Highlights from BWW's Debut of the Month SPRING AWAKENING Series

Throughout September, BWW's Debut of the Month column profiled five of the talented actors who are making their Broadway debuts in Deaf West's exciting new production of Spring Awakening. Below, check out highlights from their interviews and be sure to read the articles in full to learn just how truly special these performers are!

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Miles Barbee (Otto Lammermeier): "American Sign Language brought a lot more layers to the story because it shows that we, deaf people, are humans too. We don't show any sign of deaf issues. We go through the same problems that the hearing characters do. Sign language also definitely deepened the theatrical experience in choreography because of the musical movement combined with signing movement that is still clear to the audience, both deaf and hearing." Click here to read the interview in full.

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Kathryn Gallagher, (voice of Martha Bessell, Guitar): "I remember when Michael [Arden] asked me if I could play "The Bitch of Living," the most rocking song in the show - without hesitation I said "Yeah! Of course! Give me the night!" And I went home and practiced till my fingers bled. So becoming the kind of guitarist I would want to play with has been a big challenge for me, but everyone in our show has something that's new. Doing a show in two different languages, that's hard. Every single moment I think to myself, "Okay, I'm getting the hang of this," a new challenge presents itself. I love it though - we're all trying things and failing and trying again until we nail it. It's awesome. We're all in it together." Click here to read the interview in full.

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Daniel David Stewart, (voice of Ernst, Piano): "My initial thought as an actor is, "How can I attack the emotion through the music? How can I act without talking or miming, and have the audience feel the intended emotion through the music?" Duncan Sheik has written one of the most beautiful scores in the history of the American theatre and a lot of that is because of the emotional vitality of the music. You can hear a refrain and know what the intended emotion of the song is. I was able to latch onto that as a blueprint and thrust myself into the raw emotion of the music. It informed my playing. It informed my acting. It informed everything I bring on that stage." Click here to read the interview in full.

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Treshelle Edmond, (Martha Bessell ): "One big challenge with this production has been to go deep to the core about what our character stands for, to connect with my character and be able to convey that passion and emotion every single night. Spring Awakening is like a rebirthing of our curiosities, to reflect our pains. It has been tough to connect with that pain and bring it out in the show every single night. It can be draining, but when it's show time I never get tired of telling this story together." Click here to read the interview in full

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Joshua Castille, (Ernst): "I think that the show becomes a platform for the Deaf community to show their experiences and what they go through to survive in the end. I feel sometimes when an underprivileged group explains their experience it is perceived as whiney or angry. This show takes you on the journey, where you get a slight glimpse of what happens and what can happen." Click here to read the interview in full

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Deaf West Theater's production of Spring Awakening is currently playing at Broadway's Brook Atkinson Theater. An extra two weeks of performances have recently been added to the limited engagement, extending the show's run through Sunday, January 24th.

Deaf West's innovative new production takes this already revolutionary musical to electrifying new heights by choreographing sign language into the production, intensifying the rift between the lost and longing teenagers and the adults who refuse to hear them. The production is directed by Michael Arden and features music by Duncan Sheik, book and lyrics by Steven Sater and choreography by Spencer Liff.

Photo: Joan Marcus