Visual Playwrights Retreat

America Needs More Visual Theatre! Any dramatists out there ready to create a difference?

As evidenced during the highly-successful Deaf Way II International Arts Festival summer 2002 in Washington, D.C., over 25 deaf theatre companies from around the world performed exciting forms of visual theatre showing hints of Cirque du Soleil, Bill Irwin, Pilobolus, Marcel Marceau, Penn and Teller, and Martha Graham. Although verbal theatre has its place in America, there is not enough visual theatre happening in this country. And, there certainly are not any places in America at the present moment where deaf or hard-of-hearing playwrights can receive a fully accessible two-week-long workshop in visual play development…except at the Visual Playwrights Retreat, which is happening July 5-16, 2004.

The U.S. Department of Education has graciously provided funding for a partnership between Gallaudet University Theatre Arts Department in Washington, D.C., and Lanham, Maryland-based arts organization Quest: arts for everyone to conduct over two consecutive summers a rare opportunity for aspiring and experienced deaf and hard-of-hearing writers to develop play scripts. Playwriting applicants will have the benefit of receiving guidance and support from visual theatre experts sensitive to the communication and educational needs of deaf and hard-of-hearing writers.

Documents of interest:

• Retreat Journal
• Biographies of the experts
• Biographies of the playwrights
• Washington Post article
• Photos
• Daily Schedule (80 KB)
• Application (136 KB)
• Application (104 KB)
• Press Release (44 KB)
• Retreat Poster - Back (164 KB)
• Retreat Poster - Front (192 KB)
• Archive materials of last year's retreat