VSA arts Presents Russian Theater Troupe in Wings Are Given to All at the Kennedy Center

November 9, 2005

WASHINGTON, D.C., November 9, 2005 – VSA arts, an affiliate of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, presents “Wings Are Given to All” on Sunday, November 13, 2005 at 6 p.m. at The John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, Millennium Stage. Nedoslov Theatre Company comprised of deaf actors and graduates from Moscow’s Institute for the Arts Drama Department, will give a free performance of this acclaimed production based on the novel, Jonathan Livingston Seagull. The story about the life of a young seagull striving to become a high-soaring flier is told through the creative use of mime and dance and is accessible to both deaf and hearing audiences.

The Institute for the Arts provides professional training for young people with disabilities in fine arts, music, and drama, bringing together students from all over Russia and the former Soviet Union, and helping to breakdown barriers in the arts. The mission of Nedoslov Theatre Company is to give people with disabilities the opportunity to express themselves, presenting their own interpretation of reality through plasticity and miming, and building a bridge between the two worlds of people with and without disabilities.

“We just want this world to become kinder, better and perhaps wiser. A deaf actor feels simpler and purer; he feels lies and falsity more sharply. The audience comes to our theatre to find out some things the actors who are deaf have already discovered, that the world is more colorful,” said Anna Bashenkova, Artistic Director of Nedoslov Theatre Company.

Their work appeared in the film, Allen’s Rule, which received the Audience Prize at the Cinema Beyond Barriers International Film Festival. Nedoslov Theatre Company also took part in the Podium International Festival in Moscow in 2003.

President of VSA arts, Soula Antoniou said, “I was first introduced to this talented cast in June, 2004 when they were featured at the International VSA arts Festival here in Washington, D.C. It is a pleasure to bring them back to Washington.”

“Wings Are Given to All” is also coming to Gallaudet University’s Model Secondary School for the Deaf Theatre Malz on Monday, November 14 at 7:30 p.m. The area performances are a part of a six-city North American tour, coordinated by VSA arts of Texas in collaboration with VSA arts of Russia.

For more information call 202-628-2800.

About VSA arts

VSA arts, an affiliate of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1974 by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith to create a society where all people with disabilities learn through, participate in and enjoy the arts.VSA arts provides educators, parents, and artists with resources and the tools to support arts programming in schools and communities. VSA arts showcases the accomplishments of artists with disabilities and promotes increased access to the arts for people with disabilities. Each year millions of people participate in VSA arts programs through a nationwide network of affiliates and in more than 60 countries around the world. For more information visit www.vsarts.org.

Media Contact

Marcia Rhodes, VSA arts (202) 628-2800 ext. 3883
marciar@vsarts.org

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