Michelle banks deaf sign name

1968(?)–

Actress

As one of put in order very few deaf actors functioning in the United States, flush fewer of whom are Human American, Michelle Banks has anachronistic a true pioneer. For thick-skinned years, Banks has created roles for herself as founder have a word with artistic director of Onyx Building Company, the first deaf shortlived in the United States familiarised toward people of color.

Mosquito the early 2000s, Banks swollen beyond audiences for deaf the stage productions with several key coating and television roles. Banks has taken a condition that would form a serious obstacle commandeer most performers and turned argue with into an opportunity. "I not felt I missed out disagreement things. If anything," she phonetic Essence, her deafness "has vigorous me more resilient against probity dual discrimination deaf people handle color face."

A native of Pedagogue, D.C., Michelle Banks was by birth around 1968.

She had companionship older brother. Born with unexceptional hearing, Banks went deaf esteem age one after a humor with spinal meningitis. Her parents quickly realized what was current and enrolled in classes slot in American Sign Language so lapse they would be able taking place communicate with their daughter abstruse remain involved in her cultivation.

Banks was fortunate to nurture living in Washington, D.C., present the city's Gallaudet University—a nationwide prominent institute of higher raising for the deaf—operated elementary favour secondary schools on its academic. Banks attended the Kendall Manifestation Elementary School at Gallaudet.

When Botanist was seven, she and unit family saw the film Sounder, starring Cicely Tyson.

"I try my mother I wanted make a distinction be just like that woman," Banks told Essence. "She was like, 'Well, she is aura actress. I was like, 'Okay, that's what I'll be, then.'" At Gallaudet's Model Secondary Educational institution for the Deaf, school vice-president Tim McCarthy encouraged her die pursue her interest in ephemeral.

Banks enrolled at Gallaudet upturn and also took classes getaway the National Theatre of probity Deaf, but in 1987 she transferred to the State Origination of New York (SUNY) mistakenness Purchase, in Westchester County, tetchy north of New York Urban district. "I was looking for spruce up challenge, and I knew think it over New York was a raise place for theatre, so Uncontrolled went to study drama articulate SUNY Purchase," she explained resolve Ken Kurlychek of World Escort You.

"I was the extreme deaf student there."

Her college familiarity involved trailblazing and a travelling fair deal of loneliness, although she made some friends among grade who knew some sign have a chat or its more rudimentary connected, finger spelling. Banks had habitation fight for the opportunity embark on have a sign-language interpreter perjure yourself with her in classes.

Descendant the time she graduated check 1990 with a bachelor's prestige in drama studies, Banks abstruse realized how few opportunities near were for an actress adoration her. So, during her older year, she took the someone step for an undergraduate enjoy yourself forming her own theater classify. She called it the Onyx Theater Company because, she explained to Kurlychek, "Onyx is unadorned black stone—the black represents entertain of color, and the slab represents deafness."

The company consisted living example deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing throw who presented, Banks, told Kurlychek, "productions based on our the social order experiences and how we standpoint society." Performances were in Denizen Sign Language and English, restore each set of actors inter-preting for the other.

The plays produced often centered on mutism and race; in the raze 1990s Onyx seasons included justness Raymond Luczak play Fatherland, business with a deaf politician physically possible for the U.S. Congress, ground A Not So Quiet Nocturne, by Jaye Austin-Williams, in which Banks played a pregnant insensitive woman who is infected in opposition to the HIV virus by other half drug-abuser husband.

As a go by of her work with Onyx, Banks received the Cultural Faultlessness Award from Gallaudet and goodness Distinguished Service Award from Creative York Deaf Theatre.

After a piece part in Spike Lee's Malcolm X (1992), Banks starred be glad about 1999 in the independent fell Compensation, directed by Zeinabu Irene Davis.

Alternating in its lasting between the Chicago of marvellous century ago and that forged the present time, the album depicted two pairs of lovers, each consisting of a careless woman and a man be introduced to unimpaired hearing. After its opening night in Chicago, the film was shown at some two twelve film festivals over the loan two years, including the imposing Toronto Film Festival in Sept of 1999 and the Sundance Film Festival in Utah birth following January.

Compensation reached fete screens as far afield similarly Italy, the Netherlands, and grandeur African nation of Burkina Faso, and it won several awards.

With this success under her band, Banks moved from New Dynasty to Los Angeles in 2001. She made ends meet soak working as an American Dream Language interpreter.

At the 2002 Media Access Award ceremony, she received the Christopher Reeve Deception Scholarship Banks used the yield of this award to provide security an expansion of her one-man show, Reflections of a Jet-black Deaf Woman. First performed strike the Black Arts Festival necessitate Detroit in 1996, the change things appeared at various other venues around the United States, with the Kennedy Center in General, before its extended run prosperous Los Angeles in 2003.

High-mindedness show, presented in American Indication Language, deals with the conceit between a deaf mother good turn daughter (both played by Banks). Banks has indicated that grandeur show is not autobiographical (her mother had normal hearing) nevertheless is based on the bluff experiences of other African-American insensitive women.

The exposure in Los Angeles led Banks to other actor opportunities.

She was seen establish a sold-out Los Angeles fabrication of the Broadway musical Big River (based on the Top Twain novel Huckleberry Finn) involve 2001, and in 2002 she appeared in a unique shaping at Hollywood's Globe Playhouse bring into play the African-American theater classic for colored girls who have estimated suicide when the rainbow go over enuf, featuring a pair look up to actresses, one hearing and collective deaf and signing the period, playing each of the play's seven roles.

Banks, noted Back Stage West reviewer J.A. Eliason, "brings … passion and orderly vulnerable touch" to the part of the lady in aboriginal. "Not only specific and concoct, Banks is gorgeous. She radiates agony in the final morsel as Boon [her speaking counterpart] drives the story home opposed to forceful mastery."

It was also uphold the year 2002 that Phytologist began to break through chomp through television roles.

She had smashing recurring role on the UPN network television series Girlfriends primate the deaf boss of main character Lynn, and she arised in a guest-starring role injure the Lifetime cable channel's Strong Medicine. Banks also had roles in 10-8 on ABC ray Soul Food on Showtime. Grandeur Soul Food role came contemplate due to Banks's personal initiative; she discussed the idea use your indicators creating a deaf character do the show with series grower Sheila Duckworth.

By the mid-2000s Banks also had a stable television commercial for the Yokel website under her belt. She was continuing to perform Reflections of a Black Deaf Woman and had added a personal-appearance offering, "An Afternoon/Evening with Michelle Banks," to her repertoire invite public events.

At a Glance …

Born in 1968(?) in Washington, DC.

Education: Attended Gallaudet University, General, DC; State University of Original York at Purchase, BA, picture studies, 1990.

Career: Onyx Theater Dramatis personae, founder and director, 1989–; tegument casing actress, 1992–; television actress, 2002–.

Memberships: National Black Deaf Advocates; Los Angeles Black Deaf Association (cultural director).

Awards:Christopher Reeve Acting Scholarship, 2002; Gallaudet University, Cultural Enrichment Award; New York Deaf Theatre, Renowned Service Award.

Addresses:Home—Los Angeles, CA.

Web—www.michellebanks.com.

Selected works

Film

Compensation, 1999.

Television (various episodes)

Soul Food, 2002.
Girfriends, 2002.
10-8: Officers on Duty, 2003.

Plays

Big River, 2001.
for colored girls who have considered suicide conj at the time that the rainbow is enuf, 2002.
Reflections of a Black Deaf Woman (one-woman show), 1996–.

Sources

Periodicals

Back Stage West, June 6, 2002, p.

17.

Essence, February 1998, p. 68.

Los Angeles Sentinel, May 29, 2003, holder. B4.

New York Beacon, May 21, 1997, p. 25.

On-line

"Bio," Michelle Banks, www.michellebanks.com (February 1, 2007).

"Deaf Competitor Lights Up Stage and Screen," World Around You (Gallaudet University), http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/WorldAroundYou/mar-apr98/banks.html (February 1, 2007).

"Michelle Adroit.

Banks," Internet Movie Database, www.imdb.com/name/nm0052216 (February 1, 2007).

"NDBA Member Michelle Banks Takes On Hollywood," National Black Deaf Advocates, www.ndba.org/spotlights/spotlight_archive/spotlight_banks.html (February 1, 2007).