NTID Theatre History: I and You: October 2019

The RIT and NTID community was treated to the first performances in the University’s joint theatrical season—performances that showcased a unique blend of Deaf and hearing actors on one stage. The season’s first production, “I and You,” ran from October 25–27 in NTID’s 1510 Lab Theatre, and included students from degree programs across the university.

For this collaborative production, director Andy Head, Assistant Professor in the Department of Performing Arts and Visual Culture, decided to double-cast the characters with one Deaf actor and one hearing actor in each role. To accomplish this staging concept, the scenery was constructed to allow for two actors performing on the stage floor and two actors performing on a raised platform behind them. Together, the four performed “a synchronized dance” of mirrored movement and line delivery—while still embracing the individuality of each actor. Through just seven weeks of rehearsals, the cast and crew worked tirelessly to bring this unique performance to life.

“I and You” told the story of Caroline and Anthony, two high schoolers who were thrown together for a poetry project in their American Literature class. Never having met before, they had to unpack a lot of feelings regarding their situation: Caroline had a failing liver and didn’t regularly go to school, while Anthony waited to show up until the night before the project due date. Yet, as they worked, a closeness developed between them.

The production, performed October 25–27 in Lyndon Baines Johnson Hall, was directed by Assistant Professor Andy Head and was a resounding success. “I and You,” a collaborative production between RIT’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf Department of Performing Arts and the College of Liberal Arts Theatre Arts Program, won a 2020 Outstanding Production Ensemble award from the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. Head said, “This was a wonderful award to receive because theater is one of the most, if not the most collaborative of art forms, and the award recognized exactly that: how the team worked together as one to create a successful show.” The cast includedstudents Kelsey Beers, a third-year ASL-English interpretation major from Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; Kendell Charles, a management information systems major from Opelousas, La., who graduated in May; Dominic Cook, a second-year game design and development major from Pittsburgh, Pa.; and Victoria Covell, a third-year graphic design major from Jacksonville, Ill. The production team included stage manager Kimmie Sandberg, a new media marketing major from New Milford, Conn., who graduated in May; scenic designer Erin Auble, senior lecturer at NTID; projection and sound designer Dan Roach; costume designer Nicole Hood Cruz; lighting designer Clayton “Slim” Pruitt, a computer science major from Fayetteville, Ark., who graduated in May; ASL coach Doug Baker; and assistant stage manager Sydney Lewandowski, a third-year visual media major from Buffalo, N.Y.