About This Show

Both of these imaginative comedies are written by Deaf Playwright Shanny Mow (see the cast and crew program link to read a copy of Mr. Mow's biograpghy). Almost everyone knows that Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone (although there are those who would argue that he was not the first), but many people outside of the Deaf community are unaware of Mr. Bell's ties to deaf people.

AG Bell had a deaf mother and was married to a deaf woman. As a long-time teacher of the deaf, he was a strong proponent of speech reading, or the "Oral Method" of educating deaf children. While he did know and use some Sign Language himself, he believed that deaf children should be forbidden to Sign as it would prevent them from learning to speak and read lips, and since the majority of people in the world can hear and communicate verbally, he felt it was in the children's best interest for them to learn to speak and never use Sign Language. Mr. Bell also believed in the concept of Eugenics (a newly-forming science in his time) and thought it would be wrong for deaf people to marry each other since there would be a greater chance the deaf couple would bear deaf children.

Because of his firmly-held beliefs concerning what is best for deaf people, he was often times in direct, and heated, confrontations with other teachers of the deaf (many of whom were Deaf themselves) who believed that Sign Language was a deaf person's natural language and it should be used to educate deaf people, including using it to teach them how to speak and communicate better with hearing people. This controversy of the Oral Method vs Signed Methods still rages today--members of the AG Bell Association, an organization devoted to oral communication, and members of the National Association of the Deaf, an organization founded and led by members of the Deaf community who promote American Sign Language, find themselves at odds on a number of issues concerning deaf people.

This play is a fantasy--a look at what happens when hell freezes over. It's a visual comedy, filled with stunning sights--movement, masks, mime, gorgeous scenery, brilliant costuming, and awesome lighting--don't miss it! Opening the show is a short comedy, "The Ghost of Chastity Past" a kabuki-styled western...it will definitely be a fun night of theatre.

Tickets

Tickets are now on sale. Cost is $5 for any full time student or senior, and $7 for all others. To request a ticket, please send an email to ntidtix@rit.edu NTID Theatre Box Office will be open one hour before curtain on the day of the show.

Designs

These are photos of the set model created by designer Erin Thomas: