Can a Hearing Heart Be a Lonely Hunter?
Can a Hearing Heart Be a Lonely Hunter? Tuesday October 13, 2009 The New York Times reports that a group of deaf actors is opposing the use of a hearing actor in the role of a deaf character in a major stage production of “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.” The hearing man is reprising a role that he has held in earlier productions. The deaf actors argue that there are not enough roles for deaf actors; the producers say they did reach out to the deaf acting community when casting the role earlier. The producers will not make changes for this production, but are open to making changes for a future production. The deaf community has argued about this before. While it is widely understood that deaf roles are best played by deaf actors, must they always be played by deaf actors? If we say that they must always be played by deaf actors, then does that mean deaf actors should not play hearing roles? “Reasonable Doubts,” anyone?
