What do you do when your identity and language are challenged? Dinner Note, a new production written by Rhonda Cochran and directed by Michelle Banks E-’89, exposes layers of history, trauma, and joy within the Black Deaf experience.
Gallaudet University Performing Arts (GUPA) will host a run of two shows over two weekends: March 26-29 and April 2-5. Tickets are available now.
Theatre Arts Professor Ethan Sinnott calls the production a “landmark moment for deaf theatre.”
“This is a totally original story, written by a Black Deaf woman, being produced right here at Gallaudet,” Sinnott says. “I hope it sparks a flame, motivating others to write more Black Deaf stories in the future. We need more stories like this in our national Deaf theatre ecosystem.”
The events of Dinner Note begin when Junior, a Black Deaf high school sophomore, delivers a heartfelt presentation in front of his class. Instead of praise, his teacher sends him home with a note. Around the dinner table, Junior’s family discusses language, culture, and respect. Their conversations unpack larger issues about the experiences of Black Deaf students and the legacy of Black Deaf culture.
A narrative crafted by lived experience and language
The cast of Dinner Note easily see themselves in Cochran’s story. Antawn Wanliss, a freshman majoring in Art and Media Design and minoring in Dance, plays Junior. “I can embody Junior’s story because of my own experiences,” Wanliss says. “This story shows what we people of color go through every day…whether it’s racism or being looked down on.”
Junior represents a combination of two strong Black Deaf parents from different backgrounds. His father Myron uses Black American Sign Language (BASL), which has its roots in the southern United States. His mother, Leena, is a proud Black Deaf woman who grew up in the Pacific Northwest, where BASL isn’t widely used.
Myron and Leena met for the first time at Gallaudet University. Fittingly the actors portraying the roles are Gallaudet alumni themselves.
Candace Jones, ’08, plays Leena, a Black Deaf woman from the Seattle. Today, Jones is a mother and teacher passionate about supporting Black and Brown Deaf youth. However, just like Leena, she didn’t find full her identity until entering college. She recalls, “Growing up, I internalized my identity as a Black person while feeling pressure to align with Deaf identity in school settings. I was not taught about Black Deaf culture, intersectionality, or BASL until I graduated from Gallaudet in the late 2000s.”
Aarron Loggins ’08, plays Myron, a Black Deaf man born and raised in Alabama. Myron attended Alabama School for the Deaf, as did many of his family members. His grandparents attended the school during its desegregation, which only happened in 1968, 14 years after Brown v. Board of Education. Loggins was able to pull from his own family’s legacy in Mississippi.
“The Black Deaf community in the South lived in terror from the terrible racism of that time, and Myron carries that generational trauma with him,” says Loggins. “To be a role model, he has to think out of the box to protect himself and his family. During the story, he shows love and understanding while still cherishing his roots by passing on BASL to Junior.”
Both Leena and Myron’s backgrounds meld in Junior, becoming something Loggins calls “BASL 2.0,” the more contemporary language used in the play. The interplay of languages in Dinner Note shows the resilience of Black Deaf culture and BASL.
Cooking up Dinner Note
Banks, the director, and Cochran, the playwright, first worked together in Cochran’s hometown of Seattle. Banks directed Cochran in “Flower Shop,” one of six stories presented by Deaf Spotlight as part of the Short Play Festival. They hit it off, bonding over their shared experiences as Black Deaf women in the arts.
Around this time, Cochran received a grant from Sound Theatre Company to support her creative work. She was researching and reflecting on the diversity of Black Deaf experiences and wanted to combine this exploration with her love of theatre by writing a play.
She started by writing the things that happened to herself and her loved ones, and incorporated the powerful poetry of her friend, Irvine Stewart, ’01 & G-’03. Alexandria Wailes, a storied Deaf actor and director, worked with Cochran as dramaturge to develop each character and their place within the broader story. A flashback to Leena’s time as a Black Deaf student in the Pacific Northwest is based on Cochran’s own experiences. “Everything about Leena’s character is very intentional,” Cochran says.
In 2024, Banks flew to Seattle to direct a stage reading of Dinner Note. Cochran recalls: “After the reading, I was overwhelmed. So many Black Deaf people came up to me afterwards and asked, ‘How did you know that happened to me?’ I teared up because I realized I’m not the only one. My daughter is not the only one. So many of us have had those similar experiences. I felt I was on the right path with the play.”
The experience left such an impression on Banks that she was determined to bring Dinner Note to D.C. Her theatre company, Visionaries of the Creative Arts (VOCA), is a platform for deaf, deafblind, deaf plus, and hard of hearing BIPOC artists to showcase their artistic work both on stage and backstage. “I wanted to bring that idea of a Black Deaf family showing a strong, supportive Black Deaf culture and BASL to the light. There aren’t enough stories like that on stage,” says Banks.
“It’s been a wonderful journey for me because as I see VOCA expanding, I see more opportunities emerging for Deaf BIPOC artists,” Banks says. “It requires so much work, but it’s also beautiful.” Her work has paid off: last year’s co-production of A Strange Loop with Deaf Austin Theatre has been nominated for six Helen Hayes Awards. The show was supported by three interns from GUPA.
Nurturing talent off stage
The Gallaudet-VOCA partnership is a professional pipeline for students interested in performing arts. “I see students growing personally and professionally, and how they bring those skills onto the stage and backstage. They can thrive not just at my company, but at any theatre company out there,” says Banks.
Banks has been a strong role model for her cast. Wanliss says he would never have tried out for a lead role had Banks not convinced him of his capabilities. “She saw something in me I didn’t see in myself,” he says. He’s especially touched by Banks’ unfailing commitment to the show despite her mother’s recent passing, saying, “That’s been really powerful to see.”
She hopes that Dinner Note will teach audiences something new about Black Deaf culture and BASL. Banks says, “I’d like the audience to leave with a better understanding of how we live our lives as Black Deaf people and to accept and embrace us.”
Her hopes for Black Deaf audience members? She hopes they lean forward in their seats, point at the stage and sign, “That’s me on stage! Finally, someone is telling my story.”
Buy your tickets to Dinner Note and experience Gallaudet’s theatre arts program firsthand!
