cover image Pictures in the Air: The Story of the National Theatre of the Deaf

Pictures in the Air: The Story of the National Theatre of the Deaf

Stephen C. Baldwin. Gallaudet University Press, $29.95 (158pp) ISBN 978-1-56368-025-0

The development of the National Theatre of the Deaf (NTD) is recounted here by Baldwin, an advocate of the hearing-impaired. Spanning a period from 1959 to the present, the book begins with the author's serendipitous meeting with a deaf actress, Phyllis Frelich, and their collaboration on the breakthrough play, Children of a Lesser God. In recounting the struggles of the fledgling theater to reach a wider public, Baldwin reflects on the contributions of performers such as Anne Bancroft, whose role as the teacher of Helen Keller in the play The Miracle Worker promoted public consciousness of sign language as an expressive medium. Noting the distinction between theater of and for the deaf, as well as controversy among advocates of signing and of oralism, Baldwin emphasizes the inclusionary nature of NTD, particularly in the ways established plays are adapted to suit its performance style. ``About 90% of the audience is comprised of non-signing hearing people,'' he states. This history of a special group that grew into a major acting company is a tribute to intercultural achievement. Photos. (Jan.)