The award-winning Deaf West Theatre's (DWT) has named Laura Hill its new Managing Director. This position was previously held by Bill O'Brien and has remained vacant since his departure to the National Endowment for the Arts in 2007.
Ms. Hill joined DWT in 2004 and for the past five years has served in all capacities of the organization. As General Manager, Ms. Hill oversaw the company's operations and programming needs. She has shaped their educational outreach initiatives, recently christened Dramatic Gestures, that yearly reaches over 5,000 deaf and hearing students in the Los Angeles areas. She has worked closely with the Board of Directors to re-invigorate the development and marketing departments including diversifying funding streams and re-designing the company's website. Ms. Hill has been instrumental in producing DWT's shows including A Night of One Acts, Sleeping Beauty Wakes and recent musical revival of Pippin.
Ms. Hill began her professional career in management consulting where she worked with Fortune 500 companies in the areas of project management, communications and training. She has worked for Los Angeles' prestigious Center Theatre Group as Company Manager. Ms. Hill has also served within the deaf community at the Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness and as an interpreter. She is active with local arts and theater advocacy groups.
This September, DWT launches its return to local, seasonal programming at its North Hollywood space with the 30th anniversary production of Tony award winning production Children of a Lesser God.
Deaf West Theatre, Inc., (DWT) was founded in 1991 to improve and enrich the cultural lives of the 1.2 million deaf and hard of hearing individuals who live in the Los Angeles area. DWT is recognized as the premiere sign language theatre in the United States and has consistently set the standard for innovation in deaf theatre. It is the only resident deaf theatre in the western United States and only one of few successful sign language production companies in the country. DWT provides exposure and access to professional theatre, filling a void for deaf artists and audiences. Serving the cultural, educational, social and employment needs of its constituents, DWT is an institution for the discovery and exploration of artists' identities and stature as professionals in the performing arts. Through the medium of Sign Language Theatre, a legacy of deaf culture is created, shared, and preserved which greatly influences mainstream perspectives about the culture and ability of the deaf.
