Aaron Kubey
Beyond Therapy
A nytheatre voices cyber-interview
Aaron Kubey is an actor, producer, and director. He is also deaf. He is the new artistic director of the 28 year old New York Deaf Theatre, Ltd., the oldest company of this type in New York City.
You are the new artistic director of New York Deaf Theatre, the longest running theatre company of this kind in NYC. Could you give us a bit of background about the company's history and how you got involved and what your vision as artistic director is for the company?New York Deaf Theatre, Ltd. (NYDT) was developed by a group of Deaf actors who wanted to provide equal access and entertainment to the Deaf community. NYDT's purpose was to not only entertain, but to educate their audience about Deaf theatre done in American Sign Language. When NYDT was first formed, Deaf theatre was a new concept. Celebrating its 28th year, our mission continues to involve theatre education and entertainment for the Deaf community, but also to encourage and develop new work by Deaf artists.
I first got involved with NYDT last fall when they hired me to be in their production of Brilliant Traces. During the course of rehearsals in October and November, I decided that I wanted to stay in New York instead of going back to Chicago. In January, the Board had an open forum meeting to hear from the community on how they could improve as a company. It was then that a group of friends and actors from the community asked NYDT to consider hiring me as their new Artistic Director. Those people knew what I wanted to do, which was to set up my own Deaf theatre company in Chicago, develop a theatre education and training program within that company, and to strengthen Deaf theatre in America. The board of NYDT decided they'd give me a chance to do that here.
Since hiring me, I've been in the process of revitalizing the company and creating a new renaissance both for NYDT and Deaf Theatre. Some of my goals for NYDT include bringing it back to a professional theatre company that serves the signing community and beyond. I want to educate those that are not knowledgeable of Deaf theatre, provide theatre training for Deaf and hearing actors alike, create a theatre arts education program for schools, and develop new works by Deaf artists. There isn't a true place for budding or seasoned Deaf artists to hone and develop their talent, and I'd really like for NYDT to become THE place for them to go. I'd also like for NYDT to continue to grow as a well respected theatre company within the city. My hopes are that NYDT will be able to increase its operating expense budget, which will allow us to continue serving the community by producing new and classical works, along with experimental theatre. I know it's an ambitious plan and there might be many obstacles, but it's nothing that NYDT and I can't overcome.
I take great pride in the fact that the changes I've begun to implement have already been noticed by the community and has reinvigorated their interest in the company. These changes have bolstered support for Deaf theatre again, a major accomplishment given the fact that support for NYDT had begun to fade over the past several years. I've been told by a number of people that they're really excited to see what NYDT will do next. I hope that with this new support and encouraging comments we will build an audience base that will continue to make NYDT a very strong Deaf theatre company.
You are noted as being the first deaf graduate of Chicago's prestigious DePaul Theatre School. Can you tell us a bit about what that experience was like and also why you wanted to become an actor as opposed to all the possible vocations you could have chosen?
My experience at DePaul Theatre School was one that I'd never trade in for anything in the world. The faculty and staff there, as well as my fellow colleagues, have done more than their share to make sure that I was comfortable and at ease. They've always worked with me in making sure whatever accommodations I needed were met and were extremely flexible in working with those accommodations. It was as much a learning experience for them as it was for me. They had never encountered this type of situation before and handled it with great ease and acceptance. I take great pride in having the honor of being their first Deaf graduate. It's an extremely tough program to get into and I'm forever grateful for them for seeing my talent and taking the risk of admitting me.
I had a late start in entering college as I had moved around the country for three or four years exploring my opportunities as an actor. I've been a professional actor since I was 14 years old, traveling the country and world performing. I've appeared on television and in film, so I had a good deal of experience when I applied. The education I received at The Theatre School proved to be invaluable as I continue to learn and hone my craft in ways I never thought possible. They opened my eyes and brain to many fine details that I carry over into how I run NYDT. The professionalism, various aspects of theatre, and the relationship I've developed there, have played a major role in my decisions as Artistic Director for NYDT.
Funny thing is, as a young boy (around 5-6 years old), I told my parents that someday I was going to be an actor. At first they were skeptical and dismissed it (given the fact I WAS 5-6 years old!). But as I got older and went through life, they saw that I was serious about making my dream come true. I've never once heard them discourage me from pursuing my dream, nor a negative word from any of my family. My family has always been 150% supportive of my becoming a theatre professional. As time has gone on, I've become more and more interested in the production side of theatre, and have been pursuing those opportunities as they arise. I find myself more of a director and producer, rather than an actor, these days, but for me, any way I can bring theatre to life is just fine and dandy with me!
NYDT is presenting Beyond Therapy. Can you give us a short synopsis of the plot and why you chose this play?
Beyond Therapy has 2 couples, 2 therapists, and an unsympathetic waiter. You have Bruce, a bisexual man living with his gay lover, putting in personal ads to meet women at the suggestion of his therapist, Charlotte Wallace. And then there's Prudence, who suffers from insecurity and bad luck when it comes to men, being counseled by Stuart, her therapist, who has devious plans of his own to sleep with Prudence. Prudence answers Bruce's personal ad and they develop a relationship which makes Bob, Bruce's gay lover, extremely jealous. All of these relationships intertwine and the play ends with a hysterical and touching bang.
People might be wondering what Beyond Therapy has to do with Deafness. While NYDT is a Deaf theatre company that serves the signing community and beyond, we do not always do plays that are directly or indirectly related to Deafness. While it's a goal of NYDT to produce plays that talks about Deafness, it's also a goal of ours to produce plays that everyone can relate to and enjoy.
Garrett Zuercher (the show's director) and I both chose this play because we are such big fans of Mr. Durang. In fact, I'm such a big fan of his, I've chosen to do another one of his plays next spring! He has a gift of impeccable comedic timing and a way of making some of life's problems amusing. Each of these characters is someone we can relate to and it's always nice to go to the theatre and see someone on stage you can identify with and learn from. We also put a few creative twists in the show, such as the ringing phone at the end of the first act. I won't tell you how we played with the ringing phone, but I can tell you this much — the phone doesn't ring or look like a typical phone. Want to know more? Come see the show for yourself and find out! Since last winter's show, Brilliant Traces, was a bit of an intense production, Garrett and I wanted to do a comedy that would make people laugh and enjoy themselves. Besides, what better way to begin the summer with life's best medicine — laughter?
The play is being performed in American Sign Language, but there will also be speaking actors. You have chosen to have these speaking actors not confined to the corners of the stage, as is fairly common, but to have them as part of the scenes. Can you tell us why this choice and how was this able to be done in a way that is not distracting to either a deaf or hearing audience member?
This choice is one that I always prefer to use when doing a show because it just seems logical to me. Some of the other methods used for voice actors in Deaf theatre just seem alienating because they're removed from the show. By using this method of making the voice actors part of the scenes (but not the focal point of them), it allows the audience to focus more on the primary actors, the Deaf actors. This enables the audience to follow the story more because hearing the voices in close proximity to the Deaf actors allows them to make the connection between voice and Deaf actor. I know its a hard concept to explain but once you see it performed you won't be able to understand how Deaf theatre could be done any other way. This method has proven to be very successful and increases the enjoyment for all of our various audiences, hearing and deaf alike.
What do you hope will be the reaction of the various audiences to this production?
It's my hope that the hearing audience members will leave the theatre fully amused by this production, as well as moved by Deaf theatre. I would love for this production to be the beginning of building a vast and strong audience base (both hearing and Deaf) that will continue to come back and support NYDT's future productions. For some people, it will be the first time they've ever experienced Deaf theatre. I would hope that they will be able to fully enjoy their experience and learn more about Deaf theatre. For others it won't be a new experience. Either way I hope that this production exceeds everybody's expectations and they enjoy it immensely!
April 30, 2007
