Bernard Bragg Honored as "Father of Deaf Theatre" |

Bernard Bragg Honored as "Father of Deaf Theatre"

Posted on September 12th, 2006 by admin

On Saturday, September 9, 2006, Bernard Bragg, one of the founders of the National Theatre of the Deaf, was honored as “The Father of Deaf Theatre” at Oakton Community College in Illinois. The event was sponsored by the International Center on Deafness and the Arts.

CBS News Anchor, John Davis, was the emcee of this event. The Traveling Hands Troupe, a group of deaf, hard of hearing and hearing dancers began the event with a dance routine.

In honor of Bragg’s mime career as “The Quiet Man”, Jonalee Folerynski performed a mime story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears that certainly didn’t need any voice interpretation for those not familiar with American Sign Language. Other performers included Michael Schwartz, Kyle Littlepage, Liz Tannebaum, Mike Stark, Gina Matzkin, and Melanie Kaplan.

One of the most memorable skits of the night was CJ Jones’ comedy routine. Deafinitly a routine that’ll make you laugh your butt off. Heck, just one look at his publicity picture will make you chuckle:

One by one, Bragg’s protege’s took the stage to demonstrate the skills that Bragg instilled in them through workshops and camps. One by one, they thanked him for his guidance and expertise over the years. Bragg was actually speechless for a very short time, but he quickly bounced back with an eloquent speech and a “thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

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