George L. Lewis (Freehold Founder) has been working in the field of movement-based theatre since 1971. His background includes three years of study in Corporeal Mime in Paris with Etienne Decroux, circus skills and physical comedy at the French National Circus School, acting at the Pasqualini-Smith Studio in Seattle, Balinese Dance with I Made Djimat in Bali, and Meyerhold's Biomechanics with Russian Master Teacher Gennadi Bogdanov. His work is deeply steeped in the tradition of ensemble work and original creation; he has performed and toured with Omnibus in Montreal, Theatre-Mime Mirage and Studebaker MTC in Boston, the Boulder Mime-Theatre in Boulder, and the Sykes Group and threeCompany in Seattle. As a director, he has created movement driven productions of, amongst others, Shakespeare, Moliere, Thornton Wilder, Irene Fornes, and James Thurber. He has also served as a movement director and/or a co-creator, bringing his unique understanding of choreographic concern, dramatic acting values and physical comedy skills to over fifty original works. His favorite acting roles include Trigorin in Chekhov's The Seagull, Pa in Wilder's The Happy Journey, Joseph in Romulus Linney's When the Lord Came to Sand Mountain, and the talentless dancer/would-be comedian in Saroyan's The Time of your Life. Since 1978 George Lewis has been teaching acting and physical theatre skills, at his own school in Boston, at colleges and universities in England and across the U.S. and Canada. He is a co-founder, Associate Director, and core faculty member of Freehold Studio/ Theatre Lab in Seattle, and is also a faculty member at Cornish College of the Arts. Collaborations with Mr. Paulsen include The Lonely Room, The Tempest, The Sonata, Doolymoog, and doorStories.
back to topJerry Diercks received his Masters of Fine Arts degree in directing from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. He served for four years as the Executive Director for the premiere independent theatre-training center of the Pacific Northwest, Freehold Studio/Theatre Lab. Jerry's most recent directing credits include Eleemosynary, by Lee Blessing; An Evening of Pinter: Night, The Lover, and The Collection, by Harold Pinter; Escape from Happiness, by George F. Walker; and Oleanna, by David Mamet. His Stage Management credits include work at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center's National Playwright's Conference, ACT in Seattle and Chicago Dramatists Workshop. His Lighting Design has been seen in Seattle at ACT, Bathhouse Theatre, and the Crispin Spaeth Dance Group, and at the Chicago Dramatists Workshop, and the La Mama E.T.C. in New York City.
Consulting director for New York is Stanley Allen Sherman, a graduate of Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris. He was in the original cast of the Off Broadway hit "Grandma Sylvia's Funeral." He has appeared on NBC's "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" 32 times, as well as several other TV programs and films. His Critics Choice "Aero Show" toured the country for over 15 years, featured at several theatre festivals. Mr. Sherman directed and developed the children's touring show, "Bride of Beowolf," and has written three plays. A master leather craftsman specializing in Commedia Dell’ Arte masks, he created the world famous "Mankind Mask" for the World Wrestling Federation. He is a founder of “Roving Classical Commedia University* (*Totally Unaccredited)” and teaches mask making, Commedia Dell' Arte, mime, clown, and mask technique.