Dr. Robert F. Panara: Deaf Theatre

The photo above is courtesy of Deaf Studies Archives, Culture & History. Robert Panara and NTID Drama Club seated outside (Left to right: Freddie Gravatt, business manager; George Payne, secretary; Guy Wonder, president; Michael Deninger, advisor; Robert Panara, advisor; Loy Golloday, advisor; Kevin Nolan, treasurer; and Charles Baird, vice president), 1970.

NTID Performing Arts was established in the Fall of 1974, with the opening of the Institute's new permanent buildings, as an integral part of the Institute's curriculum following the success of the student drama club founded by Dr. Robert Panara in 1969. Originally named the Experimental Educational Theatre (EET), NTID Performing Arts offers a comprehensive curriculum of theatre courses and produces six productions and one outreach tour per season.

While NTID has no major in theatre, historically, most Deaf theatre professionals have been NTID students or faculty. They have appeared, and continue to appear, in national and regional TV commercials, network and cable television programs, major motion pictures and independent films, national and international theatre tours, Broadway, regional theatres, and international theatre festivals. Our programs and people have been honored with numerous awards from theatre organizations, government agencies, corporations, and private foundations. This series of programs from the NTID Performing Arts department offers broad coverage from its inception as a student drama club in 1969 to its development as a department with classes in acting, technical theatre, play-creating, dance, audition techniques, and script analysis.

Three mainstage (Panara Theatre) and three lab productions (1510 Lab Theatre) are produced each season. These productions are presented simultaneously by Deaf actors who sign the lines and hearing actors who speak the lines. Every aspect of an NTID production is accessible to Deaf and hearing people: backstage, onstage, or in the house.