An early disability rights advocate, writer, lecturer and political activist, Helen Keller was a much more complex person than she’s sometimes given credit.
Yes, she lost her sight and hearing from an illness when she was 19 months old. Yes, she only began to learn language at the age of 6. But she was also a founder of the American Civil Liberties Union, the author of 14 books, a member of the Socialist Party of America, and a campaigner for labor rights, women’s suffrage, world peace and people with disabilities.
Keller’s early days are dramatized in William Gibson’s “The Miracle Worker,” now playing at Swift Creek Mill Theatre. Based on Keller’s autobiography “The Story of My Life,” the play recounts how her first teacher and lifelong companion Anne Sullivan was able to connect with her.
In her younger years, Keller was a wild, unruly child who communicated primarily using home signs, a term for a gestural communication system that’s often invented by a deaf child who lacks the ability to access language in other forms. Keller’s life changed at the age of 6 when her parents hired Anne Sullivan to be her new teacher and governess.
“No one could reach her,” says John Moon, director of Swift Creek’s production. “Her parents let her get away with almost anything, because they had no way of controlling her. She’s become someone who thinks she can get her way all the time.”
Back in the late 19th century it was common for blind, deaf and mute children to be institutionalized. Sullivan was well aware that this was a possible outcome for Keller. Partially blind because of a childhood illness, Sullivan grew up in an almshouse and a school for blind people after her mother died and her father abandoned her.
“Annie was a child of one of those asylums and knew what they could be like,” Moon says. “She devoted her life to helping others like her find their place in the world.”
Through patience and persistence, Sullivan was able to connect with Keller. In her autobiography, Keller refers to the day that Sullivan entered her life as “my soul’s birthday.” Sullivan immediately set to work, teaching her the word for “doll.”
“Annie managed, through an amazing amount of perseverance, to break through and teach her language,” Moon says.
Actress Hayley Cartee plays Annie Sullivan in the show.
“It is [Sullivan’s] story, in a lot of respects, about being a teacher and holding a strict line with Helen,” says Cartee.
Cartee says that because of Sullivan’s background, she wasn’t afraid to push Keller to learn.
“That awful, traumatic childhood was what let her crack Helen in some ways,” Cartee says. “Annie knew that words were the key to opening up this whole world for her.”
Though the play imparts a message of persistence, it still has moments of levity. One such scene involves a food fight that occurs when Sullivan tries to teach Keller to eat; eggs and bacon end up airborne.
“It ends with Annie finally getting her to eat from her plate and folding her napkin,” says Cartee. “That’s all they manage, but it’s quite a struggle to get there.”
“The Miracle Worker” plays through Feb. 21 at Swift Creek Mill Theatre, 17401 Route 1, 23834. For more information visit swiftcreekmill.com or call 804-748-5203.
