New York University will host “The King’s Speech: Fact or Fiction? An Interdisciplinary Look at Stuttering in the Oscar-winning Film,” a panel discussion featuring speech and theatre professionals, on Thursday, May 5, 6-8 p.m. at NYU’s Cantor Film Center, 36 E. 8th St. (at University Place).

This year’s Oscar winner for best picture, The King’s Speech, brought a story about stuttering to a worldwide audience. But does the film tell the whole truth about this condition?  This interdisciplinary panel discussion, sponsored by NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, will look at stuttering and its treatment from a variety of perspectives and reflect upon the interaction of drama and reality. Panelists will include a geneticist who recently identified a link to stuttering, researchers and speech pathologists who look at stuttering from different points of view, and vocal coaches and theatre professionals.

The panel will be comprised of: Taro Alexander, founder and director of Our Time, a non-profit association that helps children who stutter, and a professional actor, teacher, and director; Lee Caggiano, director of friends, the National Association of Young People Who Stutter; fluency specialist John A. Haskell; Changsoo Kang, a fellow at the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders; Irene Kling, a faculty member at NYU Steinhardt and a trainer at Stella Adler Conservatory of Acting and Mannes College, the New School for Music; and Mitchell Trichon, a faculty member in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at St. John’s College and a member of the board of directors of National Stuttering Association.

The event is free and open to the public. RSVP (required) at:

http://www.surveygizmo.com/s/521625/vfwr2

For more information, call 212.998.5001. Subway Lines: A, C, D, E, F, M (West 4th Street); N, R (8th Street); 6 (Astor Place).