New York Deaf Theatre

June 7 – 11 2023

3B Development Series | ASL Creative

IN RESIDENCE: June 7 – 11, 2023

Meat Expectations is a Deaf musical in development by New York Deaf Theatre that is being created using American Sign Language first rather than written English. Music is then composed in response to the signing movement and rhythms.

Deaf Utopia exists at a meat-packing factory where Deaf Gain is prevalent. All levels of employees in the company are Deaf, from the CEO to the assembly line worker. They don’t hear the machinery, the resulting sounds of slaughter, and sign language is in widespread use. Everyone is happy until one day, things are about to change. Will the Deaf Utopia continue to exist?

 In memoriam of Lewis Merkin.

Collaborators: JW Guido, Monique “MoMo” Holt, Seth Gore, Emily Hart, Jay Alan Zimmerman, Mark Weissglass, and Annie Wiegand

Actors: Raquel McPeek, Gabriel Silva, Gregor Lopes, Malik Paris, and Joey Antonio

IRT Theater is a grassroots laboratory for independent theater and performance in New York City, providing space and support to a new generation of artists. Tucked away in the old Archive Building in Greenwich Village,  IRT’s mission is to build a community of emerging and established artists by creating a home for the development and presentation of new work.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York State Legislature; New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in Partnership with the City Council; A.R.T./New York’s NYC Small Theatres Fund made possible with support from the Howard Gilman Foundation & support for ASL interpretation provided in part through funding from Access A.R.T./New York.

ACCESS: ***IRT is a fully wheelchair-accessible facility. Please reach out to Kori Rushton if you have any accessibility questions or concerns, krushton@irttheater.org ***

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