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WHERE BOLD STORYTELLING COMES NATURALLY
Founded in 1991, Deaf West Theatre engages artists and audiences in unparalleled theater experiences inspired by Deaf culture and the expressive power of sign language. Committed to innovation, collaboration and training, Deaf West Theatre is the artistic bridge between the Deaf and hearing worlds.
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IN THE NEWS
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BROADWAY NEWS
The new musical “Elephant Shoes” will take a world premiere bow at New Jersey’s Two River Theater next spring. The Broadway-aimed tuner, which will be helmed and choreographed by Tony Award nominee Jeff Calhoun, will play the Red Bank venue from June 4 through June 28, 2026.
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THE NEW YORK TIMES
Center Theatre Group (CTG) and Deaf West Theatre partner on a new production of Green Day’s American Idiot, incorporating American Sign Language and spoken English.
VARIETY
In 2020, National Research Group (NRG) released a comprehensive look at Black representation on-screen. That study, which found that two in three Black Americans don’t see their stories represented in movies and shows, resonated with DJ Kurs, the artistic director of Deaf West Theatre, a Los Angeles-based theater company behind Tony Award-nominated revivals of “Big River” and “Spring Awakening.” Kurs wondered: Could NRG do similar research about how the entertainment business treats the deaf community?
THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
How L.A.’s Deaf West is becoming the American theater company of the moment
"The intersectionality is where beautiful things happen -- when Deaf and hearing people come together in service of creating art," says artistic director, DJ Kurs.
NEW YORK TIMES
The Los Angeles Philharmonic and
Deaf West Theater are working on an innovative production conceived for both hearing and Deaf operagoers.
NEW YORK TIMES
The theater plans to work with the Oscar-nominated film’s producers to adapt the story of a teenager torn between helping her deaf family and singing.
SHOP
DEAF WEST
HIGHLIGHTS
PROJECT
DISNEY MUSIC
"I See The Light" (From Tangled)
Working with Disney Music in celebration of Disney 100, we launched World Disney Princess week with an exclusive ASL music video of "I See the Light" from the animated movie, Tangled.
NATIONAL RESEARCH GROUP
"Spotlight On Deaf Representation: A Roundtable Discussion"
As a follow up to the research report we published, NRG and Deaf West gathered a group of prominent Deaf creatives and advocates in LA to discuss the state of Deaf representation in the media and entertainment industry.
NATIONAL RESEARCH GROUP
"Spotlight On: Deaf Representation"
The National Research Group (NRG), a leading consumer insights and data agency and Deaf West partnered on a comprehensive study project looking at representation and accessibility in today’s media and entertainment landscape.
"Communication Does Not Have to be a Barrier"
We partnered with Deaf West alumni, Daniel Durant (CODA, Deaf West's Spring Awakening), and Google to advocate for authentic representation in arts and entertainment - proving that communication doesn't have to be a barrier.
DISNEY MUSIC
"We Don't Talk About Bruno" (From Encanto)
To celebrate International Day of Sign Languages, we partnered with Disney Music to present the ASL music video of “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from the movie Encanto. The all-Deaf Colombian and Latinx cast combined American Sign Language (ASL) with elements of Colombian Sign Language (LSC) to bring forth the spirit of the Madrigal Family.
APPLE TV+
"You're All I
Need To Get By"
The challenge: create an accessible music video by expressing the mood and tone of the song through story and camera movement. Working with Apple TV+, we assembled a team of creatives to create such a video with an all-Deaf cast, set to the feature song from Apple's new film, CODA.
CAPITOL RECORDS
Calum Scott
"Biblical"
We collaborated with Capitol Records on an ASL music video for international singer/songwriter Calum Scott. The intimate video features breathtaking performances by five Deaf artists.