Michigan Premiere: October 4-14, 2012
Produced by TerpTheatre and Oakland University’s department of Music, Theatre and Dance.
The opening night of the Michigan Premiere of Police Deaf Near Far was SOLD OUT – as was every performance afterward. Since the successful run of Police Deaf Near Far, its cast members have gone on to new projects on stages throughout the country. Enjoy this archive of the PDNF blog!
Inspired by a true story, this play explores the ongoing tensions and misunderstandings between law enforcement and the Deaf community … which sometimes leads to a fatal outcome. As the layers of the story are peeled back, the audience is lead into the Deaf world and current issues still hotly debated today — cochlear implants, residential and mainstream education, Deaf and hearing relationships, denied access to communication — and misconceptions on both sides. Deaf and hearing actors told this gripping story for the first time on any Michigan stage during performances October 4 – 14, 2012 at Oakland University.
Enjoy the following archived posts from the production of PDNF:
- PDNF Launches Backstage Blog
PDNF is gearing-up for our October Michigan premiere. Soon, we’ll begin announcing cast members and sharing our production process over the summer. When we start rehearsals in the Fall, you’ll be able to meet cast members, learn about the director’s vision for the production, and see all the details come … Read moreContinue Reading - Police Deaf Near Far Kickstarter Campaign is Launched!
Today is the first day of the Kickstarter campaign for Police Deaf Near Far. We’ve been working behind-the-scenes to edit a 5 minute video to introduce the project to the community. We’re posting the video as the start of our campaign, and hope that it draws attention to our need … Read moreContinue Reading - Shooting The Kickstarter Video: A Behind-The-Scenes Look
Let’s face it: We’re theatre people, not film people. Still, the Kickstarter campaign really needed a video to explain the background behind this production of Police Deaf Near Far, and to let supporters get to know the people behind the production. We were each interviewed about our thoughts about the production, … Read moreContinue Reading - Tacoma, WA Incident Shows Complexity of Deaf/Police Communication
In this recent incident in Tacoma, Washington, a Deaf woman is the victim of an assault. After calling the police through a video relay service, she runs out to them when they arrive. They use a taser on her, thinking she is dangerous to them. Click the following link to … Read moreContinue Reading - Possible $15,000 for Police Deaf Near Far?
Our Kickstarter campaign reached our $12,000 goal on Saturday, August 4th. We are so very thankful to all of our supporters, who have helped us to reach our goal before our deadline of August 15. But let’s not stop there! We can still collect pledges, and Kicktraq tells us we … Read moreContinue Reading - Online Ticket Sales Start Early!
In anticipation of the excitement over tickets for Police Deaf Near Far, Oakland University has arranged for online ticket sales to start today – far ahead of the official Box Office opening on September 18. Online sales are handled through StarTickets. All major credit cards are accepted, and tickets are … Read moreContinue Reading - Rehearsals Begin with Hearing Cast MembersReflections On Early Rehearsals — Karen Sheridan, Director The beginning rehearsals for Police Deaf Near Far brought the cast and creative team of designers and interpreters all together in the same room for the first time. We’ve now had 7 rehearsals. Tim Johnston, a Deaf faculty member at Oakland University, … Read moreContinue Reading
- Actors Daniel Durant and Garrett Zuercher Join The Cast!September 9 & 10, 2012 Finally! The cast of Police Deaf Near Far is complete. On Sunday, professional Deaf actors, Daniel Durant and Garrett Zuercher arrived in Detroit. Daniel flew in from Los Angels, and Garrett flew in from New York City. After dinner with the director of the production … Read moreContinue Reading
- Translating RobertaAnna Wyatt and Gillian Cooper will be acting the role of Roberta for Police Deaf Near Far. We took an opportunity to sit down with them last week, just before Daniel Durant and Garrett Zuercher arrived, and talk to them about learning sign language for the show. During the pre-production … Read moreContinue Reading
- Putting It Together: ASL and Voice Actors Bring Lines To Life
Essentially, Police Deaf Near Far is a bi-lingual, bi-modal play. All lines performed in American Sign Language – a visual/spatial language – are also performed in spoken English by voice actors assigned to specific characters. All lines performed in spoken English are performed by TerpTheatre’s shadow interpreters. The result is … Read moreContinue Reading - “Everyone” Must See PDNF!: Stellar Review on BWW
Broadwayworld.com published an astonishingly positive review of Police Deaf Near Far, shortly after our opening on October 3rd. “Sometimes there is a show that is impossible to give an adequate and deserving review about.” Read the full review HERE.Continue Reading - PDNF on Fox News
Among the wonderful press during our October 4 – 14, 2012 run of Police Deaf Near Far was this story on the Detroit Fox affiliate.Continue Reading - PDNF Featured on International Sign Language Site
H3 TV – a website the broadcasts global news items using an international sign system – has covered the production of PDNF! Check out the video, below, and visit the website HERE.Continue Reading - Spring Coming To Deaf West – Give ‘Em A Kick!
Deaf West Theatre has announced its next production, Spring Awakening, and has launched a Kickstarter Campaign to raise $25,000 in financial support. The production brings together an impressive creative team and huge cast of twenty three Deaf and hearing actors – including Daniel Durant who starred in the TerpTheatre/Oakland University 2012 … Read moreContinue Reading - Daniel Durant Celebrates Award and Off-Broadway Debut of Spring Awakening
Daniel Durant has a lot to celebrate. LA’s Best Male Actor In A Musical Visitors to BroadwayWorld.com have crowned Durant LA’s 2014 Best Male Leading Actor in a Musical (local production) for his role in Deaf West Theatre’s production of Spring Awakening – the first such award for a Deaf actor in a … Read moreContinue Reading - Interpreting in Police Settings Gets New Resource
[siteshot width=”300″ url=”http://proximityinterpreting.com/”] Communication between law enforcement officers and members of the Deaf community remains an important topic internationally. Robert Skinner, a PhD student at Heriot-Watt University (Edinburgh, Scotland), has launched a website that will share information related to his research on interpreted interactions between the police and Deaf people. … Read moreContinue Reading - Spotlight on Deaf People and Law Enforcement
DTV News Links: Website Facebook DTV News offers this important segment about the experience of Deaf people when interacting with law enforcement officers. The segment notes that some local municipalities have developed visor cards to help communication between law enforcement and Deaf people, and also provides tips for safe … Read moreContinue Reading - Researcher Seeks Input on Video Interpreting of Police Encounters
When is it effective to use video interpreting for encounters between Deaf people and the police? Researcher Robert Skinner is seeking input for his ongoing investigation of the these types of interactions. Have an opinion? Email Skinner! From his blog: Do you think video interpreting could be used to report … Read moreContinue Reading - Research: Interpreted Police Interactions via Video
Researcher and interpreter Robert Skinner, PhD has advanced the understanding of video-mediated interpreting in encounters with law enforcement via his doctoral research in Scotland. His dissertation is available online, alongside Skinner’s award winning poster presentations summarizing his findings. See Skinner’s post on his blog Proximity Interpreting.Continue Reading - CODA Thrills Sundance! Apple Wins Record $25M Bid! Awards Sweep!
photos: @codamovie on Instagram CODA stars Marlee Matlin, Troy Kusters, and TerpTheatre alumnus Daniel Durant (Police Deaf Near Far), along with Emilia Jones as Ruby in the title CODA role. Filmed before the COVID pandemic, CODA* tells the story of a Deaf family with one hearing Coda member. The film … Read moreContinue Reading - Durant Does DWTS!The cast reveal of the 31st season of Dancing With The Stars included a familiar face — Daniel Durant! Hot off the heels of the fantastic award season for the film Coda, Durant becomes the next in a trend of Deaf talent on dance competition programs in the US and … Read moreContinue Reading