THE NATIONAL DEAF HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE FESTIVAL TO BE HELD MARCH 10-13

Press Contact:

Michael Jorgensen
michael@jorgensenpr.com


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE

DEAF WEST THEATRE,
THE UTAH SCHOOLS FOR THE DEAF AND BLIND,
&
SUNSHINE 2.0

PARTNER FOR THE

NATIONAL DEAF HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE FESTIVAL

IN-PERSON & VIRTUAL FESTIVAL TO BE HELD
MARCH 10 – 13
IN SALT LAKE CITY

INSTRUCTORS & GUEST PERFORMERS INCLUDE
DANIEL DURANT, NATASHA OFILI,
AND MORE!

VISUAL ASSETS AVAILABLE HERE



New York, NY & Salt Lake City, UT (February 23, 2022) — Deaf West Theatre (David Kurs, Artistic Director) is proud to partner with the Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind (USDB) and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) Sunshine 2.0 for the 2022 National Deaf High School Theatre Festival (NDHSTF), an educational theatrical competition for young Deaf actors across the United States.

The NDHSTF gives young Deaf performers the ability to perform on a national stage, refine their skills through competition and feedback, use American Sign Language (ASL) as their medium for acting, experience professional theatre in an accessible language, and socialize with like-minded Deaf peers.

Building on the work started by USDB and Sunshine 2.0 in 2020, where an entirely virtual festival was hosted with about one hundred Deaf students participating from across the country, Deaf West Theatre joins with them to create a truly rich and unique experience that will bring Deaf artists from across the country. The lineup includes instructors from Sunshine 2.0, a theatre company based at the Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf.

The 2022 National Deaf High School Theatre Festival will feature students from over 10 schools across the country, including American School for the Deaf, Arkansas School for the Deaf, Berkmar High School, Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf, Montana School for the Deaf & Blind, Oklahoma School for the Deaf, Rocky Mountain Deaf School, School of the Arts at Central Gwinnett High School, Texas School for the Deaf, and Utah School for the Deaf and Blind.

Instructors and guest performers for the 2022 National Deaf High School Theatre Festival include Zain Ahmed (NTID Sunshine 2.0), Shiann Cook (NTID Sunshine 2.0), SAG Award nominee Daniel Durant (CODA, Spring Awakening), Tyler Fortson (NTID Sunshine 2.0), Harold Foxx (Stand-Up Comedian), Natasha Ofili (“The Politician”), Fred Beam (NTID Sunshine 2.0), Lateefah Patterson (NTID Sunshine 2.0), and David Kurs (Deaf West Theatre).

“For many years, our students from USDB had been competing in other theatre festivals for high school students,” said Michelle Tanner, Associate Superintendent of the Deaf at USDB. “The accessibility needs of our Deaf and Hard of Hearing students were never fully met, and in some instances completely negated. This led to overall lack-of-interest and outright protest from many of our students. After looking around and seeing that there were no other Deaf theatre competitions for high school students, we decided to launch our own annual National Deaf High School Theatre Festival.”

“Deaf West has always been committed to bridging the gap between the Deaf and hearing worlds, and when we found out the accessibility needs of students were being completely ignored, we knew we needed to help. Bringing this Festival from completely virtual to a virtual/in-person hybrid experience is no small undertaking, but is vital for our community. Deaf West’s expertise and history, combined with the resources that USDB and Sunshine 2.0 provide, will help ensure this Festival will become an annual tradition that showcases the true power of Deaf and Hard of Hearing thespians” said David Kurs, Artistic Director of Deaf West Theatre.

“We are excited to be partnering with Deaf West and USDB to present this necessary artistic platform for young adults,” said Fred Michael Beam, Coordinator at Sunshine 2.0. “Our 40+ year expertise is in bringing Deaf theatrical talent on the road, not just in America but across the world. This national festival will help elevate and amplify this young, emerging Deaf talent.”

The 2nd National Deaf High School Theatre Festival will be a hybrid virtual and in-person festival. Both will take place March 10-13, 2022, with the in-person festival being held at the Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind’s campus in Salt Lake City.

Participants will submit an entry in one or more categories that will be judged by Deaf West Theatre and Sunshine 2.0 performers and other Deaf professionals in the field of acting. The following day workshops will be provided by Deaf West Theatre and Sunshine 2.0, and other professionals in Deaf theatre to develop students’ performance skills. The event will include competition in the following categories; drama, music, dance, and Visual Vernacular.

For more information, to submit for consideration, and for complete Festival rules and guidelines, please visit DeafWest.org/Festival.


ABOUT DEAF WEST THEATRE

Founded in Los Angeles in 1991, Tony Award®-winning Deaf West Theatre (Artistic Director, David Kurs), engages artists and audiences in unparalleled theater experiences inspired by Deaf culture and the expressive power of sign language, weaving ASL with spoken English to create a seamless ballet of movement and voice. Committed to innovation, collaboration and training, DWT is the artistic bridge between the deaf and hearing worlds. Recent and past productions include The Solid of Life of Sugar Water by Jack Thorne; Our Town, in a co-production with the Pasadena Playhouse; Edward Albee's At Home at the Zoo, in a co-production with the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts; Spring Awakening the Musical, which transferred from Inner-City Arts to the Wallis and then to Broadway (three Tony Award nominations including Best Revival of a Musical); American Buffalo (Los Angeles Times “Critic’s Choice”); Cyrano, a co-production with the Fountain Theatre (Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Production); Big River the Musical (Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle and Backstage Garland awards for Best Musical in its L.A. premiere, Tony nomination and four Drama Desk Awards on Broadway); Pippin, produced at the Mark Taper Forum in a co-production with Center Theatre Group; Sleeping Beauty Wakes, also a co-production with CTG, presented at the Kirk Douglas Theatre; Oliver! (Ovation Award for Best Musical); and A Streetcar Named Desire (Ovation Award for Best Play). In 2005, DWT was selected to receive the Highest Recognition Award by the Secretary of Health and Human Services for its “distinguished contributions to improve and enrich the culture lives of deaf and hard of hearing actors and theater patrons.”


ABOUT THE UTAH SCHOOLS FOR THE DEAF AND BLIND

The Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (USDB) has been serving students with sensory impairments throughout Utah for over 100 years! The schools began in 1884 by the Territorial Legislature after a message from Governor Eli Murray which emphasized the need for a school for the deaf. Twelve years later in 1896, as Utah attained statehood, the members of the Constitutional Convention created the school for the blind. Recognizing the appropriateness of services for both visually and hearing-impaired individuals, Utah’s first lawmakers established the “Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.” USDB was given their first home at Ogden’s old Territorial Reform School.

The courageous spirit that provided a national model for deaf and blind education in 1884 is still forging the way in teaching the deaf and the blind to be self-reliant and contributing citizens of their communities. Outreach and mainstreaming efforts offer students an educational program whereby each individual can progress toward his or her highest potential.

Over the years, services provided by the USDB have continued to meet the changing needs of students and families through modern technology and teaching strategies. The commitment of the schools to high quality services for deaf and blind children is as great as it ever was.


ABOUT SUNSHINE 2.0

Sunshine 2.0 is a professional traveling theater troupe based at Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf in Rochester, New York. The troupe provides performances and activities for deaf and hard-of-hearing children and adults that highlight the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM), as well as educational topics pertaining to the Deaf experience. The theater troupe travels to schools and programs serving deaf and hard-of-hearing students, colleges, museums, conferences, civic groups, festivals and other venues.

Performances are presented in voice and in American Sign Language, are accessible to all audience members and cover subjects for people of all ages. Currently, these performances can come to your school or organization on the east coast at no cost!

Using an array of performance techniques, Sunshine 2.0 offers a series of engaging programs and workshops. Sunshine 2.0 audiences have a rare opportunity to see exciting and entertaining performances that will create a lasting impression.


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DeafWest.org/Festival



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Twitter: @DeafWest


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