Solo Arts Heal – Gloria Rosen

Solo Arts Heal

Hosted by Gail Schickele

Excerpts, talkbacks and Q&A with special guests
providing health and healing education and advocacy.

Wednesday, July 22 | 7:30 PDT

Gloria Rosen

Listen…Can You Hear Me Now?

A multi award winning play
Written and performed by Gloria Rosen
Directed by Suzanne Bachner

Watch Here with Closed Captioning

“Listen…Can You Hear Me Now? centers on a child growing up with deaf parents but not allowed to sign. Forbidden the use of their language yet still the voice of her parents, she lives between the worlds of deaf and hearing. Not fully belonging to either, she follows her singular path to uncover and to find her own voice.

“It’s rare that we get to see a play that puts the life of the Deaf – and specifically, the experiences of hearing children born to Deaf parents – front and center.”– Lisa Strum, Assistant producer Jersey City Theater Center

Show Description

Shows about the Deaf are indeed rare: Children of a Lesser God; Spring Awakening; Tribes. Shows about Codas (Children of Deaf Adults) even more so. Gloria Rosen was raised as a non-signing Coda, making this story unique even within that community.

Welcome to Gloria’s childhood home where ringing telephones and doorbells light up the house, watching TV requires great feats of concentration and a little girl becomes the world’s first lip-syncher. Come on in and meet all the many characters wandering in and out of this tale causing much havoc and joy!

Listen…Can You Hear Me Now? explores the vital importance of family communication through experiences that are fun and frustrating and fierce Gloria’s vision and goal is to explore and bring to light the very special and largely unknown worlds of the Coda and Deaf Communities and to bring the Deaf, Coda and hearing worlds closer together in an alliance of mutual trust and understanding.

Artists Biographies

Gloria Rosen is an award winning playwright and actor. Her autobiographical solo show Listen…Can You Hear Me Now? is a personal recollection of being a hearing child of deaf parents. It recently had its International debut at the Campus St Jean, Alberta Canada; was honored to perform at St. Ann’s Church for the Deaf in NY(the first church for the Deaf in the United States. Founded by The Rev. Thomas Galaudette) ; and enjoyed a sold-out run at the United Solo Theatre Festival in NY where it was awarded Best Autobiographical Script. Listen… played to sold out audiences at the Jersey City Theatre Center; New York International Fringe Festival; Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival and was awarded Best of Hollywood Fringe. She has appeared in numerous plays and short films and participates in the Effective Arts program using improvisational techniques to train personnel in the field of organ donation.
For more information: www.listenshow.com

Suzanne Bachner, Director is an award-winning playwright and director. She is proud to be the director of Gloria Rosen’s award-winning Listen…Can You Hear Me Now since 2015. Suzanne is the director and developer of Bob Brader’s internationally acclaimed, award-winning solo shows including Spitting In The Face Of The Devil. Other solo show directing: Sarah Elizabeth Greer’s Bio-Hazard: A Relative Comedy (United Solo Europe 2016), Canadian Burlesque star Rosie Bitts’ Stories of Love and Passion (US and Canadian tour) and Suzanne’s new play, The Good Adoptee (Best Autobiographical Script and Best Actress, United Solo). Her award-winning hit play, CIRCLE, ran for five months Off Broadway, had a Sold Out International tour and was called “ingenious” by The New York Times. Suzanne studied playwriting with Romulus Linney and Adrienne Kennedy and holds an MFA from the Actors Studio Drama School at the New School University. She is a member of the United Solo Academy and the Dramatists Guild. www.JMTCTheatre.com

Guest Expert Biography

Phillip Gehman, Director of Disability Services, The Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey is an experienced university administrator with expertise in the area of disability related legislation, Philllip Gehman specializes in disability as a form of diversity. His passion for the social model of disability energizes his work in creating equal access to university programs and drives his interest in disability related policy and initiatives. Engaged in professional and community service, Gehman is an active member of the Association on Higher Education And Disability and the ADA Coordinator Training Certification Program. He’s also served on the Advisory Board for an ICCD-certified psychiatric rehabilitation program (Workabilities Clubhouse) in Sunbury, PA. His programmatic experience includes training faculty and professional staff in supporting students with disabilities, developing support groups for students with ASD, and establishing best practice models for students with disabilities transitioning to higher education. Specialties: Transition to College Issues for Students with Disabilities; Determining Reasonable Accommodations; Documentation of Disability; Policy Development; Disability Legislation; Fluent in American Sign Language

ABOUT SOLO ARTS HEAL

Solo performers present real-life, empowering stories. Transformative experiences for audiences. A theater of resilience that celebrates overcoming mental and physical life challenges and offers hope and inspiration. SOLO ARTS HEAL includes excerpts, talkbacks, and Q&A that provide education and advocacy. Readings or clips of performances will be shared by artists in conversation with Gail Schickele, whose work as a manager and producer of solo artists inspired collaboration of performing arts presenters with artists on a medical track based on their personal experience. The collective creative vision? To help communities through educational outreach and the healing power of the Arts.