Bro. Rick Curry, SJ - Performing Arts

Bro. Rick Curry, S.J., PhD entered the Jesuits in 1961 and is the founder and Artistic Director of the National Theatre Workshop of the Handicapped. A Jesuit Brother, Curry holds a Doctorate in Theatre from New York University and an M.A. in Theatre from Villanova University. He has been an observer for the National Theatre of the Deaf, has worked with the BBC in London, toured handicapped schools in Japan and Israel and participated in programs at Loyola School in India.

Brother Curry was a guest speaker at the First International Symposium on Disability Education in Jerusalem and the International Congress of Disability in Madrid, Spain, which was sponsored by Rehabilitation International. He received the President's Award of the National Council on Culture and Arts, and Curry was honored by the President of the United States with the Distinguished Service Award of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. In 1997, Curry opened NTWH-Crosby in Belfast, Maine, the first ever international residential school for persons with disabilities. In 1998, he opened the NTWH Gallery and in 1999 saw the inauguration of the NTWH Belson Bakery, a full service bakery and training school for persons with disabilities offering on line and mail service of Brother Curry's Breads. Brother Curry was the honorary speaker at Villanova University for the graduation class of '99. There has been extensive coverage on Brother Curry and the work of NTWH in major newspapers, as well as national television and radio. Brother Curry, S.J. has appeared in the New York Times, The New Yorker, People Magazine, and on Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, a TV special of NTWH for WABC-TV, National Public Radio, and 60 Minutes. Through the years Brother Curry has been the author of many articles on disability and theatre. Added to these publications are his books, The Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking offered by Harper Collins and The Secrets of Jesuit Soupmaking published by Penquin Putnam Press. All royalties from the books are donated to the Theatre Workshop. Brother Curry is the recipient of Saint Joseph University's 2001 Shield of Loyola Award.