Amber Kelly is privileged to have been a part of Sex Signals for many years. Prior to her work with Catharsis Productions, she was both an actor, and a community educator for a rape crisis & victim services program. Sex Signals was an amazing amalgamation of the two. The more it grows, the closer she feels to effecting world-wide social change. When not on the road with Sex Signals, she produces site-specific theater with her own company, Theater of Thought, which puts the audience in the middle of the action and challenges their comfort zone as well as their social mores. She also recently starred in the independent film, Profile, opposite Bill Buell. Her past work stems from Shakespeare to DragonballZ. All of the time on the road has taught her to treat new faces like old friends, so feel free to say "hello" when you meet her.(Top of page)
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Eric "Pogi" Sumangil is a native Minneapolitan and has been an often-mispronounced name around the Minneapolis theater community for nearly 10 years. He graduated with degrees in Asian Studies and Communication from St. John's University. He has studied 6 different martial arts and has been a fight choreographer of several stage productions. He was also involved in creating computer-simulated trainings for the Department of Defense and Department of Justice and now knows how to use his car as a rolling barricade. He is a recipient of a 2009-10 Playwrights' Center Many Voices Fellowship, an Excellence in the Arts Award from the Fil-Minnesotan Association, and once had his name put on a plaque for eating a three-pound steak in under an hour at a steakhouse in Illinois. (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 has been performing Sex Signals since 2005. She is a graduate of Northwestern University and currently resides nowhere in particular. Between touring Europe, Asia and the US with Sex Signals, she can be found backpacking the far reaches of the globe, shooting various projects with LetterBlue Productions, and running miles and miles and miles and miles. (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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George Zerante is ridiculously proud to say that he is a member of the Catharsis team. In 2007, he graduated from Illinois State University with a B.S. in Theatre, where acted in numerous productions. He currently resides in the greatest city in the whole world, Chicago, minutes from the suburb in which he was birthed and grew to be the man that he is today. Since settling into the city, post college, George has acted in plays, commercials, short films, and humbly has a very brief close up in the Angelina Jolie movie, Wanted. George received his rape victim advocate training through the RVA of Chicago. He finds his role as a performer/educator with Catharsis Productions to be the most important work that he has ever done. (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)

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Sharyon A. Culberson is excited to be starting her first season with Catharsis Productions as a touring presenter! She is a native of Chicago, IL, and received her Bach. of Sc. in Business Administration from Florida A&M University's School of Business and Industry. After deciding on a major career overhaul, she pursued her acting career in theaters and on film in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Florida, and Virginia, before returning to her home city and theaters. She has recently appeared in productions at the Drury Lane Water Tower, Writers' Theatre, American Theatre Company, and the Madison Repertory New Plays' Festival. Sharyon believes that as an artist, her calling is to effect change in her audiences' lives, and is extremely pleased to be able to achieve that through Sex Signals.(Top of page)

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Chris Sanders is super excited to be a part of Catharsis Productions! Chris's journey to this point began on January 3rd of 2001 when he began basic training to become an Infantryman in the United States Army. Chris was stationed at Schofield Barracks, HI for four and a half years where he had many roles but ultimately ended his career as an Infantry squad leader. He also served for a year in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. Once he earned his honorable discharge in July of 2005 Chris spent a year back home in Kalamazoo, MI but began training at the Second City Theater in Chicago. In 2006 Chris moved to Chicago and then completed the Conservatory program at the Second City Theater in 2008. During this time he performed as a stand-up comedian at numerous venues across the Midwest. During his time in Chicago Chris has done numerous sketch, improv, and stand-up shows at various venues across the city. Chris received his B.S. in Business Administration from Colorado Technical University in May of 2008. He received training as a rape victim advocate from the RVA of Chicago in 2009 and began presenting for Catharsis in June of the same year. (Top of page)

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Libby Matthews is thrilled to join the cast of Sex Signals and the Catharsis team. She graduated magna cum laude in 2008 from the University of Washington with a BA in Theatre and The Comparative History of Ideas, the latter of which she designed to emphasize Critical Studies and Art for Social Change. The creation and production of her CHID thesis, a new play entitled Boots, was endowed by a grant from the Mary Gates Fellowship. She has trained intensively in both Suzuki and Viewpoints with Pacific Performance Project and SeaPlace Studios. She also spent her junior year of college abroad training at the Ilkhom Theatre in Tashkent, Uzbekistan where she studied the techniques of Mikhail Chekhov and Jacques Lecoq under the late genius Mark Weil. Favorite roles include XX in A Cure For Pain, Lenora in the west coast premiere of God's Ear and Ruth in ...And Baby Makes Seven. Libby is a Mary Gates Leadership Scholar and is based in beautiful Seattle, Washington.(Top of page)

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DeRante Parker feels excited and ready to embark on this important journey. As a new presenter in Sex Signals, he has learned many personal lessons about confidence, communication, and what it truly means to be his own man. Now, he looks forward to furthering his understanding about these issues, sharing his lessons with others, and helping to fight against sexual violence. On an average day, DeRante shoots pool, plays a little b-ball, and often tries to be funny. Most importantly, he is thankful for his family, the support of his friends, and for his experiences as an actor which have made this opportunity possible.(Top of page)

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John Mallory has been touring with Sex Signals since 2005 and loves the chance to make people laugh, think, and join him as advocates in the fight against sexual assault. John graduated with a B.S. in Physics and a minor in Music from The College of William and Mary in the spring of 2004. While in school, he performed in several different choral ensembles, was a founding father of the Zeta Upsilon chapter of Beta Theta Pi fraternity, and was heavily involved in undergraduate admissions. John was also a founding member of an all-male sexual assault peer education group called "One In Four." His involvement with One In Four expanded when he was asked to become a member of the inaugural One In Four National Peer Education Team. John continues his commitment to ending sexual violence by working with other organizations such as Men Can Stop Rape, The Sold Project, and the DC Rape Crisis Center. When not on the road fighting rape, John can be found back in Washington, DC where he enjoys running marathons, hang gliding, and cheering for DC United. John is crazy crazy excited to be performing with Sex Signals where he can continue educating people about such an important issue. (Top of page)

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Annie Rix is thrilled to be starting her first season and exciting journey with Sex Signals in 2009. She recently graduated from Illinois State University with a B.A in Acting and is joining Catharsis as the youngest member of the team and proud of it! While at Illinois State, she was a four year member of their improv team, The Improv Mafia, Rooftop Comedy National College Improv Tournament Champions. She has been a part of numerous independent films and has a love of directing as well. She is looking forward to a future move to Chicago from her home town of Wheaton, IL and is very excited for this new and meaningful chapter of her life.(Top of page)

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Kristen Pickering is thrilled to join the Catharsis team! A native of Chicago, Kristen graduated from the University of St. Francis and has been acting in Chicago ever since. Some of her acting credits include Third (Apple Tree Theatre), Sylvia (Metropolis Performing Arts Center), Much Ado About Nothing (LiveWire Theatre), The Devil's Arithmetic (TYA at Apple Tree Theatre), A Fairy Tale Life (Emerald City Theatre) and The Ville (Bare Boned Theatre). She is also an acting teacher for the Eileen Boevers Performing Arts Workshop at Apple Tree Theatre. Kristen completed the ICASA Rape Victim Advocacy training in Spring of 2009. She is honored to be a part of such an amazing company of people in Catharsis Productions. Performing Sex Signals has given her the opportunity to make a difference in people's lives by doing what she loves, and she is overwhelmingly grateful for that.(Top of page)