née Wendy Saver/Mortimer

I balanced a life in theatre & academia for almost 20 years. Now I freelance. Particularly curious about the about wholeness and mind/body connection, I am in the process of certification in the Alexander Technique (under the mentorship of Cathy Madden). 

Everything I was teaching young artists: how to find their light, how to partner, how to take and give space, how to speak with clarity and conviction, how to believably compel an audience of strangers, and how to align so deeply with another's set of life circumstances that you willingly widen your own opinions and feelings in service of making space for someone else's story... is wildly useful in every day living.

These are pathways to be more communicative and more present in personal relationships and daily living.

I am a member of Actor's Equity Association, Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA),  Alexander Technique International (ATI), and the theatre company P3/east. My MFA is in acting from the University of Washington's Professional Actor Training Program. My writing can be found in past journals of VASTA and upcoming journals of ATI. 

And for those who want more specific info:I've served on theatre faculties of Marymount Manhattan, University of Connecticut, Wesleyan University & Ball State (where I was tenured); published articles on cross-culture storytelling, beginner's mind, and balancing analytical with kinesthetic learning principles; traveled three times to teach & direct in the Gauteng Province in South Africa; and worked in regional theatres across the country.

Most people know me as the writer and artist behind StoryPeople. Brian Andreas Studio is my wild space where you'll find my most recent stories and all the other things I'm up to... 

Born in Iowa, raised in Chicago, I went to Luther College for my BA in Theater and English. Later on, after I figured out what I really wanted to do (HA!) I got my MFA in Fiber and Mixed Media from John F. Kennedy University in the Bay Area of California. Fibre? you say. I thought you told stories. Well, if you must know, I’d answer, my degree is in Stories As The Fibre of Human Community. 

That said, my real education came from being in the world: short order cooking at Denny’s, apprenticing with a French chef in Chicago, running operations at a high-fashion mannequin factory in L.A., doing contract archaeology in the summer heat, dabbling as a tennis pro after college, writing plays for a small theatre company in Minnesota. I speak six languages, with my favorites being the Romance languages (not surprisingly).

For me, the thousands of stories I've written are a lot like going through photo albums. They mark specific moments & ways of being in my life. Taken on their own, they are reminders of those times. When I read a group of my stories, I get a sense of where they’ve been leading me, what they’ve been wanting me to understand the whole time. That changes through time & through the addition of further stories along the way. 

I paint canvases. I sculpt wood. I write stories. I cook. I have long conversations with the people I love & much shorter conversations with people I don't. I make books - 15 so far. I devour urban fantasy on my ipad (at least, lately. I have a few non-fiction thingies I'm reading, too, but those are mainly to prove I have a broad set of interests when someone asks...)

A Belgian Tervuren with the alias of Mooseboy, the Windherder. In defiance of his breed, he is a healthy 68 lbs. and regularly enjoys stomping about in fresh water streams. He is our guide & reminder of what it is to be entirely & perfectly present.