THE HISTORY OF THE FORMATION OF DEAF CHILDREN’S THEATRE IN THE UNITED STATES A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the College of Graduate Studies Lamar University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education in Deaf Studies/Deaf Education by Brian R. Kilpatrick December 2007 THE HISTORY OF THE FORMATION OF DEAF CHILDREN’S THEATRE IN THE UNITED STATES BRIAN R. KILPATRICK Approved: _______________________________ Jean F. Andrews Supervising Professor _______________________________ Anne Gentry Committee Member _______________________________ Gabriel Martin Committee Member ________________________________ _______________________________ Gabriel Martin Lee Thompson Chair, Department of Communication Committee Member Disorders and Deaf Education ________________________________ _______________________________ Russ Schultz Sidney Berger Dean, College of Committee Member Fine Arts and Communication ________________________________ Oney Fitzpatrick Interim Dean, College of Graduate Studies © 2007 by Brian R. Kilpatrick No part of this work can be reproduced without permission except as indicated by the “Fair Use” clause in the copyright law. Passages, images, or ideas taken from this work must be properly credited in any written or published materials. ABSTRACT THE HISTORY OF THE FORMATION OF DEAF CHILDREN’S THEATRE IN THE UNITED STATES BRIAN R. KILPATRICK This dissertation explores the history of Deaf Children’s Theatre in America, by collecting and recording its formation and development from archival materials, from on-site interviews, and from documents published during the late twentieth century. This study investigates the ways in which theatre became accessible to deaf people through apposite legislation and describes several forms of accessibility services for deaf and hearing audiences at theatrical performances. The evolution of theatre leading to the formation of Deaf Theatre and, later, to the nascence of Deaf Children’s Theatre is explored within the larger social and political context of the American culture. The case history of each of the six Deaf Children’s Theatre groups established variously at Hartford, Connecticut; Bethesda, Maryland; Seattle, Washington; Boston, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; and Houston, Texas is presented to portray the particular development of Theatre Arts for deaf children in America. The six Deaf Children’s Theatre groups presented in this study have had different approaches to complementing and completing deaf children’s education. Suggested future research is directed to the potential future impact of drama on deaf children’s language development and also to various avenues of support for Deaf Theatre in its battle for survival. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my appreciation to the wonderful Deaf and hearing people working in the field of Theatre Arts whom I interviewed for this research. My special gratitude is extended to my old, yet always young and special friends from Fairmount Theatre of the Deaf (now called Cleveland Signstage), to the National Theatre of the Deaf’s summer- school students and staff, and to all the other professional actors and actresses who shared their archival materials and personal belongings, along with their experience and perspectives concerning the impact of the theatre world on contemporary society and on deaf children’s education. I would also like to give sincere thanks for the Federal funding received by the Doctoral Program in Deaf Studies/Education at Lamar University. By providing scholarships it has allowed for continuous productive research. I owe special thanks to my late mother and to my recently late father for their support, encouragement, and belief in my doctoral studies. Also, many thanks to my Deaf friends, to my friends in the Deaf community and in the ASL/Interpreter Training programs, to outsiders, to non-deaf signers, and to others who have contributed to the completion of this dissertation. Most of all, I want to express my thousand-fold gratitude to my wife, Jacqueline, who has lovingly and faithfully believed in me and encouraged me, making possible the completion of this project. iii CONTENTS TABLES............................................................... xi ILLUSTRATIONS....................................................... xii GLOSSARY........................................................... xiii Chapter............................................................... 1 1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................... 1 Who Are Deaf Children and Youth? .............................. 3 Two Perspectives on Deafness ............................... 3 Medical/Audiological Model............................. 3 Cultural/Linguistic Model.............................. 4 Accessibility .............................................. 6 Deaf Theatre and the Two Models ............................ 6 Deaf Studies ............................................... 8 Educational Benefits of Deaf Theatre ....................... 9 Research and Organization .................................... 10 Historical Research Methods ............................... 10 Procedures ................................................ 15 Organization .............................................. 16 Endnotes for Chapter 1 ....................................... 17 2. ACCESSIBILITY FOR DEAF INDIVIDUALS IN THEATRE ARTS .............. 19 Introduction ................................................. 19 A Brief Description of the Origins and Evolution of Theatre 20 Motion Pictures ........................................... 22 Legal Provisions for Accessibility ........................... 24 Public Law 85-905 ......................................... 25 Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act ..................... 26 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 ............. 27 iv Television Decoder Circuitry Act of 1990 .................. 28 Telecommunications Act of 1996 ............................ 29 Implementing Accessibility Provisions in Theatre ............. 30 English Captioning ........................................ 31 Open Captioning....................................... 32 Closed Captioning..................................... 32 Communication Access Real Time Translation (CART)..... 33 Amplification Systems ..................................... 35 Theatrical Arts Interpreting .............................. 37 Interpreting for Deaf-Blind Persons................... 40 Theatre Interpreting for Children versus Adults....... 45 Performance Issues.................................... 46 Interpreter Organizations and Theatre ..................... 47 American Sign Language Interpreting................... 49 Challenges of Translating Plays Into ASL.............. 54 Shadow Interpreting................................... 56 Deaf Audience Preference.............................. 59 Performing Arts Interpreter Certification............. 61 A Comparison of Accessibility Options ..................... 63 Conclusion ................................................... 67 Endnotes for Chapter 2 ....................................... 69 3. THE PRIDE AND TREASURE OF THE DEAF COMMUNITY: DEAF THEATRE ...... 76 ASL Storytelling ............................................. 76 Art-Sign .................................................. 77 Deaf Literary Societies ................................... 81 Deaf Clubs ................................................... 82 Literary Nights at Gallaudet .............................. 82 Deaf Clubs in the United States ........................... 84 v Churches .................................................. 85 Theatre of the Deaf .......................................... 86 Meaning of Theatre ........................................ 86 Deaf Theatre and Sign Language Theatre .................... 88 Deaf Playwrights and Deaf Poets ........................... 89 University Deaf Theatre ................................... 91 Gallaudet University.................................. 91 National Technical Institute for the Deaf............. 93 Community Deaf Theatre .................................... 94 History............................................... 94 Deaf Actors.......................................... 102 Deaf Children’s Theatre .................................. 104 Conclusion .................................................. 109 Endnotes for Chapter 3 ...................................... 111 4. LITTLE THEATRE OF THE DEAF ..................................... 118 History of NTD .............................................. 118 Beginnings and Organization ................................. 122 List of Plays and Workshops ................................. 123 Participants and Audiences .................................. 124 Kinds of Skills Taught ...................................... 124 Conversations with Actors and Participants .................. 125 Benefits of Theater for Deaf Children ....................... 126 Summary ..................................................... 128 Endnotes for Chapter 4 ...................................... 130 5. INTERNATIONAL CENTER ON DEAFNESS AND THE ARTS (ICODA) .......... 133 Beginnings and Organization ................................. 134 List of Plays and Workshops ................................. 141 Participants and Audiences .................................. 141 vi Kinds of Skills Taught ...................................... 144 Conversations with Actors and Participants .................. 147 Summary