Who in the world is Howie Seago?

Glad you asked. We had the pleasure of attending a lecture given by this unique deaf actor followed by 15 minutes of private time.

Calling Howie a "deaf" actor is really an injustice. When he is on stage he blends so easily with the "hearing" actors that his deafness is an enhancement rather than a distraction to the story. I have seem Howie perform several times in stuff as varied as "Music Man" to Shakespeare's Henry IV and he is truly remarkable.

His lecture was quite illuminating, describing how a deaf actor goes about his craft and detailing his long experience in live theater and television.

Best of all was the time spent with him after the lecture. We first heard about Howie from Jess (of John and Jess fame). Jess is a student and aspiring teacher of American Sign Language (ASL)

and first saw Howie when he performed in Seattle a few years ago. To make a long story short, with Jon and Jess moving back to Seattle in a few weeks and with Howie and his wife making Seattle their home, the ever endearing Paula was quick to see if she could arrange for Jess to eventually meet with Howie on his return Seattle.

"No problem" says Howie. Paula "talked" to him. His wife signing as she is speaking and Howie answering in an easy to understand voice. (Yes many deaf people can speak quite well!). He was so gracious and seemed genuinely interested in spending some time with Jess and helping to make contacts in the Seatttle deaf community.

He really is a remarkable guy. Never having spent any time with a deaf person I have a whole new perspective.

Here is Howie's bio from wickipedia:

Howie Seago (born in Wichita Falls) is an American deaf actor and director. Born deaf, he first began to develop his mimic abilities as a child with the help of his mother. He began his serious acting work in college, when he joined the National Theater of the Deaf. His break-out role was in Peter Sellars' production of AJAX. He was later cast by David Byrne for the German production of The Forest (1989), because he was so impressed with Seago's performance. This production was directed by Robert Wilson for the Berlin Festival. In Austria he worked as an actor for the Salsberg and the Vienna and as a director for ARBOS - Company for Music and Theatre. He also had a significant role in Beyond Silence, a German film about a hearing girl growing up with deaf parents.

His television career has included appearances on Hunter, Star Trek, The Next Generation and The Equalizer as well as involvement in the Emmy award winning children's show, Rainbow's End. He has also produced some plays, using both hearing and deaf actors. He is a central figure of the American Deaf Community, especially as an author and teacher. Seago has been honored many times, including being a recipient of the Helen Hayes award.

Seago is currently working at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, in Ashland, Oregon