Christian Murphy founded Catharsis Productions with Gail Stern in 2000 after they co-created Sex Signals. He serves as Artistic Director and Director of Operations for the company. Mr. Murphy has been a professional actor for over twenty years. After relocating to Chicago, he began writing plays. His one-person show, Meditations, won the 1998 Factory Theater Shut Up and Laugh! One-Act Play Festival, where he met Gail Stern. He also wrote the full-length one-person show, Sleeping through the American Dream, that was workshopped at Stage Left Theatre.

Mr. Murphy has been trained as a certified rape victim advocate through Chicago’s Rape Victim Advocate program. Since Sex Signals was created, he has had the honor of performing as the program's male presenter in front of over 400 different audiences. He currently has a less active role as a Sex Signals presenter and a more active role in the development of new presentations and workshops with Ms. Stern.

Most recently, he has helped design a peer-education training on gender issues for Lambda Chi Alpha and its undergraduate fraternity members. He also serves on the MEN (Men Endorsing Non-Violence) Illinois state committee.

Education experiences include the University of Southern California, where he was a brother of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, the University of Kent at Canterbury in England, and graduating from the University of Notre Dame having earned degrees in the Program of Liberal Studies as well as Communication and Theater.

Upon graduation, Mr. Murphy spent time as an apprentice actor at the Actors Theatre of Louisville. He continued pursuing his acting career in Los Angeles. There, he co-founded Voices in Harmony, a non-profit urban youth-theater program that paired high school students with professional actors to create and perform vignettes that addressed cultural diversity and identity. He served as Artistic Director for the program from 1995-1996.

He is happily married to Lauren Murphy, co-owner of Laurenceleste, makers of some really hip, organic baby clothes. Visit them at www.laurenceleste.com . He and Lauren are also happy to now be dressing their two children in the aforementioned hip clothes. (Top of page)
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Gail Stern has spent the last fifteen years using humor to teach volatile subjects. Her audiences have ranged from police officers to college students, and while addressing the issues of rape, domestic violence, hate crime and extremism, her approach has utilized a combination of experience and stand-up comedy to get her messages across.

Gail served as the director of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Campus Advocacy Network from 1991-1998, providing crisis counseling and court advocacy to victims of hate crime, domestic violence, stalking and sexual assault. She began training law enforcement officers in 1993 on the topics of hate crime and cultural sensitivity, and served as the National Law Enforcement Training Coordinator for the Anti-Defamation League from 2000-2003. She is a member of the American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers and has also served as a member of the following law enforcement training programs:
* State and Local Anti-Terrorism Training Program
* Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Hate/Bias Crimes Training Cadre
* US Department of Justice Hate and Bias Crimes Training Program
Gail served as the Co-Chair of the Chicago Task Force on Hate Crimes Against Women, and was a member of the Cook County State's Attorney's Domestic Violence Task Force and Hate Crime Prosecutions Council, and the Illinois Attorney General's Task Force on Date Rape Drugs.

Gail is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has a master's degree in Education from UIC, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, focusing on the relationship between humor and learning about controversial issues.

She has presented at the American Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences on the use of humor in law enforcement education, the Illinois Coalition for the Prevention of Violence Annual Conference on utilizing humor to teach difficult topics, and presented a paper on offender typology at the American Academy of Forensic Sciences Annual Conference in February 2003. She has served as a consultant to the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies, and currently serves as a consultant to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis.

Gail has performed stand-up and improvisational comedy for almost twenty years, performing with the "Skin of Our Teeth Comedy Ensemble" and "Chick Show." In 1999 she performed in the Chicago Comedy Festival and appeared on "Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher" as a citizen panelist. Her two one-woman shows, Red Dress of Grievances and Merge enjoyed extended runs as part of Chicago's Factory Theatre's "Shut Up And Laugh" Comedy Festival (where she met Catharsis co-founder/Sex Signals co-author Christian Murphy), and she recently participated in the "World's Funniest Cop" Competition hosted by Jay Leno.

For her work in victim advocacy and law enforcement training, Gail has received the U.S. Department of Justice Award for Public Service and the Public Allies "Tomorrow's Leaders Today" Award.

To find out more about Gail’s consulting work, click here.

To find out about Gail's show "RANT!", click here.

Gail is married to the remarkably wonderful Ari Frede. (Top of page)
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Brian Golden is a native of Davenport, Iowa and received his B.A. in Drama from Washington University in St. Louis. He began serving as an Assistant Director in May 2007, and is now a Director of Sex Signals. He is a certified volunteer for the Rape Crisis Hotline at the YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago. Brian is a director, playwright and the Artistic Director of Theatre Seven of Chicago. He has a special interest in new play development, and has directed plays or readings for Theatre Seven, Chicago Dramatists, St. Louis Rep, Speaking Ring, Pure Theatre Charleston and others. As a playwright, his work has been produced or read in Chicago, St. Louis, New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and, soon, St. Petersburg, Russia. Brian is eternally grateful to the Catharsis team for empowering him to do this work, which combines three of his great loves; theatre, travel and social justice.
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Ben Murrie was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He attended Pepperdine University, from which he holds a degree in psychology. After college, Ben spent three years working as a counselor at a psychiatric hosptial in Los Angeles and received his rape victim advocate training at the Rosa Parks Center there. As an actor and producer, he has enjoyed involvement in various stage productions and films around the country and performed at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland. Ben is the co-author of the rock musical "www.Here.I.Am" and has recently finished shooting the independent thriller "Mrs. Amworth". He can also be seen in promotional material for the Red Cross and every major branch of the Armed Forces. Most importantly, Ben is a proud husband (to Shawna) and father (to Jeremiah Paul). (Top of page)
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Amber Kelly is proud to be entering her fourth season with Sex Signals. Amber grew up in Texas where she earned a BA in Theatre from Texas Wesleyan University. She acted and taught at professional theatres in the Dallas/Fort Worth area as well as spending her days as a community educator for the Rape Crisis and Victim Services branch of the Women's Center of Tarrant County. Amber has since moved on to a bigger pond in New York City, where she has studieed under Austin Pendleton and attended Atlantic Theatre Company School to practice techniques created by David Mamet and William H. Macy. Some of her favorite stage roles have been: Elizabeth in Six Degrees of Separation, Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Lala Levy in The Last Night of Ballyhoo. She has appeared on film and television in Wishbone, One Life to Live, The Rookie, and The Interpreter, and has lent her voice to many characters on the Cartoon Network Series DragonBall Z. (Top of page)
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Kelly Hayes has been with the company since the summer of 2003 and couldn't be happier to be entering into another great season with Catharsis Productions! After graduating from Virginia Tech with a B.A. in Theatre Arts, and a minor in Women's Studies, she moved up to NYC. She has been living there for almost five years doing work on various theatrical, film, and television projects, as well as staying an active member of Catharsis Productions. In the summer of 2005 she completed a rigorous acting conservatory program at Michael Howard Studios, in NYC, and currently studies with Larry Singer of Michael Howard Studios, where she keeps her acting skills sharp. Her favorite things in life are building things, growing things, and being a positive influence on those around her. In being a part of CP and performing "Sex Signals" it's almost needless to say she feels she's living her passion of truly reaching people as an artist, activist, and citizen of the world. (Top of page)
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Kyle Terry is a recent graduate with a B.A. in Theater from the University of Illinois at Chicago and currently resides in Chicago, IL. He welcomes the challenge and fulfillment of educating through performance. He is currently training to be certified as a volunteer for the Rape Crisis Hotline at the YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago. He has performed in numerous theatrical productions, his favorite being Indulgences in the Louisville Harem (Hey, Luigi, Bill, Carl). His acting experience includes King John and A Midsummer Night's Dream at Shakespeare & Co., The Kentucky Cycle at The UW-Milwaukee's Professional Training Program, and the European Repertory Theater's production of Steven Berkoff's Agamemnon. He performed in LiveWire Theater's production of Macbeth at the Stage Left Theater (Howdy, Chris). He has danced with Instruments of Movement and The Civic Ballet of Chicago. He is a member of Chicago Dance Crash and can suspend himself horizontally from a pole. Kyle's presence within the ensemble and on any of our two-person team allows us to briefly explore within the show the intersection between race and rape myths. (Top of page)
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Courtney Abbott joined Sex Signals/Catharsis Productions in the fall of 2005. She hails from a Navy family in San Diego, CA and is now a resident of Chicago, where she is certified as a volunteer for the Rape Crisis Hotline at the YWCA.. She graduated in 2004 from Northwestern University, where she received her B.S. in Theatre. She has acted, sung, danced and done circus tricks in a wide variety of shows - "The Laramie Project", "Gypsy" and "Richard III" being some memorable favorites. Courtney is now in the ensemble of Promethean Theatre, and a proud member of Alpha Phi International. (Top of page)

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Fawzia Mirza graduated from Indiana University with a Double Major in English and Political Science and a Minor in Religious Studies. She then moved to Chicago to attend law school at Chicago-Kent College of Law. During law school, she was committed to advocating the role and the voice of women and minorities in the legal community. Upon graduating, she sat for the Illinois Bar exam and is now a licensed attorney; she also chose to pursue another dream of hers: an acting career. She began taking classes and auditioning throughout Chicago and is currently leading a double life, lawyering by day and acting by night. She’s performed all over the city and is a graduate of the Improv Olympic Training Center, and an ensemble member of Rasaka Theatre, the Midwest’s first and only South-Asian theatre company. She is excited to be involved in her inaugural year with Catharsis Productions and with Sex Signals, her first educational touring experience. (Top of page)

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Lindsey Pearlman joined Catharsis Productions in 2008, and is ecstatic to be a part of the team! She participated in the ICASA Rape Victim Advocacy workshop in the spring of 2008. A native chicagoan, Lindsey's past productions include "Sky Girls" (Northlight Theatre), "Self Defense" (Rivendell Theatre Ensemble at Steppenwolf Theatre), "Expecting Isabel" (Rivendell Theatre Ensemble", "Two for the Show" (Theatre Wit - Joseph Jefferson Award nomination/ After-Dark award recipient: Best New Musical), "Western Civilization: The Complete Musical, Abridged!" (Noble Fool Theatricals), "I Hate Hamlet" and "The Best Man" (Stage Center Theatre), and most recently, "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot" (The Gift Theatre, in association with Victory Gardens Theatre). She is a 2008 graduate of the Second City conservatory program in Chicago. in 2007, Lindsey won the annual Monologue Matchup Competition and participated in the Women's Theatre Alliance scene showcase. Lindsey is the owner of Sit and Stay, a chicago petsitting service. (Top of page)

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Lee Markham was born in St. Petersburg, FL. He graduated USF in December 2003 with a B.A. in Theater. After college, Lee performed in a FL tour of “Smokey Joe’s Café” and moved to New York City in 2005. He has since performed in four off-Broadway shows: “For Christ’s Sake” (Annas), “Angels” (Dasher - NY Musical Theater Festival), the improv group “Eight is Never Enough” (resident member) and “Balloons and Thickets” (Wimpole - Strawberry One-Act Festival). He also has been doing stand-up comedy for 7 years and currently writes and does voiceover work for radio commercials. Lee became a member of “Sex Signals” in April of 2007 and became trained as an advocate at Beth Israel Hospital in New York for the show. (Top of page)

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Chris Beier is a new member of the Sex Signals team, and excited to be working with his new colleagues. Hailing from Ann Arbor, MI, he's a recent graduate of the NYU Tisch School of the Arts where he studied acting and writing. Over the past year he's done numerous plays in NYC, short and feature films, stand-up comedy, and several commercials. Recently, Chris has been developing a new webseries with his friends about actors after college. He also hosts a show on ImaginAsianTV (to stay in touch with his Indian roots). Chris is a scorpio, and wrote his own bio himself. In third person.(Top of page)