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9 95
11 95
Love and Generosity
National Theatre of the Deaf
performs The Giving Tree.
D
★★
BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND
FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY
FEATURE MODEL &
XXX SUPERSTAR
LEXI
LAMOUR
MAY 14
SHOW TIMES:
8 PM , 11 PM , 1 AM
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28 MAY 1, 2003 EUGENE WEEKLY
uring a time when greed and
unchecked power run rampant over
the Earth, a simple story on the
theme of giving is well timed. The National
Theatre of the Deaf will be at the Hult this
Sunday to perform original adaptations of
Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree and other
stories. The troupe, composed of three deaf
actors and one hearing actor, is on a mission:
to entertain while sharing Deaf culture and
artistry with the audience.
Although the show has been on tour this
academic year to elementary through high
schools with study guides accompanying it, it
is not just for kids. Anyone interested in sign
language or simply the beauty of storytelling
would most likely enjoy this performance.
“You hear and see every word,” says
NTD Tour Director Betty Beekman.
“Everything signed is also spoken.”
The show begins with actors introducing
signs to the audience, showing examples of
how those signs might be incorporated into
stories, and then the longer stories begin.
After the show, the company stays and an-
swers audience members’ questions.
National Theatre of the Deaf was
founded by David Hays in 1967. He saw The
Miracle Worker and became fascinated with
incorporating sign language and greater
movement into traditional theatrical forms.
The company grew from a professional
training school in Connecticut to the forma-
tion of the Little Theatre of the Deaf, a com-
pany formed to bring works to younger audi-
ences, to the 1994 National and Worldwide
Deaf Theatre Conference formed to encour-
age the work of deaf playwrights. That first
conference brought together playwrights
from more than 40 theaters of the Deaf
around the world.
Hays’s company has toured works
adapted from Chekhov, Voltaire, Homer,
Moliere, and Ibsen. Although the current
tour is based on Silverstein’s themes of love
and generosity, still, says Beekman, “some
find it controversial.” Some teachers have
begun debates within their classrooms on
The Giving Tree’s themes, creating an even
larger lesson from the performance.
So far, The Giving Tree tour has visited
18 states and has been seen by nearly
100,000 students, from school gymnasiums
to larger performance venues, like the Hult.
“We get wonderful thank you letters and
lots of times, they’re quite touching,” says
Beekman. “Especially when they’re from
deaf kids who are mainstreamed [attending
schools and classrooms for the hearing] and
don’t get to see deaf adults often. They are
quite thrilled and proud to see these actors
and meet them after the show.”
Others, especially those “interested in di-
versity or sign language” also enjoy these
performances, says Beekman. The show is at
2:30 pm on Sunday, May 4 at the Hult. ew
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