on this groundbreaking television program was Bernard Bragg, NTD’s first actor and already a professional actor.
Bernard Bragg was instrumental in helping shape the development and style of the new company. With additional funds from the U.S.
Office of Education, NTD began the annual Professional Training School that summer and held its first public performance at
Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. The company went on their first national tour in the fall from a home base it shared
with The O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut. The following year, The Little Theatre of the Deaf was created for young
audiences and continues to tour to this day.
In 1983, NTD moved to its own home in Chester, Connecticut. In 2000 the company moved to Hartford, and four years later made its
home on the campus of the American School for the Deaf in West Hartford, Connecticut. In 2012 the company returned to its original
home with headquarters at the O’Neill Theater Center and maintains a satellite office on the campus of the American School for the
Deaf.
In 1994, the National and Worldwide Deaf Theatre Conference had its inaugural session to facilitate communication, develop
techniques, and encourage the work of deaf playwrights from the forty-plus theatres of the deaf from around the world, which the
NTD was instrumental in founding.
The company has enjoyed over 150 national tours with its National Theatre of the Deaf and Little Theatre of the Deaf touring
companies. The NTD has toured to all fifty states, performed in thirty-three countries and appeared on each continent. NTD has
earned its place in theatrical history as the oldest, continually-producing touring theatre company in the United States.
NTD has received critical acclaim for its adaptations of classic literature (Chekhov, Voltaire, Homer, Moliere, Ibsen, and Puccini) as
well as for original works by the Company. NTD has put its signature on such creations as a magical adaptation of Phillip de Broca's
film, King of Hearts, and Ophelia. NTD has collaborated with artists such as Chita Rivera, Jason Robards, Arvin Brown, Bill Irwin,
Peter Sellers, Tetsuko Kuroyangi, Colleen Dewhurst, and the Pilobolus Dance Theatre. NTD's teleplay of "One More Spring",
produced with Connecticut Public Television and The Learning Channel, was nominated for an ACE Award.
NTD productions provide the opportunity for the majority hearing community to be inspired and amazed by the skills and artistry of
the minority deaf community. Presentations by NTD do more than just make theatre accessible to the deaf, they provide a platform for
the deaf to share a cultural and social event with hearing members of the audience. This sharing promotes pride in the artistry and
culture of the deaf. NTD performances expose all audiences to arts. To hearing people in particular, it provides the expression of
artists from a culture most have never experienced. The impact of NTD is realized nationwide and around the world through its
principal product: theatre. This continues to be our best vehicle for breaking down the stereotypes that exist regarding minorities.
National Theatre of the Deaf – MISSION
By entertaining, enlightening and educating
our audiences, we change lives through the arts.
The National Theatre of the Deaf operates under the following comprehensive mission:
To produce theatrically challenging work of the highest quality, drawing from as wide a range of the world's literature as possible; to
perform these original works in a style that links American Sign Language with the spoken word; to seek, train and employ Deaf
artists; to offer our work to as culturally diverse and inclusive an audience as possible; to provide community outreach activities that
will educate and enlighten the general public, opening their eyes and ears to Deaf culture and building linkages that facilitate
involvement in our methods of work.
ABOUT The National Theatre of the Deaf
The National Theatre of the Deaf (NTD)
has a history that is proud and groundbreaking.
Touring the nation and the world for over 45 years,
the acting company is comprised of deaf and
hearing actors. Each performance unfolds
simultaneously in two languages; one for the eye,
American Sign Language, and one for the ear, the
Spoken Word.
When the company began in 1967:
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No closed captioning on television
No captioning for televised emergencies, or weather advisories
Telephones for the deaf were just invented—they weighed around 300 pounds, were costly, and most deaf people did not
have them
No 911 number—deaf people would rely on hearing neighbors or their hearing children to place emergency calls for them
No interpreter telephone services, and qualified interpreters were rare
No such thing as the American Disabilities Act that would guarantee equal opportunities, or prohibit from being
discriminated against because of being deaf
Slim job choices. Stereotypical jobs were janitor, seamstress, baker or printer—jobs that required little interaction with other
people
It is interesting to note that the idea for the National Theatre of the Deaf came about through a Broadway production calledThe
Miracle Worker in the late 1950’s. The Miracle Worker was based on the true story of Helen Keller, a girl born deaf and blind. The
audiences were moved when Helen learned to sign and the world of language was opened to her. The star of the show, Anne Bancroft,
and the Lighting Designer, David Hays, were captivated by the idea that sign language had a place on the world’s stage as a
performing art form.
After the show closed, David Hays continued to pursue this dream and after nearly ten years was able to secure funding from the
Department of Education and launched the National Theatre of the Deaf.
The first theatrical tour was difficult to book. Frankly, bookers couldn’t imagine what a performance with deaf actors would be, or if
they could sell it to their audiences. They thought it might be a pantomime show and patrons would only come out of guilt. Some
bookers took a chance and once audiences saw the performances, things rapidly changed. Audiences were amazed at the acting ability
of deaf artists, the beauty, depth, and range of material that was performed. There is no limit to what the NTD can perform.
By showing the value and talent of the deaf artist, the NTD also showed the value and talent of the deaf individual. NTD became a
catalyst for change, as theatergoers are often influential and public spirited citizens. Deaf people also became more empowered. By
affecting our audiences, NTD proved and still proves its ability to be a catalyst for social change. Our influence is social, educational
and theatrical. Through power of example and role model, NTD has been instrumental in fostering:
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Removing stigma from Sign Language
Legitimizing the use of Sign Language on television, stage, and movies
Popularizing the study of Sign Language
Providing professional training and employing deaf artists
Invigorating the entertainment industry to consider and use deaf artists
Deaf pride of self and culture to all members of the deaf community
Celebrating over forty-five years of touring the nation and world, the National Theatre of the Deaf is the longest existing touring
company in the United States. NTD has performed in all fifty states, on all seven continents, performed on the Disney Channel,
on Sesame Street, at the White House, for royalty the world over, and on Broadway. NTD was the first company to tour South Africa
when sanctions were lifted, first company from the West to tour The People’s Republic of China, represented the USA at the Los
Angeles Olympic Arts Festival, performed in Taiwan through the American Cultural Center to represent the United States during the
Deaflympics, and received a Tony Award. It is no wonder the National Theatre of the Deaf is considered “A Wonder to Behold.”
National Theatre of the Deaf – THREE MANIFESTATIONS
Theatrical, Social, Educational
By Mack Scism
#1- Theatrical
The National Theatre of the Deaf speaks with two voices, one for the ear and one for the
eye. By combining the Spoken Word with Sign Language, NTD created a new theatre form, a dual language theatre. In magnifying
the visual imagery inherent in Sign Language, the effect was also to magnify the Spoken Word. The English language was suddenly
expanded to include the visible shapes of the ideas being verbally expressed.
This was a new theatrical idea, and for the past forty-plus years, NTD has developed, and continues to develop, this concept. In the
process, the theatre has garnered worldwide acclaim:
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A Wonder To Behold
A National Treasure
Theatre at its Best
Marvelous
Stunning, Joyous, Funny, and Total
Are typical NTD review headlines.
Audiences watching an NTD performance for the first time are astonished by the power and beauty of the dual language style. They
are surprised to find deaf actors performing at the peak of professionalism, and by the unexpected experience of seeing as well as
hearing every word of the play. No literary style lies beyond the NTD’s dramatic range; the actors have performed everything from
bedroom farce to Greek tragedy. In addition to adapting plays, epic poetry, and novels, the Theatre has become adept at creating
original works. For the audience, the NTD poses no language or communication barrier. It is a professional theatre just like other
professional theatres – but with a difference.
The difference is found in the NTD’s singular method, and in the interdependence of its deaf and hearing actors that is best mirrored
by the daring young man on the flying trapeze and his catcher.
When the Big Top comes to town, when The National Theatre of the Deaf performs, everyone is under the spell of wonders that are
many and the artists do things that were never believed possible.
#2-Social
Nowhere is the power of art to bring about change more apparent than in the work of The National Theatre of the Deaf.
During 1966 and 1967, working in concert with the visionary leaders of Gallaudet College and the former US Office for Education of
the Handicapped, David Hays founded the National Theatre of the Deaf. With its inception, a new way to see and think about
deafness was invented, and a reversal in the way many hearing people regard the deaf began.
Coming for the first time to see the NTD perform, theatergoers were startled to find a combination of deaf and hearing performers
capable of enthralling an audience. The power and grace of the Company’s theatrical style is still astonishing audiences with the
capacity of the deaf to entertain and enrapture.
Fortunately, theatregoers are often influential and public-spirited citizens. By affecting them, the NTD proved and is still proving its
ability to be a catalyst for social change.
Through the power of its example, The National Theatre of the Deaf has been instrumental in fostering the following changes
pertaining to the social growth of the deaf:
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Removing the stigma from Sign Language
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Legitimizing the use of Sign Language on television
Popularizing the study of Sign Language
Hiring deaf actors (90% of whom are trained by the NTD) to perform deaf roles in professional stage and television plays
By creating a climate hospitable to changing views of the deaf, the NTD has influenced the following phenomena:
Establishment of amateur, semi-professional and professional theatres of the deaf all over America
Job placement in positions that were rarely deemed possible for the deaf
Widening social interaction between the deaf and hearing populations
Installation of telecommunication devices for the deaf in banks, police stations, government offices, etc.
For almost 200 years, the deaf were America’s invisible minority, millions of people living in the shadows on the side roads of
society. Gravitating to the large cities where services and interpreters for the deaf were more apt to exist, the deaf found jobs as
printers, pressmen, bakers, linotype operators, or in some cases, as counselors in state and municipal vocational rehabilitation
programs.
Apart from their immediate neighbors and co-workers, America’s deaf lived in a separate, unequal, silent community. When the NTD
coupled Sign Language with speech, began its public performances, and appeared triumphantly on Broadway and network television,
Sign Language began to come front and center. In a surprisingly short time, the stigma of Sign Language began to fade. Seeing
talented deaf people on the stage bathed in theatrical glamour, displaying wit and grace, prompted audiences everywhere to want to
meet these extraordinary people.
There have been incredible strides in our 40-plus years. And looking back it is hard to believe that so much has changed in the social
situation of the deaf. Somewhere along the line, someone coined the phrase, “Deaf Awareness.”
In the early days, initial encounters were often heartbreakingly funny. “Oh, you can’t be deaf; you’re so pretty.” “How do you
answer the phone?” “Does it hurt?” “I had always placed the deaf on a pedestal, thought of them as silent angels. After seeing your
performance I now know that deaf people can be just as immoral as everyone else.”
Through its extensive touring (all fifty states, all seven continents) the NTD has brought to hundreds of thousands of people all over
the world a new awareness of the deaf, a new understanding of their capabilities, a new sensitivity to their situation. By stressing
artistic achievement, the NTD has forcefully demonstrated the power of art to bring about social change.
#3- Education
When NTD was founded in 1967, there was a corps of twelve deaf adults. The original twelve were exceptionally talented people by
any standard, but only one of them had had any professional stage training. From the outset, the NTD faced the necessity of training
its own actors. Top professionals from the Broadway and London stage headed the first session of the NTD’s Professional
School. The educational activity of the theatre preceded all else.
Along with the NTD Acting Company, students from around the country, as well as many foreign countries have joined in
professional theatre training. Many of the attendees returned home to serve as resource people in their own communities. These are
the people who become leaders in local deaf advocacy efforts and establish theatres of the deaf throughout the country and world. The
NTD is constantly training and equipping students with new skills and leadership training, moving them toward higher opportunities.
The National Theatre of the Deaf, sharing its knowledge and expertise through its training school, workshops and performances,
shares everything from visual theatre techniques to the dynamics of communication. NTD informs as it entertains. The NTD’s master
actors are also their master teachers.