Erin McGovern is both a professional actor and a nationally certified ASL interpreter. She began her acting career at age 10, playing in Fiddler on the Roof at the Chanhassen Dinner Theaters. Since then she has appeared with theater companies throughout the Twin Cities, Dallas, and New York. Erin performed at Mixed Blood Theatre in its world premiere productions of Love Person and The Deaf Duckling. Erin was a member of the Guthrie acting company for several years and appeared in the plays Pride and Prejudice and A Christmas Carol, among others. Not solely a theatrical actor, she also performed a featured role in the independent film The Last American. Going beyond her performance work, Erin is co-chair of MERGE, a group organized to support and encourage emerging professional interpreters. Erin earned her bachelor's degree in theater from Southern Methodist University and took her ASL interpreter training at the College of St. Catherine. She has also been a proud member of Actor's Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers, since 2000.
Andrew J. Oehrlein is a graduate of Gallaudet University where he received his B.A. in Educational Drama and a minor in Theatre Production/Performance in 2003. Originally from St. Cloud, Minnesota, his Gallaudet theatrical credits include Any Number Can Die, The Doctor in Spite of Himself, Lysistrata, The Emperor's New Clothes, The Bald Soprano, The Chairs, Midnight Dreary (also directed), and Arkansaw Bear (also directed). He directed James and The Giant Peach and The Upstage at Model Secondary School for the Deaf, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf, and The Gin Game, Candy Eye, and Hansel and Gretel at Thompson
Albert Walla teaches American Sign Language in the World Language Department at Eden Prairie High School He has been continuously employed as a certified teacher since 1976. He has a BA from Gallaudet University and an MA from New York University. Albert is an avid theatergoer and serves as a mentor to theatrical / educational / freelancing interpreters in Minnesota. Thanks to Jill Hartman for her support over the years.
Patti White participated in high school and college shows in her native Wisconsin. She holds bachelor's degrees in psychology and communications as well as an MSW degree. Currently an unemployed clinical social worker, Patti owns Zeus Pet Care with her business partner, Zeus, a golden retriever. Patti is involved with the Minnesota Rainbow Alliance for the Deaf, in which she holds the posts of Community Liaison and Events Director. Patti and Zeus are available professionally by contacting Patti at ZeusPetCare@yahoo.com
James Gardner graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a B.A. in Theatre Arts: Acting Emphasis. He lived on the East Coast for a brief time and worked as an actor there before deciding to change careers and become an interpreter. James has interpreted for over 10 years and has worked in theatrical venues for much of this time. He toured nationally with the National Technical Institute for the Deaf’s Sunshine Too! touring theatre troupe and has also performed with the National Theatre of the Deaf in Hartford, CT.
Shelly Lehner earned a bachelor’s degree in Speech Communication from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls in 1997. While attending UWRF, she performed in the production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and played the part of “high-class” stripper Gypsy Rose Lee in the production of Gypsy. She also worked as a news reporter and anchor on 10/20 News, hosted a radio show on WRFW, and co-hosted a cable access program called Focus on U.
Shelly gave up her career as a broadcast journalist in 1998 to become a sign language interpreter. She was graduated from the Interpreter Training Program at Saint Paul College in 2002 and has since interpreted a variety of productions around the Twin Cities, including Cabaret, Grease, High School Musical, Oklahoma, Disney on Ice: The Incredibles, The Madwoman of Chaillot, The Master and Margarita, Peace Crimes, Present Laughter, and The Crucible.
Shelly gave up her career as a broadcast journalist in 1998 to become a sign language interpreter. She was graduated from the Interpreter Training Program at Saint Paul College in 2002 and has since interpreted a variety of productions around the Twin Cities, including Cabaret, Grease, High School Musical, Oklahoma, Disney on Ice: The Incredibles, The Madwoman of Chaillot, The Master and Margarita, Peace Crimes, Present Laughter, and The Crucible.
Jon Bigelow is a senior theatre major at the University of Minnesota. He started sign language two years ago and has loved it ever since. Once he completes his degree at the University, Jon plans to attend St. Paul College, earn his ASL interpreting certificate, and then continue his signing career.
JoAnn Schinderle will be graduated from the University of Minnesota this spring with B.A. in communication studies and a minor in theatre performance. She studied ASL in order to fulfill the second language requirement of her degree program. Before transferring to the University of Minnesota, JoAnn was a theatre student at Viterbo University in 2004 and at the University of Wisconsin- LaCrosse in 2005. She has also studied abroad at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand. JoAnn’s performance credits include several minimalist “black box” stage productions in 2004 and 2005, lead roles in films produced by University of Minnesota and Minneapolis College of Art and Design students, and a student short film written and produced for the 2008 New Zealand Film Festival. This production marks JoAnn’s first experience working in Deaf theatre.
Evonne Bilotta-Burke is a graduate of the Master of Liberal Arts program at the University of Minnesota, with a focus on video production, theatrical direction, and minority cultural patterns. She is author of the script, Inside the Gate: Perspectives of a Protest, which was chosen as the UMN’s 2007 Diverse Voices Project. She is a proud and active member of the Minnesota Deaf community and provides annual workshop and mentoring opportunities to the Minnesota interpreting community through her workshop series: Beyond Signs. Theatre was never part of her initial career aspirations but has become a passion of hers and has largely shaped who she is and how she works in the community.
Raymond Luczak has seen thirteen of his plays performed in three countries. He is also the author and editor of seven books, including St. Michael's Fall: Poems (Deaf Life Press, 1996); Snooty: A Comedy (The Tactile Mind Press, 2004), which won first place in the New York Deaf Theater's Samuel Edwards Deaf Playwrights Competition 1990; and Eyes of Desire 2: A Deaf GLBT Reader (Handtype Press, 2007). His next three books, all slated to appear in 2009, include Assembly Required: Notes from a Deaf Gay Life (RID Press), Men with Their Hands: A Novel (Suspect Thoughts Press; first place winner of the Project: QueerLit 2006 Contest), and Playing it by Eye: Stage Plays about the Deaf American Experience (Gallaudet University Press), which collects four of his full-length plays. As a filmmaker, he has directed the full-length documentaries Guy Wonder: Stories & Artwork (The Tactile Mind Press, 2003) and Nathie: No Hand-Me-Downs (The Tactile Mind Press, 2005). Originally from Michigan's Upper Peninsula, he lives in Minneapolis. His web site is www.raymondluczak.com.
