marlee matlin. ..made history when she won the oscar for best actress. tut that was 35 years ago, and no deaf actor has triumphed since. but coda could change that. the fact that the film is all about representation and inclusion and accessibility. all that together, that s important. but what s great is that we can see artists at work. deaf artists showing off their craft, showing how they can jump into a character and create a film like this. troy kotsur, who fought for years to get a foothold in the film industry, could become the first deaf man to win an acting 0scar. it s really giving folks a new perspective. and this perspective is something that many have never thought of. when they see deaf people, they think, oh, you can t. but actually, they re dead wrong. we can. we still work hard. we fight, we support our family, we can converse, and the only difference is our language. and so that s what s so beautiful about koda. 50 years ago. the deaf west theatre company