Debe Edden

Debe came to Playback Theatre in 1990 when she was searching for a way to use theatre as a tool for violence prevention with young people. Since that time, Debe and the Heartsparkle Players have incorporated Playback and other interactive theatre techniques in their work. She has had the privilege of hearing the stories of many people, teaching Playback, traveling to numerous communities, serving her own community, working with youth and sharing the gift of Playback with a diverse group of folks. She is extremely honored and blessed to work with the Heartsparkle Players, a company of talented individuals, loving human beings and people who know how to have a good time! Debe has been a professional performer, storyteller and director for over 30 years. She has also been a preschool teacher, a sexuality health educator, a job search skill instructor, house cleaner, trainer and volunteer coordinator for hospice.

Aeryk Bjork

It was through contacts at The Evergreen State College that Aeryk joined the Heartsparkle Players in 1995. What began as another theatre gig soon became a lifestyle after experiencing firsthand the power of witnessing people’s stories and giving voice to an otherwise quiet population. He currently serves as a playback actor and musician, workshop facilitator, and is the narrator for the Personal Safety Plays. His other part-time work includes house manager and stage crew duties at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts in Olympia, and fielding calls in the Seattle area through the Stagehand’s Union Local #15. With his wife Vivian, he recently opened Olympia’s first Ashtanga yoga studio, the Bandha Room. He has also been spotted committing random acts of mime, fire juggling, Butoh, and sometimes all three at once.

Elizabeth Lord

Elizabeth joined the Heartsparkle Players in 1998. In 1992 Elizabeth joined the Olympia Storytelling Guild where she met and befriended Debe Edden. Elizabeth's passion for the art of storytelling, her experience as an actor, as well as her curiosity about the human experience made her a natural match for the theatrical form of Playback Theatre. The Heartsparkle Players provide an opportunity for Elizabeth to satisfy her need to meet new people, hear their stories and learn from their experience. It gives her a chance to honor people's lives in their unique, respectful, and engaging manner. Playback Theatre satisfies her desire to not only perform, but to collaborate with talented people and explore theatrical improvisation.

Lydia Beth Leimbach

Lydia Beth discovered Playback Theatre her first quarter at The Evergreen State College in 1990. The combination of spontaneity and creativity with personal story felt like a natural fit, and she was hooked. Whether playing the role of actor, musician or conductor Lydia Beth believes in the importance and power of Playback Theatre. She has personally witnessed Playback's ability to heal, transform and create community. Lydia Beth has attended international playback theatre conferences in Australia, England, the U.S., and Brazil. She applies the tools she has developed of listening, understanding and creativity to other areas of her life and believes she is a far better person because of it all. Besides theatre, Lydia Beth's other passions include plants and music. During the day she works as the Farm Production Manager at Left Foot Organics. By night she accompanies dance classes at the Olympia Dance Center and directs Kol N'Shama, the choir at Temple Beth Hatfiloh.

Sara Rucker Thiessen

Sara discovered The Heartsparkle Players and Playback Theatre in 1998. Playback Theatre and ensemble life are an excellent match for her interest in playful and truthful community building through the arts. Sara works for Senior Services for South Sound in Olympia Washington where she makes her home with her husband Kyle.

Ethan and his wife run Lengua Rica Spanish Language Instruction, Interpretation and Translation Services. He uses drama, pantomime, music, humor, analogy, and anecdotes to teach Spanish as a performance art. His notion that education should be both entertaining and empowering led him to Playback Theatre, which gives him more opportunities to serve others through performance, collaboration and creativity. He is attracted to the way in which Playback Theatre cultivates community by taking everyday stories and, through ritual and artistic sensibility, transforms them into art. He experiences it as a ceremony that explores and celebrates who we are, why we’re here, and how we relate to ourselves, each other, and our world. He and his wife unschool their daughter who is passionate about shoes, reading, weddings, Broadway musicals, and getting published. In addition to Spanish, Ethan speaks Portuguese and his French is coming along. He plays guitar, mandolin, piano, pennywhistle, and drums.

Bob McKenzie Sullivan has been involved in the performing arts most of his life as a singing and instrumentalist musician and actor. His first exposure to playback theatre was the Heartsparkle Players on a regular monthly performance at Traditions Café. He was taken in by the care with which people’s stories were taken and carefully and artistically turned into theatre and offered back to the owner of the story. He began to come to Heartsparkle workshops with an eye to teaching playback theatre to his students at Rochester High School. He is very excited to be involved in theatre that is more than entertainment. It is theatre at the service of the community and each member who shares a story.

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