A profoundly Deaf stage and screen artist, Garrett Zuercher is equally native in English and American Sign Language and creates in both, often simultaneously. In May of 2022, he completed his MFA in playwriting from Hunter College in the heart of New York City. In addition, Garrett is also the founder and artistic director of Deaf Broadway, a collective of Deaf actors who make iconic works of the American canon visually accessible for their own community in their own language. As a director, Garrett has staged his own award-winning play QUID PRO QUO at the Kennedy Center and two separate Sondheim musicals at Lincoln Center: INTO THE WOODS in 2021 and SWEENEY TODD in 2022. Currently, Deaf Broadway is in the midst of planning their 2023 season, so watch for announcements.
Immediately after graduating magna cum laude from Marquette University in Milwaukee with his bachelor's degree in theatre and creative writing, Garrett got his big break in the lead role of Huckleberry Finn in Deaf West’s landmark Broadway production of BIG RIVER and has not stopped working since. Notably, he can be seen a featured role in Todd Haynes’ Wonderstruck alongside Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams and was the ill-fated murderer on an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent where he got absolutely chewed out by Vincent D'Onofrio.
As a writer, in addition to many other honors, he has received multiple awards from the Kennedy Center for two of his plays. In the spring of 2021, his HARD PLACES was featured as part of Roundabout Theatre’s Reverb Theatre Festival. A second play - ALCESTIS 2020, about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on a closely-knit modern family - won the 2021 Zarkower Award from Hunter College. In all, his plays have repeatedly been finalists and semifinalists for development at the Eugene O'Neill Center, the Anderson Center, Playwrights Realm, the Playwrights' Center Core Writer and Venturous Fellowship, and the Princess Grace Playwriting Fellowship. In the summer of 2022, he was a member of the inaugural cohort of the Adaptation Lab with the Orchard Project to further develop his verse adaptation of Sophocles' PHILOCTETES, the main theme of which is the appropriation of Deaf culture and language by the hearing majority for their own gain.
His short film, The Witnesses, won the 2020 Seattle Deaf Film Festival competition. Another short film he wrote and directed, Flirting (With Possibilities), in which he also stars in alongside Broadway actors such as Jason Tam, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, and John-Andrew Morrison, recently made its world premiere in Paris, France in March of 2022 and continues to win awards and honors at festivals around the world. At the prestigious and international Clin d'Oeil in Reims in July 2022, Flirting (With Possibilites) was not just the only American film recognized, but Garrett was also bestowed with a rare triple crown of nods for Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Film. In October of 2022, the film finally came home and made its New York premiere as part of the Queens World Film Festival, screening just a few blocks away where it was originally filmed.
Dedicated to bringing authentic Deaf voices to the mainstream, Garrett continues to advocate for awareness and representation within the theatre and film industries.
Immediately after graduating magna cum laude from Marquette University in Milwaukee with his bachelor's degree in theatre and creative writing, Garrett got his big break in the lead role of Huckleberry Finn in Deaf West’s landmark Broadway production of BIG RIVER and has not stopped working since. Notably, he can be seen a featured role in Todd Haynes’ Wonderstruck alongside Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams and was the ill-fated murderer on an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent where he got absolutely chewed out by Vincent D'Onofrio.
As a writer, in addition to many other honors, he has received multiple awards from the Kennedy Center for two of his plays. In the spring of 2021, his HARD PLACES was featured as part of Roundabout Theatre’s Reverb Theatre Festival. A second play - ALCESTIS 2020, about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on a closely-knit modern family - won the 2021 Zarkower Award from Hunter College. In all, his plays have repeatedly been finalists and semifinalists for development at the Eugene O'Neill Center, the Anderson Center, Playwrights Realm, the Playwrights' Center Core Writer and Venturous Fellowship, and the Princess Grace Playwriting Fellowship. In the summer of 2022, he was a member of the inaugural cohort of the Adaptation Lab with the Orchard Project to further develop his verse adaptation of Sophocles' PHILOCTETES, the main theme of which is the appropriation of Deaf culture and language by the hearing majority for their own gain.
His short film, The Witnesses, won the 2020 Seattle Deaf Film Festival competition. Another short film he wrote and directed, Flirting (With Possibilities), in which he also stars in alongside Broadway actors such as Jason Tam, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, and John-Andrew Morrison, recently made its world premiere in Paris, France in March of 2022 and continues to win awards and honors at festivals around the world. At the prestigious and international Clin d'Oeil in Reims in July 2022, Flirting (With Possibilites) was not just the only American film recognized, but Garrett was also bestowed with a rare triple crown of nods for Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Film. In October of 2022, the film finally came home and made its New York premiere as part of the Queens World Film Festival, screening just a few blocks away where it was originally filmed.
Dedicated to bringing authentic Deaf voices to the mainstream, Garrett continues to advocate for awareness and representation within the theatre and film industries.