Graybill, Patrick

Born deaf at Overland Park, KS; graduated the Kansas School for the Deaf, 1958, then from Gallaudet College (B.A., 1963 and M.A., 1964). Active in dramatics at Gallaudet. Rejected for a teacher certification program because of his deafness, he and other deaf people petitioned for a probationary period, which eventually won him a job at the Kendall School for the Deaf. Appeared on local TV programming and in community theater; left teaching in 1967 to enroll at Catholic University in theology, but switched to acting with the National Theatre of the Deaf as a founding member in 1969. Remained with NTD for 10 years, then became artistic consultant at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, teaching advanced acting and translation into ASL.