Deafness is having a cultural moment. So why are deaf roles still handed to hearing actors?

washingtonpost.com

Deafness is having a cultural moment. So why are deaf roles still handed to hearing actors?

The current deaf staging of "Spring Awakening" on Broadway demonstrates that non-hearing actors are just as capable as the hearing.

fyeahdeafawakening:

Sandra Mae Frank, who stars as Wendla in Deaf West Spring Awakening on Broadway, wrote a great Op-Ed for the Washington Post. Highlights:
“#DeafTalent, the official hashtag to promote deaf artists and spread awareness about oppression in the theater, has had a big impact on the deaf community, but the story of its creation is an ugly one. The community has stood by and watched in frustration for years as roles for deaf characters have been filled by hearing actors: “Medeas,” “Listen to Your Heart,” “After the Silence” and “The Secret Life of Words,” to name a few.
In my career, I have started attending auditions for characters who are not written to be deaf. Does it change the story to cast a deaf person in a hearing role? Not necessarily. Look at the many updates to the plays of Shakespeare, which are constantly being staged in different eras with different gender actors and different settings. Which of his plays would work as a deaf production? Any of them. It’s about the director’s vision. That’s the beauty of interpretation.
Plenty of casting directors don’t have open minds or the imagination to make it work, but that’s where it becomes my job, as a deaf actor, to educate them. The hearing community can do its part too. One of the hearing cast members in “Spring Awakening” was offered an audition for a hard of hearing role recently. He politely turned it down, and explained that he works with amazing deaf actors who should be considered. That took tons of willpower. But we need more.
There are many deaf actors just like me, working hard to be seen. It fills my heart to see how we are finally being recognized. We are here to stay, and people should get ready to see us at auditions everywhere. We will show how we can bring the beauty of deaf culture to a character, but more importantly, how we can bring our abilities as actors. We are actors; we just happen to be deaf.”

deafness disability disability representation Deaf culture American Sign Language