BYU play bridges the gap for the hearing and the deaf

Brigham Young University's new production, "The Taste of Sunrise," presents the challenges of being deaf in a hearing world for both hearing and deaf audiences.

One of the more challenging aspects of the play facing Director Julia Ashworth was that the student who would play the lead role of Tuc be deaf, and Ben Featherstone fit the part perfectly.
  
Featherstone wears a cochlear implant to help him hear vibrations as he reads lips.

David Hampton, playing Dr. Grindly Mann and some other characters, and Jason Keeler, playing Roscoe, are also deaf. Several other cast members are fluent in American Sign Language (ASL), which helps them better interpret their roles. The entire play is performed in two languages – English by the actors and ASL by their shadows.
  
The setting for the play is the Roaring '20s in Illinois, and Tuc is struggling to navigate through life, following paths of love, loss and language in a world of silence.

An award-winning drama, the play works to show the true complexities of deafness in the world’s culture while incorporating not only compassion but a great deal of humor.
  
"The Taste of Sunrise" is being performed this month at the Harris Fine Arts Center Margetts Theatre in a 13-show run.