Deaf creatives put a springtime spin on Seattle theater

A festival featuring six plays written, produced and performed by Deaf creatives is back.

Deaf Spotlight, a Seattle arts non-profit, hosted its third Short Play Festival back in March. It was in-person this year, after moving online due to the pandemic. RadioActive Youth Media’s Dash Pinck takes us there.

[RadioActive Youth Media is KUOW's radio journalism and audio storytelling program for young people. This story was entirely youth-produced, from the writing to the audio editing.]

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n a cool Saturday evening in Seattle, about 60 people filter into 12th Avenue Arts’ studio theater. Every seat is filled, and most audience members are chatting in American Sign Language (ASL) as they wait for the show to start.

The stage is the front of a floral shop, decorated in a vivid assortment of silk flowers. Above the set, a projector shines English captions onto the back wall. As the lights dim and conversations come to a close, the audience settles in for six plays highlighting Deaf culture and queer identity.

Deaf Spotlight is a performing arts organization based in Capitol Hill, whose mission is to showcase Deaf culture and sign languages through the arts. They’ve been hosting the Short Play Festival every two years since 2019.

Stage manager Kellie Martin worked on “Plant a Kiss,” a play about two childhood best friends who reunite at a flower shop. And while both characters are deaf, “the focus of the play is that they're queer,” Martin said. “So deafness is off the table, and all of a sudden it's what's inside. Deaf people journey through these issues just as much as anyone else.”

Martin started working with Deaf Spotlight as the artistic programs director in 2017, and has been a stage manager for all three Short Play Festivals.

“There aren't many Deaf stage managers, or set designers, or Deaf technicians. It's tough to find us," Martin said. "So when you have to go through a hearing stage manager, it's all about money and hiring interpreters for every rehearsal.”

Hiring an ASL interpreter for a professional rehearsal process can cost thousands of dollars. And that’s not the only barrier for Deaf creatives.

Martin said it’s often hard to find spaces that fund and support Deaf artists.

“Deaf people might have the skills, but there's no resources or tools available to them," they said.

That’s why organizations like Deaf Spotlight are important: they allow Deaf actors, like Rogan Shannon, to work in spaces that are open and accessible.

“I have full access to language with Deaf Spotlight," Shannon said. "I don't have to explain my needs, my culture, where I'm coming from, my upbringing. With Deaf Spotlight, I'm already at home when I first walk in the room.”

This year, Shannon performed in two of the short plays, including "Camellia for Camille."

“My character's name is Mark. And I go to a flower store, basically to find my sister's preferred flower,” they said.

From there, things go horribly wrong.

Shannon also starred in “Beautiful Boy,” where they played a character who died in the AIDS crisis.

Both plays deal with heavy subject matter. All cultures have unique ways of approaching tough conversations, and Deaf culture is no different.

“With the Deaf community, we include everything that's going on," Shannon said. "We’re telling the whole A to Z story, not hiding anything.”

By confronting these topics through art, the Short Play Festival celebrates the joy and complexity in all people.

Since they started 12 years ago, Deaf Spotlight has collaborated with over 500 Deaf, Deaf/blind, and hard-of-hearing artists. They aim to secure more public funding in the future so they can continue to showcase Deaf talent.

This story was produced in a RadioActive Youth Media Advanced Producers workshop for high school and college-age youth. Production assistance by Nina-Tuyen Tran with support from Kelsey Kupferer. Edited by Mike Davis. Consultation support by Ross Showalter. Interpretation support by Jeff Wildenstein. Prepared for the web by Simone St. Pierre Nelson with support from Kelsey Kupferer.

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