National Theatre of the Deaf

The National Theatre of the Deaf (NTD) is an American theatre company founded in 1967 and based in Connecticut, United States.^[2]

The company presents productions that combine American Sign Language and spoken language to make performances accessible to both deaf and hearing audiences. NTD is affiliated with a drama school founded in 1967 and with the Little Theatre of the Deaf (LTD), established in 1968 for younger audiences.^[3]

Before the NTD’s founding, there were no college-level theatre programs designed for deaf actors. The three major deaf theatre groups active earlier were the New York Association of the Deaf, the New York Theatre Guild of the Deaf, and the Metropolitan Theatre Guild of the Deaf.

NTD’s first official performance was The Man With His Heart in the Highlands at Wesleyan University in 1967.^[4] Company members participated in the first National and Worldwide Deaf Theatre Conference in 1994. The NTD has received awards including the Tony Award for Theatrical Excellence.^[5] The group has toured all 50 states and more than 30 countries.

In 1946, Robert Panara, a graduate of Gallaudet University and teacher at the New York School for the Deaf, produced a play with his student Bernard Bragg, then 17 years old.^[6] When both later taught and studied at Gallaudet, they developed the concept of a national theatre for the deaf.^[7]

In 1963, Dr. Edna Levine, a professor of deaf studies at New York University, saw Bragg perform a one-man show in New York City and discussed creating a dedicated theatre for the deaf with him.^[8] In 1965, they secured a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, with further support from the Office of Education, to establish the NTD.^[4] Mary E. Switzer, Boyce R. Williams, and Malcolm Norwood of the Rehabilitation Services Administration supported the project.^[9]

Levine and Bragg collaborated with set designer David Hays, a Harvard graduate and Broadway designer, to define the organization’s goals, funding, and location. Other contributors included Anne Bancroft, Arthur Penn, and Gene Lasko, who had worked together on The Miracle Worker.^[9]

The founders’ stated mission was to present sign language on stage for both deaf and hearing audiences, using a mix of sign language and spoken word.^[10] Productions have featured both deaf and hearing performers, with deaf actors using sign, mime, and gesture, and hearing actors providing spoken dialogue. Bragg’s training with the French mime Marcel Marceau influenced early NTD productions.^[11][12][13]

The NTD was first located at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center in Waterford, Connecticut. In 1983 it moved to Chester, Connecticut, then to Hartford, Connecticut in 2000, and later to the American School for the Deaf in West Hartford in 2004. Since 2012, it has operated again from the O'Neill Theatre Center while maintaining an office at the American School for the Deaf.^[4]

According to testimony from Executive Director Betty Beekman before the Connecticut Appropriations Committee in March 2015, the organization’s mission includes presenting theatre that integrates American Sign Language and spoken English.

The founding company included:

• Violet Armstrong
• Bernard Bragg
• Charles Corey
• Gilbert Eastman
• Lou Fant
• Ed Fearon
• Joyce Flynn Lasko
• Phyllis Frelich
• Dorothy Miles
• Mary Beth Miller
• Audree Norton
• Howard Palmer
• Will Rhys
• June Russi
• Tim Scanlon
• Morton Steinberg
• Andrew Vasnick
• Joe Velez
• Ralph White^{[9]: 125–129}

Early instructors included Bernard Bragg, Eric Malzkuhn, Bob Panara, Sahome Tachibana, Gina Blau, William Rhys, and George C. White III.^[9]

The school’s curriculum covered acting, mime, movement, stagecraft, lighting, costuming, theatre history, dance, and physical performance skills such as tumbling and fencing.^[9]

Phyllis Frelich received the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play in 1980 for Children of a Lesser God. Linda Bove became known for her role on Sesame Street. Former NTD member Troy Kotsur, who performed with the company from 1991 to 1993, won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for CODA and credited deaf theatre organizations for supporting his career. Other actors who have appeared with NTD include Colleen Dewhurst, Sir Michael Redgrave, Chita Rivera, Jason Robards, and Meryl Streep.^[14] NTD actress Jane Norman later taught at Gallaudet University and contributed to deaf media studies.^[15]

Company members and students rehearsed and toured extensively in the United States and abroad, often traveling by bus and staying in shared accommodations.^{[9]: 125–129} They performed works by both hearing and deaf playwrights.^{[9]: 121–124}

Reactions to NTD productions have varied. Hearing audiences have generally responded positively, while some deaf and hard of hearing viewers have expressed mixed views—some feeling that productions leaned toward hearing audiences, while others appreciated their accessibility and visibility.^{[9]: 115–116}

The NTD has been featured in publications such as Silent News, the Puppetry Journal, and on the television program Deaf Mosaic during the 1980s and 1990s.^{[9]: 24–25, 41–42, 55–56, 70–71, 83–84, 95–96, 109–110, 117–118}

• Cosh, Jackie. "Model lessons in a theatre for the deaf." The Times Educational Supplement Scotland 2274 (2012): 20.
• Hays, David. "The National Theatre of the Deaf." Deaf, The National Theatre of the. New York: The National Theatre of the Deaf (1969)
• Powers, Helen. "The National Theatre of the Deaf." (2021)
• Wells, Cortney. "A Decade of Deaf Theatre: An analysis of theatre within the Deaf Community, the expansion of its acceptance, and the influence it has today." (2016).

• Official website