News & Work

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Summer 2023 - Garrett will be starring as Bobby in Deaf Broadway's third production of a Stephen Sondheim musical at Lincoln Center, COMPANY, alongside a diverse cast of ten other Deaf actors and directed by James Caverly (Hulu's Only Murders in the Building). In addition, as part of his role as the founding Artistic Director of Deaf Broadway, he will also be assistant directing and producing. You can see more at the Deaf Broadway website. We are currently raising the funds for this production, which you can see at this link. All help is immensely appreciated.

November 2-5, 2023 - Garrett's film, Flirting (With Possibilities), will be shown in Los Angeles as part of the SignLight Film Festival.

Summer 2024 - Chosen as one of eighteen out of over 1,200 applicants, Garrett received a full commission for a new piece by The Shed in New York City as part of their biennial Open Call, which comes with full support and funding for a year-and-a-half residency and a mainstage production in the summer of 2024. INSIDE/LOOK will be a narrative, interview-based piece created entirely within the Deaf community that provides an authentic, firsthand glimpse into the lives and work of Deaf artists, opening a rare window onto the incredibly diverse prism of Deaf identity and the unique challenges Deaf folks face.

May 2023 - Garrett produced and directed workshop readings in New York City of two different plays of his dealing with themes of identity within the Deaf community: the modern, original PRIVILEGE and an adaptation of Sophocles' classic PHILOCTETES. These works starred such renowned Deaf actors as 2023 Lucille Lortel nominee Dickie Hearts, 2023 Helen Hayes nominee Christopher Tester, two-time Broadway star John McGinty, and Tony-honoree Alexandria Wailes.

April-May 2023 - Garrett's film, Flirting (With Possibilities), was shown in New York City and Toronto as part of the worldwide Reelabilities Film Festival. Garrett also participated in several panels about being a profoundly Deaf and Queer filmmaker, one of which you can see below with voice and captioning access.

January 2023 - Industry workshop and reading of HARD PLACES featuring Joshua Castille, written and directed by Garrett Zuercher.

November 2022 - Flirting (With Possibilities) was featured as part of the Queens World Film Festival, where it was nominated for Best LGBTQIA+ Short.

August 2022 - Garrett gives an online tutorial on playwriting in American Sign Language for the Connecticut Deaf Theatre.

July-August 2022 - Garrett directs an all-Deaf, all-ASL version of Stephen Sondheim's SWEENEY TODD for presentation at Lincoln Center as part of Deaf Broadway.

June-August 2022 - Garrett was chosen to workshop his Deaf culture adaptation in verse of Sophocles' PHILOCTETES as part of the inaugural class of the Orchard Project's Adaptation Lab.

June-July 2022 - Flirting (With Possibilities) was the only American film featured at the Clin d'Oeil International Deaf Festival in Reims, France, where it received a triple crown of nominations for Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor.

June 2022 - Flirting (With Possibilities) won the award for Best Short by an LGBTQ+ Filmmaker at the Next Generation Indie Film Awards in Los Angeles. It also received nominations for Best Short by a First-Time Filmmaker, Best Supporting Actor for Tom Berklund, and Best Visual Effects for Stephen Drabicki and Andrew Hendrix.

June 8, 2022 - Garrett is the first Deaf person to graduate from Hunter College with an MFA in Playwriting.

May 2022 - Co-directed by Emma Rosa Went and starring James Caverly (Hulu's Only Murders in the Building), Garrett's MFA thesis play HARD PLACES is presented to great acclaim and a packed house at Hunter College's Loewe Theatre.

March 2022 - After a delay in post-production due to the pandemic, Flirting (With Possibilities) is finally completed and makes its world premiere in Paris, France.

September 2021 - Deaf Broadway's inaugural live production, an all-Deaf, all-ASL version of Stephen Sondheim's INTO THE WOODS, directed by Garrett, performs to great acclaim and a packed audience at Lincoln Center. Pictures by Conrado Johns.

May 2021 - A roundtable reading of Garrett's ALCESTIS 2020, a tale of a modern family whose secrets are revealed during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, is done at Hunter College. Mike Donahue directs Rodney Hicks (RENT OBC) and Christopher Hanke (HOW TO SUCCEED..., TV's The Resident) as the queer, mixed-race couple who - along with their adopted son - find themselves torn apart. This play later receives the Zarkower Award from Hunter College for exemplary achievement by a first-year playwright.

Spring 2021 - After winning the Jean Kennedy Smith award from the Kennedy Center, HARD PLACES is chosen by Roundabout to be featured as part of its Reverb Festival. Mentored by DJ Kurs, the artistic director of Deaf West, a scene from HARD PLACES was filmed. You can see it HERE.

February 2021 - Written by Garrett, The Chase is filmed for Easterseals Disability Film Challenge to make a pointed commentary on opportunities for Deaf artists in Hollywood.

January 2021 - During his winter break, Garrett holds virtual readings - one per week - of all four plays he wrote during the first semester of his MFA studies in playwriting at Hunter: HARD PLACES, ALCESTIS 2020, PHILOCTETES, and MALACHI.

September 2020 - Garrett begins his MFA studies in playwriting at Hunter College on the Upper East Side of New York City. His instructors include Pulitzer finalists Clare Barron and Lisa D'Amour, Lloyd Suh, Maria Striar, Gregory Mosher, and Christine Scarfuto. He attends private master classes held by Daniel Alexander Jones, Sharon Bridgforth, Charley Evon Simpson, Lauren Yee, Whitney White, Kristoffer Diaz, Hansol Jung, Erin Courtney, Sheila Callahan, Jaclyn Backhaus, Rajiv Joseph, and Pulitzer Prize winners Martyna Majok and Michael R. Jackson. Garrett's primary goal as a playwright is to create more visibility, awareness, and opportunities for authentically Deaf artists in the theatre industry.

March 2020 - In the early days of the pandemic, Deaf Broadway is founded by Garrett, along with James Caverly, Kimberly Hale, and Miriam Rochford. They are granted exclusive rights by MTI and Stephen Sondheim to create American Sign Language versions of his musicals and, over the next few months, create virtual performances with full casts of Deaf actors. Additional productions include LES MISERABLES and THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. Garrett directs all except for LEGALLY BLONDE.

February 2020 - Written by Garrett, The Witnesses is filmed for Deaf Spotlight's Kiss-Fist 72-Hour Film Challenge, which it later wins.

November 2019 - Garrett directs SYLVIA for the New York Deaf Theatre. In addition, his short play A BAG OF SAND AT APPLEBEE'S is featured as part of the Come to your Senses one-act festival in Denver by the Phamaly Theatre Company.

September 2019 - Flirting (With Possibilities) wraps principal photography. Written and directed by Garrett, he also stars in the film alongside fellow Broadway actors Jason Tam, Tom Berklund, and Jared Johnson. In addition to making a brief cameo, Andrew Keenan-Bolger serves as the director of photography.