Resilience in the D is a five-part series launched to commemorate BridgeDetroit’s fifth anniversary and recognize Detroiters who have made a difference in their communities. Selections were made based on resident nominations.

Although he couldn’t hear the words, a love for film and storytelling was cemented into Theodore “Teddy” Dorsette III from a young age. 

Every Sunday, his father, Teddy Dorsette II, would take him and his siblings to the dollar theater to watch blockbusters on the big screen. Since Dorsette is deaf, he couldn’t hear the dialogue spoken between the characters, but could still feel the vibrations of the sounds and music. 

“It was really fun going as a youth and spending time with family,” the Detroiter told BridgeDetroit through an interpreter. “That really captivated me, as well as seeing different stories. I could see the world through film, and I could create my vision through film.” 

Now 39, Dorsette is a filmmaker and actor who has worked in various mediums, from short films and documentaries to music videos. And like many Detroiters, Dorsette is a hustler, founding or co-founding several companies: Def Lens Media, which offers marketing, creative design and video production services; media production company TeddyBoy Films and Entertainment; Metropolitan Interpreting Services and Dorsette Hair Designs VIP. In 2014, he established a nonprofit Reel Def Entertainment, which encourages deaf and hard of hearing youth to explore careers in the entertainment industry. 

While Deaf representation in media has increased in recent years with films and shows like “CODA,” “A Quiet Place” and “The Last of Us,” there’s more that needs to be done, Dorsette said. 

A 2022 report from global insights and strategy firm National Research Group showed that more than half of deaf consumers say they “rarely” or “never” see their identities represented in film and TV, and even greater numbers say the same about other media such as books, live theater, and video games. 

“We’re seeing more deaf individuals in story lines and seeing that representation, but the only way that can happen is if deaf individuals and those who are disabled are doing those stories because others are not producing them and writing them like we are,” Dorsette said. 

Dorsette is also known for his advocacy work in the disability community. He helped the Michigan Department of Civil Rights Division on Deaf, Deaf Blind and Hard of Hearing Department facilitate the development of the needs assessment survey that collects data from those communities. Dorsette served on two advisory councils: the Michigan Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Board of Interpreters and the State Independent Living Council and was a communications manager for Detroit Disability Power. 

Most recently, Dorsette dabbled in politics, running unsuccessfully as a write-in, at-large candidate for Detroit City Council. He said his long-term goal is to continue to be an advocate for marginalized communities that may not be able to speak for themselves. 

“I fight for equality for everyone,” Dorsette said. “I can be that individual who can speak up and say, ‘It’s time for people to have a seat at the table where all voices are heard, not just a select few.’” 

Following his passion 

Dorsette is proud to be from the D and proud to be in the Deaf community. On several of his websites and social media bios, Dorsette notes that he’s a “fifth-generation deaf-born native Detroiter.” 

While Dorsette’s father is a hearing person, his mother is hard of hearing and his twin sister is deaf, along with Dorsette’s other sister and brother. While in elementary and middle school, Dorsette and his siblings were part of the Total Communication Program for Detroit Public Schools Community District, where they learned with other deaf and hard of hearing children. 

Dorsette’s mother, Darlene Dorsette, made sure to be involved in his education, along with his siblings. She was a longtime educator in the special education department for DPSCD and is currently the supervisor for the district’s Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program. 

“I was always there for parent-teacher conferences, I went on field trips with my children, I made sure I had a good rapport with all of my kids’ teachers, so that helped me to stay very much involved with Teddy’s educational journey,” Darlene Dorsette said. 

Eventually, Teddy began showing more interest in talking instead of signing, and he was transferred into the district’s auditory-oral communication program, which centers hearing and speech to develop spoken language.

Beginning in the ninth grade, Dorsette went “mainstream,” taking classes at Cass Technical High School with hearing students. He graduated in 2004. 

Growing up, Dorsette was an outgoing kid who loved sports, Darlene Dorsette said. While at Cass Tech, he played on the football team. But Dorsette also cared about his family and friends and would do anything to support them. 

“The one special thing about Teddy growing up was he cared a lot about his friends and did what he could to make sure that they were just as successful as he was,” Darlene Dorsette said. “When he saw his friends in class that were struggling, he took time to speak with some of his teachers, to let them know how to support his friends and resolve some of the issues that his friends were having in the classroom.” 

After high school, Dorsette attended the University of Michigan. Despite his love for the arts, Dorsette majored in health and science with dreams of becoming a doctor. During his sophomore year, however, Dorsette realized that dream wasn’t for him. 

“I changed my major because of my father,” he said. “He was into the creative arts as well. He was a cosmetologist, a model, an actor, a director, a producer and he was an entrepreneur. Because my father had that astute business mind and that creativity that he instilled in me, that transpired into what I’ve done and am doing now.” 

Dorsette switched his major to film studies, graduating with his bachelor’s degree in 2011. After leaving U-M, he decided to further his education in 2013 by going to the Motion Picture Institute in Troy. The decision to attend the film school was personal–Dorsette II died that year and that’s when the younger Dorsette realized that he needed to make his dream of being a filmmaker a reality, he said. And he was honoring his father by going to the same school he attended years before. 

During the one-year program, Dorsette won a best director award for his short film “Silent Life,” which was based on his life as a person straddling the hearing and Deaf world. 

“I went there and they welcomed me with open arms,” Dorsette said about his time at the institute. “They supported me to make sure I had interpreters available for my classes so I could engage. I also received a scholarship from the school in honor of my father, so I’m really grateful to them.” 

In 2015, he premiered the film at the Toronto International Deaf Film Festival. While there, Dorsette met future friend Andrea Vigil. 

“There was a workshop and we became friends from there and set up a business together,” said Vigil, who is deaf-blind. 

The two co-founded Def Lens Media in 2019, with Vigil serving as CEO. Vigil said she and Dorsette were already working on creative design and video production, and they decided to bring their talents together. Some of the initiatives Vigil oversees include providing interpreters for Zoom meetings and social media development for organizations like the National Black Deaf Advocates. 

“Our company focuses on accessibility, creative design and marketing, and it’s all led by deaf, BIPOC individuals,” she said through an interpreter. “I wanted to have this as a safe space for anyone to join in a comfortable work environment, show their work, get involved and meet a bunch of different clients. And that’s what we do here.” 

Growing up, Vigil was told that she wouldn’t be able to accomplish much due to being deaf-blind. But now as a leader of a company, she wants to be a role model for people in the disability community. 

“I had to fight through and prove myself,” Vigil said. “I want people to feel that they can also do it and in a space of inclusion and allow people to thrive.” 

Leaving a legacy 

Dorsette started his entrepreneurial journey early, co-founding TeddyBoy Films and Entertainment with his father when he was a senior in high school. As if predicting his career in film, Dorsette II named his son the CEO of the company. 

“He wanted to create a legacy for me,” Dorsette said. “I don’t think he expected to pass as early as he did, but he wanted to make sure it was there. And at the time, I wasn’t really interested in film because I wanted to be a doctor. But it wasn’t until later when he passed that I took it upon myself to make sure that I continued the business.” 

Having that representation is one of the reasons why Vigil enjoys the work she does with Dorsette. In addition to Def Lens, she’s the creative director for TeddyBoy Entertainment. Together, they are working to open a film studio for the disability community.

“We help each other out a lot and share information on what people are wanting to film and make,” Vigil said. “He’s been great in advocacy, he’s a great leader, and my hat goes off to him.”

Darlene Dorsette said it’s inspiring to see how her son has grown into the man he is today. 

“When I look back at everything that he has gone through, he has showcased his ability to be able to pull people together to make our deaf and hard of hearing community a better place,” she said. “He’s very innovative, very influential. Looking at him today makes me feel very proud of him and all that he has accomplished. And I know that he’s not done with succeeding in everything that he has planned.” 

Advocacy continues to be at the forefront of Dorsette’s various ventures. He recently participated in the Small Business Owner Advocates fellowship. Organized through the coalition Detroit Means Business, the ten-month program focuses on elevating the power and the platform of small business owners in the city. 

Tekeyah Gaines, the senior program manager for Detroit Means Business, said Dorsette and the 11 other fellows worked on a capstone project that took a deep dive into capital readiness and how to build up a business to receive funding. Dorsette was a strong advocate in the group for diversity and inclusion, she said. 

“What we could depend on Teddy for was keeping a broader lens, always asking the question of, ‘How does this work for different communities? How do we bring access to those who don’t have this level of access?’” Gaines said. 

Dorsette said networking with other small businesses and hearing their struggles helped him comprehend the things he goes through as an entrepreneur. One of the biggest challenges for him is not always having access to resources, Dorsette said. 

“That’s a barrier, access to communication,” he said. “I would like to see that change, not just for myself, but for many other deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, those who own businesses, because it’s not just access to communication. It’s access to capital, it’s access to making sure that their dreams become a reality, whether it’s a brick and mortar or if it’s online. While I’m fighting for myself, I am also fighting for them.” 

Editor’s note: This story has been updated since publication to reflect that Andrea Vigil is the creative director for TeddyBoy Entertainment and to correct the spelling of Def Lens Media.