Queens Theatre Celebrates the Artistry of Deaf & Disabled Communities with Forward Festival of the Arts

 

 

 

Omnium Circus. Image courtesy Queens Theatre

This May, Queens Theatre (QT) will present several days of dynamic performances and events in its first-ever Forward Festival of the Arts, a national festival highlighting the artistry of Deaf/Disabled performers.

The Festival will be hosted by Queens Theatre from May 13th – 22nd and feature performances and presentations by Omnium Circus, Phamaly Theatre Company (Denver, CO), Full Radius Dance (Atlanta, GA), composer Molly Joyce, and new works by playwrights from across the country involved in The Apothetae/Lark National Playwriting Fellowship (recently rehomed at Queens Theatre). Festival events will include Audio Description, Open Captioning, ASL interpretation and other accessibility services. The Forward Festival of the Arts will also include a conversation on Disability Artistry at Lincoln Center with artists from the festival.

Full Radius Dance, Ashlee Jo Ramsey Borunov, Matthew Smith. Credit: Neil Dent courtesy Queens Theatre

“The Forward Festival of the Arts extends the work we have done through Queens Theatre’s Theatre for All (TFA) initiative to advance the inclusion of disabled people in the performing arts – as artists, audience members, and cultural workers,” said Queens Theatre Executive Director Taryn Sacramone. “We are excited to present a festival with such a range of disciplines represented. I know audiences will be thrilled by these performances.”

Schedule at a Glance:

Friday, May 13th

  • Reading: We Will Never Reach The Shore by Tim J. Lord, 8 PM, The Studio at Queens Theatre

Saturday, May 14th

  • Reading: The Tings We Carry by Oya Mae Duchess Davis, 5 PM, The Studio at Queens Theatre

  • Omnium Circus,  2 PM & 8 PM, The Claire Shulman Theatre

Sunday, May 15th

  • Full Radius Dance, 3 PM, The Claire Shulman Theater at Queens Theatre

  • Molly Joyce, 5 PM, The Cabaret at Queens Theatre

  • Reading: 3 Bodies by Jerron Herman, 7 PM, The Studio at Queens Theatre

Wednesday, May 18th

  • Panel Discussion:

In Conversation: Disability Artistry, 7:30 PM, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts

Phamaly Theatre Company, Wild Bird

Friday, May 20th

  • Reading: Blanche & Stella by A.A. Brenner, 8 PM, The Studio at Queens Theatre

Saturday, May 21st

  • Reading: Say It Ain’t So by Nikki Brake-Silla, 5 PM, The Studio at Queens Theatre

  • Phamaly Theatre Company presents The Spitfire Grill, 8 PM, The Claire Shulman Theater at Queens Theatre

Sunday, May 22nd

  • Phamaly Theatre Company presents The Spitfire Grill, 3pm, The Claire Shulman Theater at Queens Theatre

  • Reading: The Life and Times of Stephen Hawking by Magda Romanska, 5 PM, The Studio at Queens Theatre

Forward Festival of the Arts will be held from May 13 through May 22, 2022 at Queens Theatre, 14 United Nations Ave South, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens, NY.