ORLANDO, Fla. – Lately, we’ve seen theater become more and more accessible for the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community. Television shows are hiring more actors who are deaf and even have their own episodes from their perspective, theaters are offering special performances, and plays are including American Sign Language shadow interpreters.
For Keith Banks, it’s something he has added to his own performances at Orlando Fringe’s annual winter festival through his show, “Becoming Grandma Kat.”
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Banks uses ASL throughout the entirety of the performance, something he said he’s received positive feedback about.
“Many of the audiences whom attended were hearing and it was their first experience attending a Deaf theater performance with immersion of ASL and voice intercepted, which allows them to introduce a different world, a Deaf world which has its values,” Banks said.
“The end goal was to help resonate with the mainstream audience about the essence of usage of American Sign Language (ASL) in theatre as there are limited opportunities for deaf and hard-of-hearing artists in Florida to showcase their works,” he explained.
Banks grew up in Orlando, where he lost his hearing at a young age and began wearing hearing aids. When he had to transition into high school, he enrolled in the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine. He learned more about deaf culture, and American Sign Language, and gained a lot of resources that got him interested in performing.
His show “Becoming Grandma Kat” is about a social media influencer who unknowingly was involved in a pyramid scheme. He decided to join the witness protection program, but federal agents are trying reveal his true identity. He starts dressing up as an elderly deaf woman named Grandma Kat who runs a small diner. As he becomes trapped in his new persona, he faces challenges that test his ability to keep his identity hidden.
Banks said his inspiration from the show comes from an annual Black History program at his school, where he learned about the hidden figures of Black history.
“Since it was my senior year in high school, I wanted to do something that people would remember about me once I graduated,” Banks said.
He loves Tyler Perry’s character of Madea, and decided to do a skit as a tribute to him. He said many students and staff loved his performance.
“People would call me Mama Banks, and I took that idea and wanted to create some type of artistry for that character. I did event appearances in college, eventually wrote a play structure, change the character name to “Grandma Kat” from my own grandma’s name and her history/character traits,” Banks said.
Now that Banks is back to living and working in Orlando, he said he wants to see more changes in the local theater community.
“I would love to see more accessibility, inclusivity, and representation of deaf people with our local community here in Orlando and around the world. Deaf people don’t just want accessibility in theater, but also their stories to be seen and performed in the same shared theatre space as hearing artists and performers,” Banks said.
He said he would love to see deaf artists, creatives, and playwrights on theater staff and boards, which could help ensure that representation.
It’s part of the reason why he wants to establish his own theater company for the Deaf and hard-of-hearing.
“There are limited opportunities here in Florida for deaf and hard of hearing artists to portray their artistry works, whether it’s on or off-stage or in mainstream media compared to other states in the United States,” Banks said.
“We have many talented deaf individuals, yet there’s no Deaf theater mainstream/theatre venue to showcase their creative works.”
Banks is still in the early stages of his goal. Right now, he’s searching for theater creatives with the same vision as him to help with planning finance, so he can transform what he calls the Florida Deaf Theatre Project into a nonprofit deaf theater organization.
When it comes to other artists who are deaf or hard-of hearing, Banks had this message:
“Don’t let your hearing disability get in the way of your passion for performing, there’s many resources and accessibility tools and resources. Go and seek out opportunities to showcase your talent.”