National Deaf High School Theatre Festival scheduled for SLC this month
The National Deaf High School Theatre Festival will be held in Salt Lake City March 16-19, and the final performance will streamed live for viewers at a distance.
The Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind partnered with Tony Award-winning Deaf West Theatre to host the festival as a hybrid educational, theatrical competition for young deaf actors across the country. Students will travel to USDB for three days of theatrical workshops, with classes in acting, filmmaking, storytelling, dancing, performance, and more.
“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,” David Kurs, Artistic Director of Deaf West Theatre said.
Dr. Michelle Tanner, Associate Superintendent of the Utah School for the Deaf at USDB, said “after looking around and seeing that there were no other Deaf theatre festivals or competitions for high school students, we decided to launch our own annual National Deaf High School Theatre Festival.”
The in-person festival follows a six-week virtual component of workshops and activities. It begins Thursday at the Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind’s Salt Lake City campus, with opening ceremonies and ice breakers. Friday, students will camp all day to focus on learning and making theatre together. Workshops and activities continue Saturday before the final nationally live-streamed performance. The evening will conclude with festival awards and a special performance from Sunshine 2.o. Read More…
