The Na Laga'at Center in the Jaffa Port Credit: Yonatan MeitalEntrance to the Na Laga'at Theater Hall. Credit: Benny Gam Zo LetovaPeople entering the 'BlackOut' dark restaurant. Credit: Tomer Appelbaum
Na Laga'at (in English, Please Touch) is a nonprofit organization founded in 2002 by Adina Tal and Eran Gur around the first of its kind in the world ensemble whose actors are all deafblind (double disability). The organization established a unique cultural center at the Levantbondet House in the Port of Jaffa in Tel Aviv. The center is a platform for creative arts, which promote equal and open dialogue and lead to social change built on the belief in the human spirit and its ability to reach out and make a change.
Established by the Na Laga'at organization the center opened its gates to the general public in December 2007.[1] It employs more than a hundred people, most of whom are deaf, blind and deafblind.
The center operates the Na Laga'at theater with ensemble consists of deaf, blind, deafblind and actors who can see and hear; Kapish Events Complex, where waiters are deaf and communicate with the customers in sign language; The dark restaurant Blackout (kosher-dairy), where the meal is held in complete darkness and a team of blind and visually impaired waiters accompanies the patrons throughout the meal; workshops center, offering a variety of workshops led by content experts and a team of deaf, blind and deafblind instructors. The Na Laga'at center enables and advances equal and open dialogue to promote the needs and aspirations of every person in the belief that all human beings are equal.
Over the years the center's unique activities have earned it a number of prestigious awards and degrees in the fields of society and culture, and it was also among the organizations that violinist Yitzhak Perlman included in the awarding of the Genesis Prize. Pearlman explained the choice of Na Laga'at: "One of the most innovative theaters in the world, a cultural and arts center that brings together the deaf, the blind and the general public, and creates an equal dialogue that promotes the needs and aspirations of every person." In 2018 the center received an international social honorary award for "effectiveness of cultural action for a better society" on behalf of Fair Saturday foundation. This is the first win for an Israeli organization.
Oren Itzhaki is the CEO of the center since 2017.
Na Laga'at Theater
Adina Tal and with Eran Gur founded the Nalaga'at Theater Company in 2002[2] after accepting an invitation to teach drama to a group of deaf-blind individuals. This experience grew into Nalaga'at (meaning "Please Touch" in Hebrew), the only professional deaf-blind theater company in the world. The Na Laga'at theater provides a permanent ongoing stage for the only ensemble in the world whose actors are deaf, blind, and deafblind, and to allow them artistic self-expression.
'Kapish" Events Hall. Credit: Benny Gam Zo Letova
Since it started to operate the theater has provided the audience with an artistic and social experience that changes perceptions and connects communities and sectors.
The theater offers a diverse repertoire of performances, allowing viewers a glimpse into the world of deaf, blind and deafblind people. It also raises questions of identity, inclusion, communication and acceptance of the other.
The theater's debuted performance "Light is Heard in Zig-Zag" directed by Adina Tal, was staged in 2000 in Israel and worldwide and received excellent reviews among viewers and critics.
The 2007 debut performance of "Light is Heard in Zig-Zag" was internationally successful, and led to the opening of the Nalaga'at Center in Tel Aviv. The theater's second performance, "Not by Bread Alone", directed by Adina Tal and featuring an ensemble of 11 deafblind actors and actresses, was first staged in 2007. Tactile Signing interpreters accompany the actors during rehearsals and performances. "Not by Bread Alone" toured the world.[3][4][5][6]
Most deafblind people have the ability to communicate only with a person who knows Tactile Signing or "glove language", according to which each joint in the palm corresponds to a Hebrew letter written on the palm. Most of the actors in the show suffer from Usher Syndrome, a rare genetic disease that affects both hearing and vision. It causes deafness or hearing loss and an eye disease called Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP). The disease develops in adolescence or later, and causes significant vision difficulties and even blindness. Employing these actors in the theater on a daily basis empowers them, improves their interpersonal communication skills, reduces their social isolation and enables encounters and contact with hearing and seeing audiences and also with people of identical and different struggles.
There are many, varied ways of communication between team members in Na Laga'at that have been learned over the years. Each person in the group has their own needs and abilities, and so communication changes. "Not by Bread Alone" has been performed at the Na Laga'at center since its opening day and has been highly praised. The play has performed at leading festivals in Perth, New York, Boston, Washington, DC, the LIFT Festival in London and the International Music and Theater Festival in Uijeongbu (South Korea).
In 2009 the center ran a special program to train deaf and blind waiters in acting, during which a workshop of theatrical sign language for children called "Ten Siman" (in English, Give a Sign) took place, and in 2010 the children's play "Rooster Prince" directed by Adina Tal. Sign language workshops and activities in the dark were also developed for the general public.
In 2015 two new plays performed on stage with the participation of deafblind actors: the solo performance "Say Orange" directed by Sarah Siboni, which opened the 2015 Theatronetto Festival and performed at the Brave Festival in Poland in July 2016, and "Through the Wind" directed by Moshe Malka and featuring a new ensemble composed of deafblind actors and actresses, seeing and hearing actors and interpreters.
In 2017 a new play called "Edgar" was played on stage, introducing a deafblind actor, a blind actor, a deaf actress and seeing and hearing actresses, directed by Ofer Amram.
In 2018 the theater staged its own adaptation of the Tony Award-winning play Children of a Lesser God by Mark Madoff and directed by Noam Shmuel. Deaf actors participated in the production alongside hearing actors.
In 2019 the entertainment show "Deaf Conversation" took the stage, a one-of-a-kind show in Israel, directed by a hearing director and a deaf woman director and performed by six deaf actors and actresses. The show presents personal experiences of the actors and stigmas of deaf people on hearing people and vice versa in an experiential and funny way.
In 2020 the center had to close due to COVID-19.
In 2021 the center gradually opened its doors to the general public. At the Groundbreaking Art Festival, held in November each year, the play "Until the Apple is Picked" officially premiered. The play is by Yosefa Ibn Shushan and Emanuel Pinto, inspired by 'The Blind Beggar' parable from "The Seven Beggars" by Rabbi Nachman of Breslav and is featuring two deaf actors and a blind actor alongside seeing and hearing actors.
Nalaga'at has performed for hundreds of thousands of guests in Israel and worldwide.
Blackout restaurant
In its new home the repertoire company went on to open the Blackout restaurant (where patrons sit in the dark and are served by blind waiters), and the Kapish coffee shop (which employs an all-deaf team of food servers).[7]
The Blackout restaurant is the only dark restaurant in Israel, and one of 14 dark restaurants around the world. The kosher restaurant, located within the Na Laga'at complex, provides the guests with an exceptional culinary and sensory experience as it offers meals in complete darkness. At the entrance to the darkness of the restaurant the guests depart the sense of sight and immediately feel how the other senses are sharpened and strengthened. The team of blind or visually impaired waiters leads guests to their places and serves them a selection of inspiring dishes from a rich menu.
Kapish events complex
The Kapish complex hosts a wide variety of conferences and events. The complex is housed in a preserved and renovated mandatory historic building on the waterfront of Jaffa, designed as an open loft and combining the Jaffa authenticity and innovative urban design. The waiters and service providers at the Kapish events complex are deaf and hard of hearing people, and thus, the audience hosted in the complex is exposed to the Israeli Sign Language (ISL) and through it, communicates with the staff.
Workshop Center
The workshop center at Na Laga'at offers a range of workshops. The workshops take place in the dark and in the light, and allow the general public to experiment the challenges associated with the world of the senses in an active, experiential way. All workshops are led by deaf, blind and deafblind moderators.
Dark Workshops: Wine and Cheese Tasting | Beer Tasting | Chocolate Tasting | Music and Sounds Workshop | Sculpture Workshop | Stand-Up Show
Light Workshops: Games with the Senses | Sign Language Workshop | Happily Ever Usher | Meeting with an actor | Executive Workshop
Dark workshops are held at the Na Laga'at complex. The light workshops can be booked for activities all over the country. The content is tailored to the needs of the group and the age range.
The educational program
The Na Laga'at center aims to expand the circles of exposure among children, adolescents and adults, thus developing and strengthening the important dialogue between different communities and bridging cultural-social gaps while accepting the other and recognizing their strengths and not their weaknesses. The center's performances and workshops also reach out - to the general population and to schools and educational institutions in particular, in the form of enrichment programs for kindergarten children, school students and educational staff and, in accordance with the participants' age and their world of content.
Music performances and concerts in the dark
The Na Laga'at center offers a different listening experience, in the dark - music performances by the best composers in Israel (Arkady Duchin, Matti Caspi, Yoni Rechter, Berry Sakharof, Keren Peles, Shalom Hanoch, etc.) along with classical music concerts performed, for the first time in Israel, without musical notes and without any eye contact with the audience (Israel Chamber Orchestra and South American Folklore Ensemble 'Mass Creole'). The performances in the dark draw great interest of the audience in Israel and worldwide, as the sounds arouse a new world of perception and emotion.
Adina Tal is an actress, playwright, theater director and cofounder of the Nalaga'at Theater Company.[8][9] She was born and raised in Switzerland, and immigrated to Israel at the age of 20.[10]
Erua Theater
Erua Theater was established in 1985 by Adina Tal and Rina Padua. An independent theater company specializing in interactive theater with a strong social engagement, Erua focused on dealing with serious issues in a humorous way. In almost 15 years at Erua, Adina Tal wrote and directed multiple theater plays, including plays about violence, old age and Jewish identity. She also wrote for radio and television programs."How are you?" - a play about a woman - went to become a hit, with over 2500 performances.
Adina Tal's lectures and workshops are inspired by her experiences with Nalaga'at. In her talks and workshops Adina shares the story behind the challenges, growth, and success of the theater company.
She lectures at conferences, social institutions and enterprises worldwide. Some of her talks are available online, for example some TEDx talks.
Perkins School for the Blind, in Watertown, Massachusetts, was founded in 1829 and is the oldest school for the blind in the United States. It has also been known as the Perkins Institution for the Blind.
Usher syndrome, also known as Hallgren syndrome, Usher–Hallgren syndrome, retinitis pigmentosa–dysacusis syndrome or dystrophia retinae dysacusis syndrome, is a rare genetic disorder caused by a mutation in any one of at least 11 genes resulting in a combination of hearing loss and visual impairment. It is a major cause of deafblindness and is at present incurable.
Deafblindness is the condition of little or no useful hearing and little or no useful sight. Different degrees of vision loss and auditory loss occur within each individual. Because of this inherent diversity, each deafblind individual's needs regarding lifestyle, communication, education, and work need to be addressed based on their degree of dual-modality deprivation, to improve their ability to live independently. In 1994, an estimated 35,000–40,000 United States residents were medically deafblind. Helen Keller was a well-known example of a deafblind individual. To further her lifelong mission to help the deafblind community to expand its horizons and gain opportunities, the Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults, with a residential training program in Sands Point, New York, was established in 1967 by an act of Congress.
The National Theatre of the Deaf (NTD) is a Connecticut-based theatre company founded in 1967. It is the oldest theatre company in the United States with a continuous history of domestic and international touring, as well as producing original works. NTD productions combine American Sign Language with spoken language to fulfill the theatre's mission statement of linking Deaf and hearing communities, providing more exposure to sign language, and educating the public about Deaf art. The NTD is affiliated with a drama school, also founded in 1967, and with the Little Theatre of the Deaf (LTD), established in 1968 to produce shows for a younger audience.
Land of Silence and Darkness is a 1971 documentary film about deaf-blind people and their experience of life. The film was written, directed, and produced by Werner Herzog. Rolf Illig provided narration.
The Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) is a New York City-based theater company and workshop established in 1967 by playwright Douglas Turner Ward, producer-actor Robert Hooks, and theater manager Gerald S. Krone, with funding from the Ford Foundation. The company's focus on original works with themes based in the black experience with an international perspective created a canon of theatrical works and an audience for writers who came later, such as August Wilson, Suzan-Lori Parks, and others.
International Center on Deafness and the Arts (ICODA) is a non-profit organization based in Northbrook, Illinois, US. Patricia Scherer is the founder and president. Founded in 1973, the organization is a registered nonprofit, tax exempt, 501(c)(3) corporation.
The Actor's Workshop was a theatre company founded in San Francisco in 1952. It was the first professional theatre on the west coast to premiere many of the modern American classics such as Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman and The Crucible, and the world dramas of Samuel Beckett, Bertolt Brecht, Jean Genet and Harold Pinter. For the 1953–1954 season, the Workshop offered six plays: Lysistrata, by Aristophanes; Venus Observed, by Christopher Fry; Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller; a revival of Playboy; The Cherry Orchard, by Anton Chekhov; and Tonight at 8.30, by Noël Coward. On April 15, 1955, the Actor's Workshop signed the first Off-Broadway Equity contract to be awarded outside New York City.
Adina Bar-On, born December 19, 1951, in Kibbutz Kfar Blum, Israel, is a pioneer performance artist, considered to be the first performance artist in Israel.
Henry Stram is an American actor and singer. He is the son of famous NFL coach Hank Stram.
Rebecca Ann Alexander is an American psychotherapist and author. Deafblind due to Usher syndrome, Alexander wrote a memoir in 2014 about coming to terms with her deteriorating sight as well as her feats as an extreme athlete, such as climbing to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. In 2016, she received a Helen Keller Achievement Award from the American Foundation for the Blind.
Dark dining is the act of eating a meal without seeing the food that is being eaten. The basic concept is that the removal of vision enhances the other senses and increases gastronomic pleasure. Since 1999, specialised dark restaurants have opened in many parts of the world.
Noam Meiri is an Israeli theater artist, actor, director and acting teacher. Meiri is a co-founder of the Tel Aviv Haguf Theater School and Stage for Physical theatre, inspired by the method of Jacques Lecoq. Since 1999 he has served as a professor of Physical Theater at Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen, Germany.
The M Ensemble Company is the oldest operating African American theatre company in Florida and has been serving the Miami-Dade County community for more than 45 years. The company has tackled an eclectic mix of theatre performances including musicals and contemporary, classical and original plays. M Ensemble also consistently facilitates theater workshops for children and adults and presentations for Kwanzaa and Black Music Month.
Geraldine Jerrie Lawhorn was a figure of the American deafblind community, a performer, actress, pianist, then instructor at the Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired. At 67 years old, she became the first deafblind African American to earn a college degree in the United States of America.
Troy Michael Kotsur is an American actor. His supporting role in the film CODA (2021) earned him a number of accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Critics' Choice Movie Award. He is the first deaf actor to win the latter three awards, and first deaf man and second deaf performer overall to win the first.
Yaron Edelstein is an Israeli playwright and theatre director. His plays performed in Israel, Germany and Italy, and have been translated into English, French, Polish, Dutch and Italian. Edelstein won the Cameri Theater Best Playwright Award (2021), the Israeli Fringe Award for Best Director and Best Dramatic Adaptor (2010), the Acre Festival prize for Best Original Show (2013), and in Germany, he received an award at the Heidelberger Stückemarkt for his play Mountain. Among his original plays are Ringo, The Ephemerals, Mountain, Pfffffff.
Satoshi Fukushima is a Japanese researcher and advocate for people with disabilities. Blind since age nine and deaf from the age of eighteen, Fukushima was the first deafblind student to earn a degree from a Japanese university when he graduated from Tokyo Metropolitan University in 1987. Fukushima leads the Barrier-Free Laboratory, part of the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Tokyo; the research done by members of the lab's staff focuses on accessibility.
Arnaud Balard is a French deafblind artist. In 2009, Balard wrote a manifesto outlining his philosophy of Surdism, an artistic, philosophical, and cultural movement celebrating deaf culture and deaf arts. He is also known for designing the Sign Union flag, an image intended to represent global unity for deaf and deafblind people.
Deaf theatres are companies with primarily deaf and hard of hearing production teams who create theatre in their respective signed languages. Many companies choose to have both hearing performers and deaf performers for a dual-language experience while some offer solely signed performances.
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