In mid-May, Sunshine 2.0—a professional theater troupe from the Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf—held a series of theater workshops for Deaf and Hard of Hearing students from schools across Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.
The student workshops took place at Ralph Dunlap Elementary School in Orcutt, while the group also recently hosted a community performance for the general public at Ethel Pope Auditorium, located at Santa Maria High School. Students who participated in the classes ranged in age from preschool to high school.
Sunshine 2.0 incorporates American Sign Language, signed songs, and various games into its workshops and performances. The group’s recent visit to the Central Coast was arranged by local deaf and hard of hearing teacher Kelly Sanders, with support from both the Santa Barbara County Office of Education and the San Luis Obispo County Office of Education.
To find out more about Sunshine 2.0, visit rit.edu/ntid/sunshine. The traveling group specializes in bringing its program to public schools, colleges, civic group venues, and other outlets around the country.
For more info on future programs hosted by either the Santa Barbara County Office of Education or the San Luis Obispo County Office of Education, visit sbceo.org or slocoe.org, respectively.
This article appears in Summer Guide 2023.