Theater Prizing Visual Over Verbal

Mow, based in Santa Fe, N.M., worked at the retreat to refine his one-act play "Bell in Hell."

In the play, Bell is made to pay for what Mow sees as a misdeed. "The fun part is he goes to hell and becomes deaf," Mow said.

During their sessions at Gallaudet, the student playwrights were immersed in visual theater.

In one workshop, using a television and a video camera, two purported lovebirds, their arms around each other, sit side by side. Two other actors join their arms together in front of them, forming a rectangular box, a television.

A hand appears, in front of the TV, moving slowly, in a fanning motion, wafting an odor through the air. Suddenly the woman widens her nostrils, and her contented expression turns to a scowl. She looks toward the man's bare feet. Despite the smell, the two move to kiss one another.

Cook stops the actors and rewinds the tape, giving direction on how to use the space more effectively.

Director Willy Conley, an associate professor in Gallaudet's Theatre Arts Department, stands nearby, observing the workshop.

"This is all about process and not [about] performance," Conley said. "There are very few opportunities for deaf artists to develop their works. We want to provide that space and support in a nurturing environment. I think it's very special."

Michael P. Ralph, a Portland, Maine, playwright and a Gallaudet alumnus, was still tweaking his piece on Buddhism a day before the performance.

"Deaf people always want things to be more visual," he said, "and this is just a wonderful opportunity to make something more visual."