Today we’d like to introduce you to Deaf Austin Theatre
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Our founder, actor Russell Harvard, had been dreaming about Deaf Austin Theatre for many years. When he was working on his first off broadway show, he experienced audism and a lack of inclusion for the first time, causing him to feel constantly uncomfortable and struggling to belong. This is what got him thinking about how nice it would be to establish a theatre company that specializes in inclusion for Deaf artists. A theatre company based in his hometown of Austin, TX, that is rooted in American Sign Language.
Back in 2012, the idea continued to haunt him, so he reached out to two close friends, Andrés ‘Flash’ Otalora and Bellamie Bachleda, about the possible birth of a Deaf theatre company and the first three words started to permeate the whole idea of this is really going to be happening. When creating the name, three words kept standing out: theatre, Deaf, and Austin. Those three words aligned the way the stars are aligned. Put those three identifying words together and you get our name: Deaf Austin Theatre.
Now that we had the name, we needed a logo, so Andrés ‘Flash’ Otalora designed our company logo. At this point, it was 2016 and DAT was 4 years in the making. A friend of Russell’s, Michelle Schafer helped push the ball rolling on applying for 501(c)3 non-profit status. Bellamie, Michelle and Russell sat down at Central Market and started working on the application. In 2017, they opened our official bank account. But something was missing… bodies.
We needed more people involved. We needed the Deaf community involved in order to thrive. So they invited several theatre friends to become members. At that first meeting, the three of them met with Charlie Ainsworth, Sandra Mae Frank, JoAnn Benfield, Brian Cheslik, Kalie Kubes, and Don Miller. At that first meeting, it was made clear that first and foremost: DAT is not Russells company. He had no ownership or claim over this organization. He emphasized DAT is OURS. DAT is WE. DAT is the Deaf and ASL community. DAT is Deaf Austin Theatre!
It was at that meeting that our board of directors was formed, electing Brian Cheslik as it’s founding Artistic Director. From there, we established our Board of Directors, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Funding is always a struggle for a non profit company. We need money in order to produce theatre. Many people do not realize that you cannot just put on a play, you have to apply for rights, pay royalties, pay the actors, designers, production team. It take a lot of money to produce a single show, if it is a musical, triple that amount. There are so many arts organizations out there that are all competing for the same grants.
Another major struggle is accessibility costs. Interpreter costs are increasing all the time, which is causing a great burden to non profits like ours that need their services to communicate with hearing peers. We need access through interpreters but it should NOT be at the detriment of the production budget, which is already small.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As a non-profit organization, Deaf Austin Theatre’s purpose is to enrich, inspire, educate, create and entertain the Austin community by using American Sign Language (ASL) within all of our theatrical productions that range from classics to new works. We strive to impact our community, our audience members, and to create an accessible stage for all future artists.
Our Mission
Deaf Austin Theatre creates memorable theatrical experiences through American Sign Language that enrich and mesmerize the Austin community.
Our Vision
Deaf Austin Theatre strives to create a world where theatre is accessible to everyone.
Our Core Values
Artistic Excellence
We come together to create an atmosphere that empowers artists to do their finest work.
Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
We firmly believe embracing diversity is the key to keep our work relevant and vital. Everyone’s voice (signs) will be seen and valued.
Community
We strive to build partnerships to support our industry, our artists, our audiences, and our communities.
Accessibility
We believe that theatre should be accessible to everyone, regardless of your disability and/or ability.
We are most proud of the awareness that we have created within the Austin theatre community and the need for more accessibility.
We have produced several successful productions while collaborating with other companies like Ground Floor Theatre (Next to Normal- 2019, The Last Five Years-2022) and the ZACH Theatre (Cinderella- 2023), and we have become a self producing company with our productions of Tiny Beautiful Things, Chronicles of a Black Deaf Blind Girl and The Laramie Project in 2023, which gained us international attention.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
Please consider becoming a monthly donor to support our work. You can set up monthly donations by visiting….
https://givebutter.com/NPwn5f
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.deafaustintheatre.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deafaustintheatre/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deafaustintheatre/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@deafaustintheatre
