The National Theatre of the Deaf November 25, 2007

At last, our first profile!  
 
  
The National Theatre of the Deaf cultivates awareness of ASL and Deaf culture through a dynamic channel – the stage. After 40 years, the message still comes through in a way the New York Post describes as “amazingly beautiful, extraordinarily lively and admirably stylish.”
                                                                          

    

NTD and Aaron Kubey, its newly appointed Executive Director/President, tell SADA all about the amazing work this organization does…     

 

     
    
   
What does NTD do? What are the group’s goals?   
  
The National Theatre of the Deaf is a theatre company which not only entertains, but also educates. We believe in community outreach where we educate both the Deaf and Hearing communities about Deaf culture, self-confidence, and promoting the importance of American Sign Language. It is our goal to become role models for the communities, entertain the masses, and to continue developing artists in Deaf theatre.
  

        
Why do you do what you do?  
  
We do what we do because the Deaf community needs a place where they can go to be entertained and have a place where they can relate. We want the Hearing community to become more aware of Deaf people, their culture, their arts, and their language. The arts has an amazing way of bringing communities together. For us at NTD, we get great pleasure knowing that everyone can see and hear every word.   
 
   
 
Any upcoming events?  
  
Currently, NTD has the Little Theatre of the Deaf that goes out on tours across the country. We are still accepting bookings for the 2007-2008 season, and would gladly accept bookings for the next season (2008-2009).                
  
  
 
How can people help NTD reach its goals?
  
People can support NTD by donating money, coming out to support our shows, and working closely with us to make our goals successful. Even though NTD has been around for 40 years, we cannot survive without the support from the people.   
 
  
 
What’s in the future for NTD?  
  
Right now, NTD has a new Executive Director/President and Mr. Kubey has a lot of exciting ideas to revitalize the company. One of his biggest agendas is to try and continue the good work of the retiring Executive Director/President Dr. Paul Winters. It is NTD’s hope that we can secure more funding to bring back our touring mainstage productions, our summer academy, and develop an education outreach artist residency program. There are a number of other things that NTD would like to do as well.  
 
 
  
Why is Deaf awareness important?  
  
Deaf awareness is extremely important because Deaf culture has been around for centuries and many important contributions has been made by Deaf people. Also, American Sign Language is the third most used language in the country today. Making people aware of the Deaf community, culture, arts, and language is just as important to us as it is for anyone who wants to preserve their history and create a better life for themselves.
  

  

 
[Photos from NTD website photo archives: http://www.ntd.org/photoarchives.html]