Miss-Delectable
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Neglecting wealth is a crime.
Toronto is about to find out how much it has been missing.
Over the next few weeks, a veritable explosion of comedy, drama and art will hit stage, screen, canvas and production studio — all courtesy of the deaf culture.
This isn't a one-time shot. It aims to sweep back stifling layers of complacency, revealing the rich fabric blended from voices and hands communicating as one. The idea is to build a solid bridge between cultures, uniting future generations.
It all starts a week Sunday with a collaboration of deaf and hearing actors, weaving together American Sign Language, English and mime in seven short theatre pieces performed over 90 minutes at Harbourfront Centre.
The two-day ASL Showcase, directed by P.J. Hammond and produced by Joanna Bennett, isn't about political correctness or building codes. It's a living thing, part of the way Harbourfront has approached access right from its conception, says Tina Rasmussen, director of performing arts.
It's also something other countries, including Britain and the U.S., embraced a long time ago, says Bennett, who both hears and signs.
For 15 years, Hollywood's Deaf West Theatre has mounted productions simultaneously in ASL and spoken English for 1.2 million deaf and hard-of-hearing Los Angeles-area residents. One of them is Deanne Bray, star of television's Sue Thomas FBEye, which was filmed in Toronto and co-produced by CTV.
Bray expressed surprise this city had nothing like Deaf West, says Bennett. Thus, with the backing of Harbourfront, Equity Showcase Theatre, Picasso Pro, which offers fully accessible stage training and development programs, and the studio lab theatre foundation, an idea was born.
The aim is to establish a permanent theatre company that would commission original work and provide training in acting and technical fields as well as jobs.
The showcase runs April 30 and May 1 at Harbourfront's Studio Theatre. For more info, call 416-973-4000 (voice), or email tickets@harbourfront centre.com or check http://www.har bourfrontcentre.com.
Then there's the Toronto International Deaf Film and Arts Festival, running May 10 to 14 at a number of locations. In collaboration with the Toronto International Film Festival, it will include a gala presentation of It's All Gone Pete's Tong. ASL and English spoken interpreters will be available throughout. For more info, check http://www.tidfaf.ca.
Meanwhile, on May 13, at the St. Lawrence Market on Front St. E. at Jarvis, Mayfest, sponsored by the Ontario Association of the Deaf, will offer a day of family entertainment. For more info, check http://www.stlaw rencemarket.com.
A few blocks, away in the historic Distillery District, Toronto's first Deaf Culture Centre will open to the public on Sunday, May 14.
Among other things, there will be an art gallery featuring the works of deaf artists from around the world, a gift shop, an interactive museum, research facilities, a library and a multi-media production studio featuring deafplanet.com, a popular children's television show and interactive website launched three years ago.
A community board room will be available for workshops, classes and school tours. And the whole thing will be open to visitors Tuesday through Sunday.
This is the place where deaf and hearing cultures will converge for years to come. And everything about has been meticulously planned.
Designed by Quadrangle Architects, it is marked by flowing banners conceived by Canada's Bruce Mau as artistic renderings of signing motion tracked through space, says Anita Small of the Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf, which masterminded the whole project.
Among the work on display will be the De'Via (Deaf View Image Art) quilt made by women who attended a deaf residential school. It shows leaves falling around the archway at the entrance to the school. "Kids would play with the leaves after school," says the cultural society's Joanne Cripps, another driving force behind the Distillery District project. "This design is typical of all deaf schools across Canada. So there is that strong sense of belonging and culture, language and place." For more info, see http://www.ccsdeaf .com.
Neglecting wealth is a crime.
Toronto is about to find out how much it has been missing.
Over the next few weeks, a veritable explosion of comedy, drama and art will hit stage, screen, canvas and production studio — all courtesy of the deaf culture.
This isn't a one-time shot. It aims to sweep back stifling layers of complacency, revealing the rich fabric blended from voices and hands communicating as one. The idea is to build a solid bridge between cultures, uniting future generations.
It all starts a week Sunday with a collaboration of deaf and hearing actors, weaving together American Sign Language, English and mime in seven short theatre pieces performed over 90 minutes at Harbourfront Centre.
The two-day ASL Showcase, directed by P.J. Hammond and produced by Joanna Bennett, isn't about political correctness or building codes. It's a living thing, part of the way Harbourfront has approached access right from its conception, says Tina Rasmussen, director of performing arts.
It's also something other countries, including Britain and the U.S., embraced a long time ago, says Bennett, who both hears and signs.
For 15 years, Hollywood's Deaf West Theatre has mounted productions simultaneously in ASL and spoken English for 1.2 million deaf and hard-of-hearing Los Angeles-area residents. One of them is Deanne Bray, star of television's Sue Thomas FBEye, which was filmed in Toronto and co-produced by CTV.
Bray expressed surprise this city had nothing like Deaf West, says Bennett. Thus, with the backing of Harbourfront, Equity Showcase Theatre, Picasso Pro, which offers fully accessible stage training and development programs, and the studio lab theatre foundation, an idea was born.
The aim is to establish a permanent theatre company that would commission original work and provide training in acting and technical fields as well as jobs.
The showcase runs April 30 and May 1 at Harbourfront's Studio Theatre. For more info, call 416-973-4000 (voice), or email tickets@harbourfront centre.com or check http://www.har bourfrontcentre.com.
Then there's the Toronto International Deaf Film and Arts Festival, running May 10 to 14 at a number of locations. In collaboration with the Toronto International Film Festival, it will include a gala presentation of It's All Gone Pete's Tong. ASL and English spoken interpreters will be available throughout. For more info, check http://www.tidfaf.ca.
Meanwhile, on May 13, at the St. Lawrence Market on Front St. E. at Jarvis, Mayfest, sponsored by the Ontario Association of the Deaf, will offer a day of family entertainment. For more info, check http://www.stlaw rencemarket.com.
A few blocks, away in the historic Distillery District, Toronto's first Deaf Culture Centre will open to the public on Sunday, May 14.
Among other things, there will be an art gallery featuring the works of deaf artists from around the world, a gift shop, an interactive museum, research facilities, a library and a multi-media production studio featuring deafplanet.com, a popular children's television show and interactive website launched three years ago.
A community board room will be available for workshops, classes and school tours. And the whole thing will be open to visitors Tuesday through Sunday.
This is the place where deaf and hearing cultures will converge for years to come. And everything about has been meticulously planned.
Designed by Quadrangle Architects, it is marked by flowing banners conceived by Canada's Bruce Mau as artistic renderings of signing motion tracked through space, says Anita Small of the Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf, which masterminded the whole project.
Among the work on display will be the De'Via (Deaf View Image Art) quilt made by women who attended a deaf residential school. It shows leaves falling around the archway at the entrance to the school. "Kids would play with the leaves after school," says the cultural society's Joanne Cripps, another driving force behind the Distillery District project. "This design is typical of all deaf schools across Canada. So there is that strong sense of belonging and culture, language and place." For more info, see http://www.ccsdeaf .com.