Today we’d like to introduce you to Levi Holloway.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Levi. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
There is a shift happening in the American Theatre Landscape. Theatre makers on both sides of the table are creating more and more diverse, inclusive works from and for a wider demographic. This is a long overdue and critical shift and one that’s been so very riveting to be a part of.
I have been a writer, actor, director and teaching artist in Chicago since I graduated from The Theater School at DePaul University in 2005 with a BFA in acting. In 2007, through Lookingglass Theatre, I was placed in a teaching residency at Park School, a small, privately funded school for children with special needs. It was a trial by fire as I found myself teaching in rooms filled with young people with Down Syndrome, Autism, Cerebral Palsy, brain damage, even severe burn victims. And then, randomly, I was placed in a classroom within that school that changed my life forever.
Deaf kids. sweet, mischievous, curious, wildly brave, deaf kids. In that joyous and challenging year, I learned so many things about humanity, resilience, identity, teaching, community and most importantly – I learned that deafness isn’t a disability. It’s a culture. A very marginalized culture. One, for the most part, without a real voice. I loved those kids, truly. And I noticed a terrible problem. Being with them a few hours a week wasn’t enough. It might have helped them some, improved their lives some- to practice the arts with me, to explore theatre skills and create little stories for each other. But it wasn’t enough. I wanted to do more with them. I wanted to make more things for and with them.
A year later, my artistic partner, Katy Boza (whom I met as a teaching artist at Lookingglass Theatre) and I were hired to run Bell School’s Sign/Voice Theatre program. Bell is a Chicago K-8 with a 100-year specialization in Deaf and hearing integration. We’ve been running and cultivating that program since. We create works, therefore, from and with young Deaf and hearing artists.
In 2016, Alongside the amazing Chicago artist and teacher, Hilary Williams, we founded Neverbird Project, a Chicago based theatre company with a mission focused on deaf and hearing collaboration. Shortly thereafter, Neverbird received a commission from Chicago Children’s Theatre to help launch their new space with our original production of Pinocchio. In the spring of 2017, CCT hosted that world premiere. The artists we hired on both sides of the table were a mix of Deaf and hearing.
Before the premiere of Pinocchio, I received a commission to write a new work for A Red Orchid Theatre. My play, The Haven Place, had it’s world premiere there in the winter of 2017. That play too had a focus on Deaf and hearing integration. I aim to create more works that are centered around inclusion and accessibility. I believe it’s a necessity. If theatre is an exercise in humanity, an exploration in the bounds of it, then it should and must include everyone.
However, my intent as a playwright goes beyond the scope of Deaf and hearing integration. It’s just the start of what I want to do. I want to create works where inclusion and accessibility aren’t pointed to, isn’t special- it just is.
That’s where Chicago and the greater American theatre landscape is headed, to a place full of stories for, from and of everyone. I wish to be in the vanguard of that movement.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Creating fully accessible work is always a challenge. It’s complicated and can be hard to budget for. At Neverbird, it’s our mission to always have interpreters in the room at every rehearsal, to have a deaf artist to be our ASL director in every production. Additionally, there’s ASL translation, teaching hearing artists to sign, creating videos where deaf artists showcase ASL, captioning in the theatre for performances – all this on top of the base costs of producing a new work. It’s a lot! The road is never smooth but always leads to a wonderful and well-earned destination.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Our plan for the future is to continue to create new works for deaf and hearing artists, to form new partnerships with existing companies, to collaborate with them on new projects. To continue to explore what Inclusion and Accessibility are and can become. We are currently working on an adaptation of The Rats of NIMH, which will go up in April 2018.
Contact Info:
- Website: neverbirdproject.org
- Phone: 773-301-9064
- Email: holloway501@gmail.com
- Instagram: neverbirdproject
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/neverbirdproject/
Image Credit:
Milo Bue, Dwight Irwin
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