[Nfbk] Fwd: Festival of New Plays by Playwrights Who are Blind

[Joey Couch]

Please share with those who may be interested
APH Readers Theater Troupe presents a Festival of New Plays
The four plays are all by playwrights who are blind or visually impaired



Louisville, Kentucky (March 2, 2015)  - The Museum of the American
Printing House for the Blind (APH) will offer two free performances of
four new plays. The plays resulted from a series of playwriting
workshops taught by Kentucky playwright and poet Constance Alexander
at the Museum last fall.

*         Friday, March 13 at 7:00 p.m.

*         Saturday, March 14 at 1:00 pm.

All the plays are presented as Readers Theater. There are no sets, no
special lighting, and minimal costumes and props. The actors, who are
all blind or visually impaired, read from embossed braille scripts.
They use gestures appropriate for their characters and intonation
appropriate for their characters' words.  This is the fourth year for
APH Readers Theater.  The troupe performed The Miracle Worker in 2012,
Much Ado About Nothing in 2013, and the Curious Savage in 2014.  This
is the first year members of the group have written the plays,
themselves.



The performances are free to the public but space is limited, so
registration is required. Call 502-899-2213 or email
kcarpenter at aph.org<mailto:kcarpenter at aph.org>  by March 12 to
register. The program is appropriate for teens and adults.



About the Plays:

*         In "The Dogalog," playwright Rick Roderick introduces Chief,
a guide dog for the blind whose brain possesses an overly developed
"speech center." Chief has plenty to say to his human companion,
interspersed with meditations on squirrels and treats.  A comedy, the
play nonetheless carries a poignant message about the intimate
relationship between a blind person and a guide dog. Roderick, who is
working his fourth guide dog, Quattro, worked for many years at the
Kentucky Office of the Blind and currently runs a small braille
transcribing business.



*         "Hero," a two-person play by Barbara Henning, explores the
relationship between an actress and the character she presents on
stage. Hero, a minor character in the Shakespeare play Much Ado About
Nothing, emerges as a complex sixteenth century woman with decidedly
different opinions than her twenty-first century counterpart. Henning
is a musician as well as a writer, and often performs at public and
private events, including the APH Museum.



*         "A Fire's Definition," by Madelyn Loyd explores the effects
of bullying on two high school students and the relationship they
forge because of it. Madelyn is a sophomore student at the Kentucky
School for the Blind.



*         Dave Trevino's "The Message That Wasn't There" is a
perplexing murder mystery, eventually solved by a resourceful amateur
detective whose blindness is an advantage in this particular case.
Trevino recently moved to Louisville from Nashville, where his career
was quite similar to that of his main character.

-MORE-
Cast members are from Jefferson and other Kentucky Counties. Many of
the performers from the earlier productions are involved again this
year.  Most use braille on a regular basis in their personal and/or
professional lives.

About the Museum of the American Printing House for the Blind:
The Museum, where visitors experience hands-on history, is open Monday
through Saturday. It is located on the second floor of the American
Printing House for the Blind, 1839 Frankfort Avenue, Louisville,
Kentucky. Admission is free. Regular hours are 8:30am to 4:30pm,
Monday-Friday and 10:00am to 3:00pm on Saturday. Visitors can write in
braille, see the first book embossed for blind readers, see a piano
used by Stevie Wonder when he was a student at Michigan School for the
Blind, play a computer game designed for blind students, and much
more. More information at
www.aph.org/museum<http://www.aph.org/museum>
or call (502) 895-2405, ext. 365, weekdays.

About the American Printing House for the Blind:
The American Printing House for the Blind, a 501(c)(3) non-profit
organization, is the world's largest company devoted solely to
researching, developing, and manufacturing products for people who are
blind or visually impaired. Founded in 1858, it is the oldest
organization of its kind in the United States. Under the 1879 federal
Act to Promote the Education of the Blind, APH is the official
supplier of educational materials for visually impaired students in
the U.S. who are working at less than college level.

APH manufactures textbooks and magazines in braille, large print,
recorded, and digital formats. APH also makes hundreds of educational,
recreational, and daily living products. APH's fully-accessible web
site (www.aph.org<http://www.aph.org>) features information about APH
products and services, online ordering of products, and free
information on a wide variety of blindness-related topics.

The American Printing House for the Blind, Inc. is located at 1839
Frankfort Avenue in Louisville, Kentucky. For more information, call
(502) 895-2405 or log on to www.aph.org<http://www.aph.org>
-END-





-- 
Joey Couch
phone 606-216-8033.
email ki4vjd at gmail.com
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