Company Members

Company Members

Jonathan Walters (Artistic Director) founded Hand2Mouth Theatre in 2000 and functions as Artistic Director. Jonathan has directed the bulk of Hand2Mouth shows, and works closely with guest writers and the ensemble to develop new work. Jonathan worked in Poland in 1999 with street theatre Biuro Podrozy and Teatr Usta Usta, and has collaborated, trained and worked with many American physical theatres, including Sojourn Theatre, The Carpetbag Brigade and Elevator Repair Service. He has won multiple residencies at Caldera Arts, and been awarded a fellowship by the Oregon System of Higher Education to engage in theatre work abroad. As a director Jonathan has attended the Unidram Festival in Potsdam, Germany, the Reminstincje Festival in Krakow, Poland, the ATHE Conference in New York City, and the PuppetLove! Festival in San Francisco, California. His theatre work has been reviewed in Just Out, Willamette Week, The Oregonian, the Portland Tribune and the Portland Mercury. Jonathan is a 2005-07 recipient of a Career Development Program for Directors Fellowship awarded and administered by Theatre Communications Group and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Julie Hammond has worked with Hand2Mouth since 2004 and has been a performer and co-creator in 10 productions. She received a BA in Theater (Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa) from Bates College (Lewiston, Maine) and has trained with Double Edge Theatre, Teatr Stacja Szamocin (Poland), La Comedia Humana (Mexico), and at the British American Drama Academy (London). Julie assisted William Pope.L in development and touring of The Black Factory (2003-04) and currently works in Portland as an arts administrator and yoga teacher.

Liz Hayden received a BA from Southern Oregon and an MFA from Northern Illinois University before moving to L.A. where she taught Meisner technique at the Piero Dusa Acting Conservatory and managed an arts camp for children in Santa Monica. After a couple of years she decided that the sun was just too constant and yearned for the Northwest air, rain, and pine. Since moving to Portland she has acted with Mt Hood Rep, Profile Theatre, Shaking the Tree, and currently her heart belongs to Hand2Mouth. Liz teaches drama through Northwest Children's Theatre, Lakewood Performing Arts Center, and Profile Theatre. Highlights of her carreer include acting in Ireland at the Gaiety School, working with Studio Kah from Budapest – trained by Katherine Gately and directed by Chris Markle, and work with Polish artist Luba Zarembinska in From a Dream to a Dream.

Faith Helma has been involved with Hand2Mouth since she moved to Portland fresh out of college in 2000. She has performed in almost all of the company's productions, serves as vocal/music director, and has written and arranged songs for many H2M shows, including Something's Got Ahold of My Heart, Uncanny Valley, and Everyone Who Looks Like You. In 2008-09 she created the solo performance Undine, which she has performed in New York, Seattle and San Francisco. Along with the rest of Hand2Mouth, she has worked and traveled extensively in Mexico (with La Comedia Humana) and Poland (with Teatr Stacja Szamocin), and in 2007 traveled to Denmark for the Transit International Women's Theatre Festival hosted by Odin Teatret. She is also H2M's Marketing Co-Director.

Erin Leddy is a company member and performer for Hand2Mouth Theatre. Erin has been with the company since 2003 and has been a performer and co-creator in 15 original productions. Erin attended Emerson College in Boston, where she graduated with a degree in Radio.

Maesie Speer joined Hand2Mouth in 2008. In Portland she has performed with Sojourn Theatre, A.R.T. and Theatre Vertigo, and has assistant directed for Sojourn and Liminal Performance Group. In Minneapolis she worked with Theatre de la Jeune Lune, 15 Head Theatre Lab, Live Action Set, and Frank Theatre among others. She has danced with Rachel Fachner (Portland), Wicked Sister Dance Theatre (Minneapolis) and Ten Pen Chii (Brollin, Germany), and was a curator for the 2007 Fuse Box Festival in Austin, TX.

Jerry Tischleder began performing with Hand2Mouth in 2006 and joined the company 2007. He holds a B.A. in Theater and Management (Magna Cum Laude, All-College Honors, Distinction in Theater) from St. John’s University in Minnesota. Jerry is a seasoned improv and sketch comedian, studies trapeze & acrobatics with Do Jump! and makes music as a punk rock vocalist/bassist and one-man hip hop explosion. He has had the pleasure to work and study with many amazing theatre influences including: Imago Theatre, Radiant Theatre, The Tragedies, NACL, A Business of Ferrets, In the Basement Productions, Dudley Riggs: Brave New Workshop, Second City: Los Angeles, The Groundlings, Theatre L'homme Dieu, Guthrie Theatre, The Acting Company, Central MN Children's Theatre, Paramount Theatre, Aquila Theatre Company, Diavolo Dance Theater, Theater Grottesco, and many others.