Your donation today will support the Wheelock Family Theatre (WFT) and its mission to providing groundbreaking, bi-lingual (ASL and spoken English) productions. "The Taste of Sunrise" by Suzan Zeder is part of a tradition at WFT. And now, more than ever, we need your help.
“The Taste of Sunrise” tells the story of Tuc and his journey from silence and isolation to a language and a community. “The Taste of Sunrise” will be presented in ASL and voice, and was created by an ensemble of Deaf and hearing directors, designers, and actors.
Pictured: Elbert Joseph (EJ). Photograph by Craig Bailey/Perspective Photo.
Bringing Deaf and hearing actors, designers, directors and dramaturges together has a profound financial impact on the Company. Every little bit will help! With more than 10,000 fans, if each of you were able to give, even at the $5.00 level, WFT would exceed its fiduciary goals! The work we do, the stories we tell, the people we bring together... now is the time to show your support!
There is no other place like Wheelock Family Theatre, distinctive on the Boston arts landscape for providing professional theatre that is affordable and accessible. Since our inception, WFT has interpreted every production in American Sign Language. WFT was the first theatre in New England to audio-describe productions and the first in Boston to open caption all performances. And access is not limited to our audiences—actors who are blind, deaf, and physically disabled have been given unprecedented performance opportunities on our stage. More than 750,000 people have enjoyed professional theatre at WFT since we opened in 1981. And no one is ever turned away for lack of money. Your financial support now will help us to continue to produce these plays and make them accessible to all families and children.
The Ware Trilogy was inspired by the oral traditions gathered during the Great Depression by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The plays have become beloved pieces of the educational theater canon and were instrumental in the development of Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) that is serious, sophisticated, and culturally relevant.
Suzan Zeder is one of the nation’s more prolific and influential playwrights for young and family audiences. She is Professor Emeritus at the University of Texas, Austin, where she was Head of the Playwriting/Directing Program. Her plays have been produced around the U.S., and in countries around the world. Among many awards, honors, and grants, she recently received the Campton Bell Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Alliance for Theatre and Education (2014).
The money you contribute to this project will go to interpreters for the hearing actors and crew to communicate with those members who are Deaf or hard-of-hearing. Your financial support will help make it possible for Families who might not be able to afford to attend, to see our play. And your money will support the development of new programs for Deaf and hearing youth. Won't you support Boston's biggest Family, Wheelock Family Theatre?