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Arts and Advocacy Organizations Protest Hearing Actor Cast in the Lead Role of a Deaf Character | Reuters
Arts organizations across the
country protest The Acting Company-New York Theatre Workshop's casting of the
role of Singer in the November/December New York production of The Heart is a
Lonely Hunter.
If a hearing actor is cast in a Deaf-specific role, we are denying the human
fundamentals that a Deaf actor would bring to the role. While this affects
employment, the central issue is an artistic, human one that is much larger
and goes far beyond employment concerns.
Bobbie Beth Scoggins, the President of the National Association of the Deaf
(NAD), states: "The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) strongly believes
in culturally sensitive and linguistically appropriate casting of deaf roles
for mainstream theatrical and related productions; such roles are best carried
out by professional deaf performing artists."
"A hearing actor playing a Deaf character is tantamount to putting a white
actor in blackface," says Linda Bove, noted deaf actress and Board Member of
Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts.
If a Deaf actor is not allowed "to inhabit" a Deaf character -- create and
develop that character, with all the substance, nuance and authenticity s/he
brings of and from the lived experience of deafness and Deaf culture, we are
denying a Deaf artist the opportunity to express this dimension of our common
humanity. Further, The Acting Company and New York Theatre Workshop in this
co-production are denying the audience the benefit of an authentic Deaf
experience, and the artistry the Deaf actor brings.
"As an artistic director of a nationally recognized theatre, I well understand
the issues involved in artistic choice. But, the decision The Acting Company
and New York Theatre Workshop have made in this instance is artistically
unsupportable and indefensible," explains Ed Waterstreet, the Artistic
Director of Deaf West Theatre.
Michel Saint Denis, who designed The Juilliard School's Drama Division
program, out of which The Acting Company was created, said, "The purpose of
theatre is to illuminate the human spirit."
No hearing actor has the capacity and background to convey the experience of a
Deaf person in a Deaf-specific role, as would a Deaf actor who is an equally
good artist. Without a Deaf actor embodying this role, it is not possible to
gain the full perspective of a Deaf person's experience in this hypothetical
situation.
THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF THE DEAF (NAD) is the nation's premier civil
rights organization of, by and for deaf and hard of hearing individuals in the
United States of America. For more information: National Association of the Deaf
ALLIANCE FOR INCLUSION IN THE ARTS is the nation's leading advocate for full
diversity as a key to the vitality and dynamism of American theatre, film, and
television. For more information: Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts
DEAF WEST THEATRE is the nation's premier sign language theatre company. It
was founded in 1991 and has produced over 40 plays and 4 musicals, won more
than 80 theater awards, performed on Broadway, and has been nominated for a
Tony Award. For more information: Deaf West Theatre
Arts organizations across the
country protest The Acting Company-New York Theatre Workshop's casting of the
role of Singer in the November/December New York production of The Heart is a
Lonely Hunter.
If a hearing actor is cast in a Deaf-specific role, we are denying the human
fundamentals that a Deaf actor would bring to the role. While this affects
employment, the central issue is an artistic, human one that is much larger
and goes far beyond employment concerns.
Bobbie Beth Scoggins, the President of the National Association of the Deaf
(NAD), states: "The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) strongly believes
in culturally sensitive and linguistically appropriate casting of deaf roles
for mainstream theatrical and related productions; such roles are best carried
out by professional deaf performing artists."
"A hearing actor playing a Deaf character is tantamount to putting a white
actor in blackface," says Linda Bove, noted deaf actress and Board Member of
Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts.
If a Deaf actor is not allowed "to inhabit" a Deaf character -- create and
develop that character, with all the substance, nuance and authenticity s/he
brings of and from the lived experience of deafness and Deaf culture, we are
denying a Deaf artist the opportunity to express this dimension of our common
humanity. Further, The Acting Company and New York Theatre Workshop in this
co-production are denying the audience the benefit of an authentic Deaf
experience, and the artistry the Deaf actor brings.
"As an artistic director of a nationally recognized theatre, I well understand
the issues involved in artistic choice. But, the decision The Acting Company
and New York Theatre Workshop have made in this instance is artistically
unsupportable and indefensible," explains Ed Waterstreet, the Artistic
Director of Deaf West Theatre.
Michel Saint Denis, who designed The Juilliard School's Drama Division
program, out of which The Acting Company was created, said, "The purpose of
theatre is to illuminate the human spirit."
No hearing actor has the capacity and background to convey the experience of a
Deaf person in a Deaf-specific role, as would a Deaf actor who is an equally
good artist. Without a Deaf actor embodying this role, it is not possible to
gain the full perspective of a Deaf person's experience in this hypothetical
situation.
THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF THE DEAF (NAD) is the nation's premier civil
rights organization of, by and for deaf and hard of hearing individuals in the
United States of America. For more information: National Association of the Deaf
ALLIANCE FOR INCLUSION IN THE ARTS is the nation's leading advocate for full
diversity as a key to the vitality and dynamism of American theatre, film, and
television. For more information: Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts
DEAF WEST THEATRE is the nation's premier sign language theatre company. It
was founded in 1991 and has produced over 40 plays and 4 musicals, won more
than 80 theater awards, performed on Broadway, and has been nominated for a
Tony Award. For more information: Deaf West Theatre