About My Work
As an actor, writer and teaching artist, I view my work as an artistic extension of the social justice work that I have been committed to for the last 30 years. I self-identify as an artist with a disability which has led me to explore questions about how we function inside and outside of our bodies. Our physical selves carry us through the world and while they are a significant part of who we are they are not the totality. We are part of a culture that values perfection as a norm and those who live outside of that norm is part of a larger conversation that I want to have with audiences. The central theme that I keep coming back to in all of my writing is the cross-cultural intersections between the Deaf, Disability and Mental Health community and our culture at large. These are all values that I hold as important to who I am as an artist and an individual.
I have been interpreting for my Deaf parents since I was a child. It was my job to connect the hearing world to the Deaf world. I was the bridge that connected one group of people to another and sometimes my parents would pay me a quarter because even back they knew the value in that endeavor. I know there are communities, individuals, theaters, and artists who understand the same value. I come to the theater with an agenda: I want to continue making art that challenges audiences and that is unapologetically political because I want to change the world.
• HONORS & AWARDS
Chicago Cultural Center Pilot Program Theatre Residency
Twice Nominated 3Arts Theater Maker Award
O’Neill Playwrights Conference. Semi-Finalist. Eugene O’Neill Theater Center
3Arts Fellowship. Awardee. 3Arts & UIC Dept of Disability in the Arts and Culture
New Plays from the Heartland. Finalist, Heartland Theater
In The Works Theater Grant Awardee. Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Boeing
Los Angeles Theater Ovations Award. Nominated. LA Stage Alliance
Los Angeles Garland Award. Nominated. Backstage West
Blue Ink Award. Semi-Finalist, American Blues Theater
Artist in Residence- Quad Cities Arts, Rock Island, Illinois
Associate Artist-16th Street Theater, Berwyn, Illinois
Resident Playwright- Chicago Dramatists