Theater By The Blind
"Theater By The Blind is a critically acclaimed company made up of both visually impaired and sighted theatre professionals. Founded in 1979, the company’s mission is to change the image of the blind from one of dependence to independence, to fight the stereotypes and misperceptions associated with blindness, and to show how vibrant, fluid and exuberant the visually impaired can be. Theater By The Blind is the only theater in the United States doing quality professional work to achieve this goal.


Under the Artistic Direction of Founder Ike Schambelan and George Ashiotis, the company has developed several principal programs to achieve its mission. Among them: developing visually impaired talent for theater, movies and TV; writing original material revealing the world of the blind; touring to bring this material to as many people as possible; performing traditional material in a style to make it fully accessible to the blind; developing blind audiences; and integrating both the blind and the sighted in a shared aesthetic experience that bridges the gap between them.

The company performs for every kind of audience member imaginable, from general New York theatergoers to seniors, students and other underserved populations. Theater By The Blind is most proud of its visually impaired audience, which make up 10% of the theater's attendees. Since .2% of the country is visually impaired they are proud of this figure but are working to increase it.

In its long history, Theater By The Blind has won several awards, including the Califormia Governors Media Access Award, the Very Special Arts/New York City Mayor’s Award and the American Foundation for the Blind’s Helen Keller Achievement Award in Performing Arts."