Patrick Graybill

Patrick Graybill, born August 29, 1939, in Overland Park, Kansas, is an American Deaf actor, storyteller, poet, educator, and Roman Catholic deacon whose career has centered on American Sign Language performance and literature. He is widely recognized in the Deaf community for his contributions to ASL poetry and storytelling, and has been called the grandfather of ASL poetry. His Broadway appearance came in 1970, when he performed in Songs From Milk Wood.

Graybill grew up in a family of seven children, five of whom were deaf. He attended the Kansas School for the Deaf, completing his studies there in 1958, before enrolling at Gallaudet College. At Gallaudet he studied English and participated actively in theatrical programs, earning a Bachelor of Arts in English in 1963 and a master's degree in education in 1964. Following graduation, he taught at the Kendall School for the Deaf in Washington, D.C.

In 1969, Graybill became a founding member of the National Theatre of the Deaf, one of the first professional theater companies in the United States dedicated to performances in American Sign Language. He performed with the company for approximately a decade, taking part in numerous productions during its international tours. During that same period he also directed and taught in the company's Professional Theatre School, a training program for Deaf actors. His stage work helped develop a form of visual performance that combined ASL, gesture, and theatrical movement for both Deaf and hearing audiences. His 1970 Broadway credit, Songs From Milk Wood, came during his tenure with the company.

After departing the National Theatre of the Deaf, Graybill joined the faculty of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, a college within the Rochester Institute of Technology. He taught performing arts and ASL literature there for more than two decades, retiring in 2004. Alongside his teaching responsibilities, he conducted lectures and workshops addressing ASL storytelling, translation between English and ASL, and Deaf cultural traditions. In 2005, St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Florida, conferred upon him an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.

Graybill was ordained a Roman Catholic permanent deacon in 1982 and served for many years at Emmanuel Church of the Deaf in Rochester, New York.