Bernard Bragg
| Bernard Bragg | |
|---|---|
| Born |
September 27, 1928 Brooklyn, New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Actor, producer, director, playwright, artist, author |
| Known for | Co-founder of the National Theatre of the Deaf |
Bernard Bragg (born September 27, 1928) is a deaf actor, producer, director, playwright, artist, and author who is notable for being a co-founder of the National Theatre of the Deaf and for his contributions to Deaf performing culture. According to The New York Times, Bernard Bragg has been "regarded by many as the leading professional deaf actor in the country".
Bernard Bragg was born on September 27, 1928, in Brooklyn, New York. He grew up learning sign language, which was taught to him by his two deaf parents. From a young age, Bernard demonstrated an interest in theatre, which developed as a result of the influence of his father, who was an amateur actor and play manager. Throughout his childhood and adolescence, Bragg attended the New York School for the Deaf, informally known as "Fanwood", and entered Gallaudet College (now University) upon graduating in 1947. Whilst attending Gallaudet, Bragg studied theater under a deaf professor named Frederick Hughes, and starred as the lead role in a number of school plays, for which he won numerous honors. Ultimately, Bragg's theatrical activity culminated in his directing of a play, an adaptation of John Galsworthy's Escape. In addition to theater, Bernard Bragg wrote poetry throughout his time in college, earning the Teegarden Award for Creative Poetry in his senior year.
Shortly after graduating from Gallaudet College in 1952, Bragg was offered a teaching position at the California School for the Deaf, Berkeley, which he accepted. Whilst working as a member of the school faculty, Bragg was given the authority to direct drama productions performed by the students of the institution. In addition, Bragg contributed to shows staged by the National Association of the Deaf and the Los Angeles Club of the Deaf outside of school hours. Four years after becoming a teacher, in 1956, Bragg met the world-famous mime Marcel Marceau after seeing one of his shows in San Francisco. Marceau took a liking to the aspiring actor, and offered to teach him mime in France. Bragg accepted the offer, and travelled to Paris at the end of the 1956 school year. Upon returning to the United States, Bragg began performing mime in various locations throughout the state of California while maintaining his career as a teacher. In addition, Bragg enrolled in San Francisco State University, graduating with a master's degree in special education and a minor in drama in 1959. Two years later, in 1961, a New York University psychologist named Dr. Edna Levine petitioned Bragg about the possibility of creating a professional troupe of exclusively deaf actors. Although funding for the concept could not initially be achieved, the project was saved by David Hays, a Broadway set designer, who overtook management for the idea in 1966. In 1967, Bernard Bragg met with Hays and several other performers and individuals involved in the theatre, and together they founded the National Theatre of the Deaf in Connecticut, prompting Bragg to quit his job as a teacher at the California School for the Deaf, a position which he held for 15 years.
...
Wikipedia