Oscar-winner Marlee Matlin to lead program at Converse, visit SC School for Deaf and Blind

Chuck Milteer, Herald-Journal
·2 min read
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Academy Award-winning actor Marlee Matlin will headline a program of story, dance and song at Converse University to celebrate the beginning of Women’s History Month.

The program at Twichell Auditorium is at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 1. Matlin’s message is titled “Nobody's Perfect: Achieving Inclusion, Diversity and Access.”

Matlin was the first deaf performer to win an Oscar in 1987 for her debut movie role in “Children of a Lesser God.” In 2022, she starred alongside the second deaf performer to win the award, Supporting Actor winner Troy Kotsur, in “CODA,” which won Best Picture at last year's Academy Awards ceremony.

Matlin has had numerous film and television roles over her career and is the author of four books, including an autobiography, “I’ll Scream Later.”

Emilia Jones, Troy Kotsur, Marlee Matlin and Daniel Durant in “CODA,” an Apple TV+ film that portrays a teenager and her Deaf family. In one scene, at the dinner table, family members trade insults and jokes as they converse in American Sign Language.
Emilia Jones, Troy Kotsur, Marlee Matlin and Daniel Durant in “CODA,” an Apple TV+ film that portrays a teenager and her Deaf family. In one scene, at the dinner table, family members trade insults and jokes as they converse in American Sign Language.

She has also been a champion for closed captioning access on TV and broadband Internet and for authentic representation of deaf characters, including in “CODA.” She made the casting of a deaf actor opposite her a condition of her participation in the film.

"A lot of people forget that diversity also includes deaf and disabled people," Matlin told People Magazine. "I'm still seeing lack of representation, whether you're talking about in magazines, or online, or on television, or in film. I still feel we've got to remind people constantly."

In addition to the program at Converse, Matlin will visit the South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. Converse’s special education program for deaf and hard-of-hearing students has a professional development partnership with SCSDB.

The evening event is presented by Spartanburg-based Determined to Soar, a non-partisan, nonprofit group whose goal is to celebrate women’s achievements and educate, inspire and unify the next generation of leaders.

The group is led by Valerie Barnet, Nancy Corbin, Louise Fagan, Robyn Hussa Farrell, Julia Lyons and Sabrina Richardson.

Tickets are available from the Converse University Box Office and are $35-$100 for the public with tickets for seniors and students available for $20.

This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Oscar-winner Marlee Matlin to headline program at Converse