A Celebration of the Senses

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A Celebration of the Senses explores the five senses through an eclectic selection of evocative poetry. Extraordinary young actress, Shira Grabelsky, teams with noted Washington, DC actor, playwright, and director, Nick Olcott, for a visual interpretation of poetry. Grabelsky and Olcott perform in movement, gesture, American Sign Language, and spoken English. Busy Washington actor Michael Harper has recently joined the cast in the role created by Olcott.

Tim McCarty, president of Quest and director of Celebration of the Senses, says "The show is an exploration of our senses and experiences. The rich sounds and images of Celebration cast a spell on an audience."

Says Grabelsky, "Working on Celebration and reworking it every time we go on tour has given me a new sense of appreciation for poetry, the English language, and their presentation on the body." Grabelsky played Helen Keller in Arena Stage’s ground-breaking production of The Miracle Worker.

Sometimes action speaks louder than words. "This piece has gone before international audiences and gotten very positive responses despite them not having understood everything" says Grabelsky. Both hearing and deaf audience members take away their own understanding of the work presented.

"The synergy between what hearing people hear and see elevates the poetry to a new level," observes McCarty. "I was moved to tears," beamed Margret Petursdottir, the artistic director of Iceland's Draumasmidjan Theatre after a recent performance of Celebration of the Senses in Vienna.

The production explores the glory of experiencing life. Notes McCarty, "Our past is with us every day. The first time we touch, smell, and taste something is with us for the rest of our lives.

Celebration of the Senses premiered at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC and was featured at the Deaf Way II International Arts Festival, the European Deaf Theatre Festival in Vienna, Austria, and recently in Prague and the Czech Republic.