The National Theatre of the Deaf is a showcase for both deaf and hearing talent. Its purpose is to give an opportunity for deaf actors to develop their talent for audiences of all levels--adults, children, hearing and non-hearing. It is a traveling troupe with a rigorous schedule each year. The troupe travels for twenty-six weeks annually (Baldwin 45). It has been highly acclaimed both on the stage and in its television appearances. What began as a hope and wish for a small group of people is now a reality and a fully respected professional theatrical troupe.
Before 1967, there was little professional entertainment for the deaf community. In the cities, organizations for the deaf put on amateur shows and mime presentations. There was no professional group of actors who were deaf or signed. A few productions had included deaf characters in their cast but these were played by hearing individuals and did not give the deaf an avenue for self-expression. Bernard Bragg, who was deaf, performed on stage as a professional mime, at this time; mime was the only route to the professional stage for a deaf person. In 1967, Bernard was the only professional actor available who was deaf to help form the National Theatre of the Deaf.
The impetus for a deaf professional troupe of actors came from the hearing world. The Broadway production of The Miracle Worker, with Anne Bancroft, was accepted as the first production which included signed language as an expressive medium (Baldwin
9). This was in 1959. Anne Bancroft prepared for her part as Annie Sullivan by immersing herself in the deaf culture. She visited deaf schools, organizations, and met Edna S. Levine a well known psychologist who worked with deaf clients (Baldwin 6). Dr. Levine was as adept at getting the public to recognize the needs of the deaf for culture as Anne Bancroft was at getting the public's attention at the box office (Baldwin 6). The two conceived of ...