California Story Fund
Hearing the Deaf
Son of Semele Ensemble
Los Angeles
Project Director: Matthew McCray
The award-winning Son of Semele Ensemble theater group and the Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness (GLAD), a service organization for the deaf and hard of hearing, have teamed up on this project, which will result in dramatic play exploring the struggles and triumphs of the deaf community.
The writer on the project is deaf playwright David Kurs. The content will come from oral histories of senior resident of Glad’s low income housing facility for the deaf in Eagle Rock, Calif. “David will weave the stories together to create a poetic and dramatic script about the deaf community,” said Project Director Matthew McCray. Dance, mime and American Sign Language will be incorporated into the script.
The resulting play will be performed by both hearing and deaf actors at the Deaf Festival, a five-hour celebration of the deaf community in Los Angeles.