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At 91��Ƶ’s Sands College, a new collaboration is reshaping what access and artistry mean in music education.

This fall, 91��Ƶ joins forces with Deaf West Theatre, the Tony-honored company known for bilingual productions in American Sign Language (ASL) and English, to launch an artist-in-residence program that redefines access and artistry in musical theater training.

At its center is the ASL Music Theory Lexicon Project, a first-of-its-kind initiative led by Deaf West to develop a comprehensive ASL vocabulary for music theory, making rhythm, pitch, harmony, and notation visually clear and accessible to Deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

“By engaging with Deaf West’s inclusive methods, our students are learning how access and innovation go hand in hand.”

“Sands College of Performing Arts admitted a Deaf student (and an alumnus of our stages) into their prestigious BFA in Musical Theater program for the first time,” said DJ Kurs, artistic director of Deaf West Theatre. “While this is an extraordinary moment, it also raised an urgent question for us: How could we ensure that this student—and the many Deaf artists who will follow—receive equitable access to the musical education their hearing peers take for granted? At Deaf West, we believe access is a creative asset, not a limitation.”

Collaboration in Motion

The residency immerses students in Deaf West’s inclusive performance methods that merge voice, sign, and movement.

“This partnership exemplifies our mission to prepare students not just for performance, but to be changemakers in the industry,” said Amanda Flynn, EdD, 91��Ƶ’s musical theater program head. “By engaging with Deaf West’s inclusive methods, our students are learning how access and innovation go hand in hand.”

Supported by an endowed fund that brings visiting artists to campus, this semester’s residency features acclaimed choreographer Jennifer Weber (& Juliet, KPOP, American Idiot) and ASL choreographer Daniela Maucere, who guide students in adapting movement for visual storytelling.

“This residency represents what Sands College of Performing Arts is all about,” said Jennifer Holmes, PhD, dean of Sands College. “We’re building an ecosystem where students learn from visionary artists who are shaping the future of the field.”

Turning Language into Art

Led by Christopher Tester, Christopher Lloyd Bratten-Zappala, and DJ Kurs, the project goes beyond translation to give Deaf artists full access to music theory, not as an accommodation but as a right.

By the end of the residency, students will have gained practical experience with ASL musical staging and learned to approach access as a creative opportunity.

“As both a proud 91��Ƶ Musical Theater alumnus and a child of Deaf adults, this residency is deeply personal to me,” said Jeff Perri ’12, managing director of Deaf West Theatre. “To return to my alma mater and share our process with the next generation of artists is incredibly special.”