Three days of deaf theater

The Tony-honored musical “Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” a Deaf West Theatre triumph, recognized the talents of deaf and hearing-impaired theater professionals who generally fly under the radar.

This week’s International Sign Language Theater Festival is intended to do the same, said CJ Jones, a deaf stage and screen actor who heads the nonprofit organization Hands Across Communications, the event’s presenter.

The festival, running Thursday through Saturday at the Warner Center Marriott in Woodland Hills, will offer wide-ranging theater from many countries, Jones said, speaking through an interpreter.

Event hosts include Tony Award-winning deaf actress Phyllis Frelich (“Children of a Lesser God”); Bernard Bragg, co-founder of the National Theatre of the Deaf; “Sesame Street” regular Linda Bove; Anthony Natale (“Mr. Holland’s Opus”); and Deanne Bray of the TV series “Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye.”

Shows include the Russian Theatre of the Deaf’s interpretation of Shakespeare; Mexico’s Sena y Verbo company’s children’s tale “The King Who Could Not Hear, Yet Listened”; performances for adults and children by Deaf West Theatre artists; and a piece by the Czech Republic’s Divadlo Neslysim (I Cannot Hear Theatre).

“There will also be stories about being deaf and growing up in the United States,” Jones said, including his signature solo show, “What Are You . . . Deaf?”

“We’re encouraging everyone to come. It will be fully accessible for everyone,” Jones said. “For hearing people not fluent in sign language there will be interpreters using spoken English. Our goal is to share the enjoyment of the arts with deaf and hearing people together.”