ACT Team

  • Headshot of Scottie Allen outside in a field smiling at the camera. Scottie has black hair and wears a black and white striped poncho.

    Scottie Allen

    ACT Interpreter

    Pronouns: she/they

    Specialty/niche: Theater and musicals; I also enjoy comedians who are true storytellers.  However, I am happy to do anything that would be a good fit in order to meet a consumers needs.  

    Favorite shows I’ve interpreted: : In the summer of 2000, I shadowed/assisted Maria Kielma at an Everclear concert at Summerfest.  While I did not interpret, it was my first experience being in a performance interpreting space and I’ve never forgotten that feeling.

    What I love about performance work: collaboration with colleagues and learning about the why for the piece of art, learning all I can about a piece, whether that’s the author, the characters, the behind the scenes info, etc and incorporating what I can into the interpretation. I like that performance interpretation stretches my mental and linguistic skills; it’s a good challenge that keeps the work interesting.

  • Closeup selfie of Kelsey Broaden against a blue background. Kelsey has long brown hair and wears a black shirt. Kelsey smiles at the camera.

    Kelsey Broaden

    ACT Interpreter

    Coming Soon

  • Selfie of Jenny Buechner. Jenny has shoulder-length brown hair in ringlets. Backdrop is indoors with a neon pink light and white walls. Jenny wears black and smiles at the camera.

    Jenny Buechner

    ACT Certified Deaf Interpreter

    Prounouns: she/her

    Bio: Jenny Buechner, a native of Madison, Wisconsin, graduated from the Wisconsin School for the Deaf in 1998 and earned her degree in Social Work from Gallaudet University in 2002. She worked as a Deaf Interpreter in Washington, D.C., from 2002 to 2003 before transitioning to various roles within nonprofit and private for-profit organizations. In 2018, Jenny returned to her passion for Deaf Interpreting and became a Certified Deaf Interpreter (CDI) through RID. She is also a Qualified Mental Health Interpreter certified by the Office of Deaf Services of the Alabama Department of Mental Health and holds certification with the State of Wisconsin courts.

  • Headshot of Joshua Castille in front of a dark gray backdrop. Josh has short, swooping brown hair and wears a patterned blue shirt. Josh smiles at the camera.

    Joshua Castille

    Lead Director of Interpreters & Lead Director of Artistic Sign Language

    Pronouns: he/him

    Specialty/niche: I specialize in pop, musical theatre, and plays. 

    Favorite shows I’ve interpreted: : Oh Mary on Broadway, and Into the Woods in DC 

    What I Love about Performance Work: I love building the story arc and connecting deaf audiences with brilliant plays/performances. I love channeling character choices and finding ways to throw focus to the stage. I believe interpreters are the window that audiences use to watch the show, so how do I become a CLEAR, CLEAN window. 

  • Headshot of Mayra Castrejon-Hernandez. Mayra has long, curly black-brown hair past the shoulders and wears a black T-shirt. Mayra smiles at the camera in profile.

    Mayra Castrejon-Hernandez

    Director of Interpreters & Director of Artistic Sign Language

    Pronouns: she/her

    Specialty/Niche: EDM

    Favorite Performance Experiences: Little Big Town, Andrea Boccelli, Summer 1979

    What I love about performance work: I enjoy the challenge of making sure the interpretation matches each artist’s vision to help create a truly accessible experience.

    As a performer I strive to incorporate the creativity of each performance into my work. I enjoy the analysis process, which helps me to tailor my interpretations to our consumers’ diverse preferences.

  • Closeup selfie of Autumn Diaz. Autumn has tightly curled, shoulder-length black and brown ombre hair, and wears a black and white striped top. Autumn smiles at the camera, turned to face it.

    Autumn Diaz

    ACT Interpreter

    Coming Soon

  • Headshot of Diego Diaz. The background is blurry and outdoors. Diego's body faces left but face is turned toward the camera in profile. Diego, smiling, has short, tight, curly black hair with shaved sides. Diego wears a blue sweater + collared shirt.

    Diego Diaz

    ACT Interpreter

    Coming Soon

  • Selfie in profile angle of Makeda Duncan in front of white background. Makeda has short, coily black hair. Makeda wears squoval glasses, a blazer, and collared shirt. Makeda smiles, head tilted.

    Makeda Duncan

    ACT Interpreter

    Coming Soon

  • Black and white headshot of Dan Englund. Dan's body faces left and head is turned toward the camera. Dan has short, light hair and wears a black shirt. Dan has a neutral expression.

    Dan Englund

    ACT Interpreter

    Pronouns: he/him

    Specialty/Niche: Musical Theatre, Drag Shows, Children's Theatre, Stand Up Comedy

    Favorite shows I’ve interpreted: Cabaret (Metropolis PAC), English (Goodman Theatre)

    What I Love About Performance Interpreting: I love the opportunities to work alongside Deaf performers, Deaf interpreters, and DASLs

  • Profile angle selfie of David Evans. David is smiling outside in front of flowers. David has short silver hair. David wears a black top and dark gray glasses with red browline rims.

    David N. Evans

    ACT Interpreter

    Pronouns: he/him

    Specialty/niche: AA, spiritual settings, performing arts

    Favorite shows I’ve interpreted: The Mixtape Tour: NKOTB, Salt N Pepa, Debbie Gibson, Tiffany, Rick Astley; Janet Jackson; The Book of Mormon 

    What I love about performance work: I love the collaboration of working with a team including the Deaf Artistic Sign Language (DASL) coach to prep a show so well as to ensure the deaf audience not only has access to the dialogue, but also laughs, cries, and gasps at the right time!

  • Headshot of Brady Greenwalt in front of a small tree. Brady has short red hair and beard. Brady wears clear square glasses and a beige polo, and smiles.

    Brady Greenwalt

    ACT Interpreter

    Pronouns: he/him

    Specialty/Niche: LGBTQIA+, Musicals, and Plays

    Favorite shows I've interpreted: Milwaukee Pride/Literally anything queer

    What I love about performance work: I love being able to collaborate with the Deaf community and other interpreters to provide access that matches the meaning and energy of the performance and performers.

  • Headshot of Danielle Katers against a blue background. Danielle has wavy blonde hair tossed over one shoulder and wears a black T-shirt. Danielle smiles at the camera.

    Danielle Katers

    ACT Interpreter

    Pronouns: she/her

    Specialty/Niche: Theater, Musicals, Children’s Theatre

    Favorite shows I’ve interpreted: A Christmas Carol (Milwaukee Rep), Diary of A Wimpy Kid (First Stage), Holes (First Stage)

    What I Love About Performance Work: In addition to working as an interpreter, I work in the Milwaukee area as an actor/singer. Being able to combine both of my passions is such a gift! I love being able to dive into a new project and analyze the meaning behind the story, the characters motivations, and then preview how the actors are portraying the characters physically and emotionally. After combining all that information, I enjoy the challenge of putting that out into a clear, visual picture that I hope draws our Deaf/Hard of Hearing audiences in beyond the interpretation and into the show.

  • Selfie of Maria Kielma in a parking structure. Maria has a short blonde mohawk with fully shaved sides. Maria wears dark burgundy lipstick, a black tank top, and a long black-cord necklace.

    Maria Kielma

    ACT Interpreter

    Coming Soon

  • Headshot of Caden Marshall against a light neutral background. Caden has short wavy brown hair and a stubble beard. Caden wears black browline glasses and a black turtleneck. Caden's head is tilted to the side slightly.

    Caden Marshall

    ACT Interpreter

    Pronouns: he/him

    Caden Zane Marshall is a professional ASL interpreter and theatre artist, specializing in Deaf theatre. He holds Bachelor's degrees in both ASL Interpreting and Musical Theatre and has worked alongside notable Deaf artists, including Joshua Castille, Peter Cook, Alexandria Wales, and Annie Weigand. Caden is passionate about advancing inclusivity in the arts through innovative, collaborative, and inspriring theatrical projects. 

    Favorite interpreting/Deaf theatre credits include Spring Awakening (Skylight Music Theatre), Romeo & Juliet (American Players Theatre), Milwaukee Pridefest (2024), The Man Who Thought He Knew Too Much (Voloz Collective), TEDx Chicago, and Islander (Chicago Shakes).


  • Placeholder image: the ACT Interpreting logo, depicting stylized black lines forming hands signing "interpret" against a mint background.

    Jana Mauldin

    ACT Interpreter

    Coming Soon

  • Headshot of Grace Mildebrandt in front of a dark green-blue wood backdrop. Grace has short sideswept golden hair and smiles at the camera. Grace wears metal wire-rim glasses, red beaded earrings, and a gray T-shirt.

    Grace Mildebrandt

    ACT Interpreter

    Coming Soon

  • Headshot of Tammy Muraszewski against a white backdrop. Tammy has shoulder-length straight blonde hair and wears a maroon sweater with matching lipstick.

    Tammy Muraszewski

    ACT Interpreter

    Coming Soon

  • Closeup photo of Jenelle Narlock holding a bouquet of flowers outside. Jenelle has wavy blonde hair and wears sunglasses atop the head. Jenelle is outdoors and smiles at the camera.

    Jenelle Narlock

    ACT Interpreter

    Coming Soon

  • Headshot of Bron Schlaefer in front of a brick wall. Bron has swoopy brown hair with shaved sides and wears a short-sleeved black button-down. Facing the camera in profile view, Bron smiles.

    Bronwyn "Bron" Schlaefer

    ACT Interpreter

    Pronouns: she/they

    Specialty/Niche: musical theater, technical theater, and opera/choral work. 

    Favorite Shows I've interpreted: Next to Normal or Hannah Gadsby

    What I Love About Performance Interpreting: I have a chance to really study the language of the text and get into how and why a person is saying something. It's script analysis, character analysis, performance analysis, and sociolinguistics all wrapped into one creative work. (Yes, I'm a nerd). Performance is also great for finding different ways to match the emotion of a speaker or a piece so that all the clarity, character, and feeling is right there. Like trying on different masks to see what makes sense with each character and each performance. 

  • Headshot of Leia Sparks indoors. Leia has short, spiky purple hair with shaved sides, a nose piercing, and several ear piercings. Leia has one arm over the back of a chair and smiles. Leia wears a maroon cardigan over a dark pearled shirt.

    Leia Sparks

    ACT Interpreter

    Pronouns: she/her

    Specialty/Niche: Concerts and musicals/plays. I also enjoy comedy and drag shows. 

    Favorite Shows I’ve Interpreted: SIX, From Here to Eternity

    What I Love about Performance Interpreting: My love for performance work comes from my own background of singing and theatre. I love bringing the characters to life and providing the "meaning" behind the words in a script!

  • Placeholder image: the ACT Interpreting logo, depicting stylized black lines forming hands signing "interpret" against a mint background.

    CJ Speakman

    ACT Interpreter

    Coming Soon

  • Havalah Teaman

    ACT Interpreter

    Pronouns: ze / hir / they / them

    Specialty/Niche: Plays, Choral performances,  Riot Grrrl,  Queer/Trans events,

    Favorite shows I've interpreted/been involved with: 

    Islander (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre), A Case for the Existence of God (Forward), Alok Vaid-Menon (Thalia Hall), Fallen Angels (American Players Theatre)

    What I love about performance work:

    I love studying the complicated layers the writer, actors, directors, and designers have put into the show. I love figuring out ways to bring that into an interpretation in collaboration with my interpreting team so our consumers have a full and nuanced understanding of the true creative vision of a play or song.

  • Headshot of Jon Thomm against a white background. Jon has short brown hair with shaved sides and a short beard. Jon wears rectangular glasses and a black V-neck tee. Jon smiles at the camera.

    Jon Thomm

    ACT Interpreter

    Pronouns: he/him

    Specialty/niche: Plays, magic shows

    Favorite shows I’ve interpreted: Misery, Christmas Carol, Breaking Benjamin

    What I love about performance work: I love live music and theater, and interpreting these events allows me to feel creative with my interpreting work. 


  • Headshot of Jessica Toth with pine trees in the background. Jessica's long black hair is tied up in a topknot. Jessica smiles at the camera. Jessica wears translucent orange glasses, an orange cardigan, and a black tee.

    Jessica Toth

    ACT Interpreter

    Pronouns: she/her

    Specialty/niche: Musical theater, children’s theater, Christian concerts.

    Favorite Interpreted Shows: Elf The Musical (First Stage and Marcus Center, National Tour), SpongeBob SquarePants: The New Musical (First Stage), Titanic: A New Musical (Milwaukee Rep), The Lightning Thief (First Stage), Tina: The Tina Turner Musical (Madison Overture, National Tour). How can I pick just one?

    What I love about performance work: As an actress myself, I love bringing the same performance to interpreting! I get to make something that I love more accessible to the community that I love - what could be better than that!!?

  • Selfie of Leigh Whisenant indoors. Leigh's long blonde hair is pulled back and swept over one shoulder. Leigh wears clear rectangular glasses, bright red lipstick, a black top and backpack. Leigh smiles at the camera, head slightly tilted.

    Leigh Whisenant

    ACT Founder, Interpreter, & Coordinator

    Pronouns: she/her

    Specialty/niche: punk/rock music, musicals, comedy, children’s theater, improv, LGBTQ+ events

    Favorite performance experiences: Post Malone, Kat & the Hurricane, Green Day & Smashing Pumpkins, Beetlejuice the Musical, Moulin Rouge The Musical

    What I love about performance work: So much magic is shared in the performance space, whether through poignant and relatable lyrics, or transporting theatrical productions. Adding a layer of accessibility only accentuates performance spaces and allows more perspectives to come to the table as we evolve our performance spaces. I love the multi-faceted artistry that comes to the forefront as ASL teams craft works of art into a manual modality.

  • Headshot of Steph Zito in front of a concrete backdrop. Steph has long, straight brown hair. Steph wears stone earrings, a black blazer, and a bright mint top. Steph smiles at the camera.

    Steph Zito

    ACT Interpreter

    Pronouns: she/Her 

    Specialty/Niche: Comedy (Improv & standup), concerts, classic musicals

    Favorite shows interpreted: Mama Mia! (musical), Green Day(artist), Taylor Tomlinson (comedian), UWM Drag Show (performers)

    What I love about performance work: That energy from performers and/or the audience that truly feeds the soul.

  • Headshot of Nix Carlson in front of a brick wall. Nix has swoopy black-brown hair with shaved sides. Nix wears a bright red turtleneck and smiles at the camera.

    Nix Carlson

    ACT Interpreting Intern/Mentee

    Coming Soon

More Coming Soon…!