speech artists
Meet the teachers, performers, and therapists who are members of our association.
Christine Burke
Currently, Christine teaches Communication Studies at her local college and at a nearby university and travels to conferences, Waldorf schools, teacher trainings, and Christian Communities throughout the world to teach speech and drama and lead groups in a variety of themes. Christine manages the ‘for social benefit’ company she founded in Ventura, California called Caffrodite Community Collective, which opened just before the corona virus changed our ways of gathering. She leads meditations online, speech workshops and serves on local boards to continue her passion for fostering the art of community, exploring the many paths of this ‘art of the future’ — as Rudolf Steiner called it — alongside her longtime passion of discovery in the sacred realm of the Word.
Diane Caracciolo
Diane works as Associate Professor and Program Director for the Educational Theatre Online programs at Adelphi University. She first encountered the work of Rudolf Steiner in 1979 through her mentor, the late Deirdre Hurst du Prey, who was an assistant to Michael Chekhov and taught graduate students at Adelphi. After graduation, Diane joined the faculty of the Waldorf School of Garden City, teaching high school English and theatre before moving to England to study speech formation at Peredur, graduating in December 1990.
Upon returning to the U.S., she began working at Adelphi, advocating for the role of arts in education and designing curriculum for mainstream teachers with the hope of building a healing bridge through the arts to the wider educational world. She earned an Ed.D. in Art Education from Teachers College, Columbia in 2006 with a dissertation exploring the educational narratives of the indigenous peoples of the land on which she lives and works.
She is currently deeply interested in Dawn Langman’s ongoing work to bridge speech formation with Chekhov’s acting methodology. Diane’s published writing can be found Academia, which includes a chapter documenting the influence of Deirdre Hurst du Prey.
Jutta Distler
A native of Denmark, Jutta earned a degree in Sprachgestaltung (Creative Speech Formation) at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland (1984-1989). She uses multiple languages in her teaching and loves to compare them. This has been a thread throughout her teaching.
Jutta teaches Speech Formation at the Waldorf Teacher Institute of Chicago (formerly known as Arcturus) and has done so since 2008. She also teaches Speech Formation to private students.
Together with her musician / dancer / artist husband, Terran Doehrer, she tours internationally with their band, Jutta & the Hi-Dukes™, presenting their traditional music and dance program at festivals, concerts, schools, and universities since 1990. Additionally, Jutta and Terran teach traditional dance to people with disabilities in America, Denmark, Switzerland, and Romania.
Craig Giddens
A Goetheanum recognized speech artist since 1978, Craig has been a Waldorf class teacher, speech teacher and a mentor in Waldorf schools in both the U.S. and in Europe for more than fifty years. He was a founding member of the Center for Anthroposophy in New Hampshire, a founding member of the Speech School of North America, and has been a part of the faculty at the Antioch New England Waldorf Teacher Training since it began in 1982. He is currently teaching speech at Sound Circle Waldorf Teacher Training in Seattle and the Waldorf High School Teacher Training in New Hampshire. He lives in Freeport Maine where he is mentoring teachers and teaching speech at the Maine Coast Waldorf School. Craig is the Director of Sound Circle Speech.
Jennifer Kleinbach
Jennifer has been performing and teaching speech arts and eurythmy in a variety of settings over the past 17 years. In 2000, she completed eurythmy training in Spring Valley, followed by touring with the stage ensemble (2000-2005), teaching eurythmy at Spring Valley (200-2007), and completing her speech training in 2005. Since 2004, she has performed in a variety of theatre productions (including the Mystery Dramas), festivals, and eurythmy performances.
Jennifer currently leads a community speech chorus, teaches speech arts at Eurythmy Spring Valley, the Christian Community Seminary, and Steiner School of Speech Arts. She holds a BA in Classical Languages, an MA in Medieval Studies, completed the Foundation Year and Goethean Studies course at Rudolf Steiner College, and is an alumna of Sacramento Waldorf School.
Helen Lubin
Helen attended Novalis School for Speech and Drama and School for Speech and Artistic Therapeutic Speech (Germany); post-graduate year at the Goetheanum, Switzerland. Former resident therapist/speech artist Karl-Schubert-Schule, Stuttgart; instructor School for Pedagogical and Therapeutic Speech in Dornach, Switzerland (1989-91); Rudolf Steiner College faculty 1992-2016.
Helen founded the project Speech Arts in Waldorf Education in North America (1994, ongoing) to further collaboration between speech artists and Waldorf schools in North America. She is an instructor at Waldorf teacher education programs, practitioner therapeutic speech arts, co-founder/current faculty Steiner School of Speech Arts (four-year professional training).
Helen played ‘Maria’ in Rudolf Steiner’s four Mystery Dramas (1994-2001); performed as speaker with eurythmy groups; editor/translator; Camphill Seminar in Curative Education (10 years in this field, including as class teacher). BA Special Educational Studies; BS Speech Pathology and Audiology; MA Human Development. Former Waldorf student.
Helen continues her teaching travels to Waldorf schools, conferences and adult education programs throughout the year.
Anja Macmurchie
Anja Macmurchie completed her training in speech and dramatic arts at the Goetheanum in Switzerland in 1991, and extended her studies in the English language at the Chrysalis Theatre acting school under Peter and Barbara Bridgemont from 1992 to 1994. Anja worked with speech in Fringe Theatre in London. She created a puppetry Theater in Israel and gave courses in speech and acting in Israel. Anja now lives on Vancouver Island where she continues working as an Anthroposophic Therapeutic Speech practitioner, as well as with puppets and storytelling.
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
To reach Judith, please connect here.
Judith Pownall Gerstein
Judith has pursued her love for the sounding word for a lifetime. She taught poetry and drama to high school students and acted with several stage companies before attending the Anthroposophical Youth Conference in Dornach, Switzerland, in 1972. There she met speech formation/creative speech and Maisie Jones, soon to be her guide and teacher. She completed her four-year training with Maisie at The London School of Speech Formation and received the Goetheanum diploma.
On her return to Chicago, Judith worked curatively with special needs children and adults and was active speaking for eurythmy whenever possible. She and eurythmist Jeanne-Simon Macdonald later started Grasshopper Productions, a touring group of eurythmists and speaker.
Now retired, Judith is available for consultations.
Alice Pratt
Alice graduated from The Speech School of North America in 2006 with a diploma from the Goetheanum. She taught speech in different Waldorf school settings for several years with students, teachers and parents. This work encompassed therapeutic speech exercises with children and adults. As a Waldorf class teacher, Alice brought her love of speech and drama into the classroom, directing several plays with her students and with faculty. Currently, Alice lives in Harrisville, NH and is available to work with children and/or adults in storytelling, poetry and drama in any capacity, either online or in person.
Barbara Renold
Barbara is a practicing speech artist, teacher and director of community theatre. She trained at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland from 1978-1981 and supplemented her studies at the Harkness Studio in Sydney, Australia in 1982-83.
During her time as a speech and drama teacher at Sunbridge College (1983-2007), she taught in all part- and full-time programs, and directed many student productions. Her great passion is Rudolf Steiner’s Mystery Dramas. She has directed two full cycles. This work culminated in the historic Mystery Drama Festival of August 2014 in Spring Valley, NY, in which, for the first time in English, all four dramas were presented by one cast, in a 9-day conference. She is currently teaching at the Eurythmy School and is one of the founding teachers of the full-time speech training, the Steiner School of Speech Arts, housed in the Threefold Community in Spring Valley, NY.
Bradford Riley
Bradford conducts classes in speech in the Adirondacks of New York State. His works on speech may be found by searching ‘Eurythmy, Speech, the Word and the Study of Etheric Phytology (one) by Bradford Riley’.
Patricia Smith
Patricia is a native of Vancouver, Canada. Always interested in language and literature, Patricia acted in community plays through her Christian Community youth group, and then at Camphill School, where she was also drawn into recitation for eurythmy. This and work with children with special needs led her to learn in Europe (School for Speech and Artistic Speech Therapy, Stuttgart; Goetheanum Speech School).
After graduation, Patricia returned to North America and Camphill School, where she worked therapeutically with speech for several years. She has performed as a speaker with numerous eurythmy groups, and has also given speech blocks in many Waldorf Schools, conferences, and teacher trainings. In 2000, Patricia returned to Vancouver where she has been active in the Camphill movement, helping to create festivals, plays and fairytale productions with the companions and coworkers.
Now retired from her work in Camphill, Patricia is part of the storytelling community in the Vancouver area, and is a faculty member at the West Coast Institute for Studies in Anthroposophy.
Kim Snyder-Vine
Kim Snyder-Vine holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ., 1975; an Orientation Certificate in Anthroposophical Studies, from the Waldorf Institute of Mercy College, Detroit, MI., 1977; and a Four-Year Goetheanum-approved Diploma from the London School of Speech Formation, London, U.K., 1983; and has been in training as a Mother since 1985.
She has been teaching, performing and consulting in creative speech, drama, and hygienic speech, for children and adults, in private Waldorf and Waldorf-inspired charter schools and Waldorf teacher training institutes, artistic training centers, as well as other private and public venues, worldwide, since 1983. Kim was a founding member of Portal Productions, London, UK and Alchymia Theatre, Chicago, IL.; she has also performed with, among others, Ashdown Eurythmy, U.K., The London Eurythmy Group, London, U.K., Midwest Eurythmy Group, Chicago, IL., Eurythmeum Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany and Lemniscate Arts, in conjunction with Eurythmy Spring Valley, Chestnut Ridge, N.Y.
She is currently teaching individual private, creative speech students online.
Debra Spitulnik
Debra is an adjunct professor of Creative Speech at Antioch University New England, a member of the faculty of the Center for Anthroposophy, teaching speech, drama, storytelling, and curriculum to graduate students. She also teaches speech at the Washington Waldorf School. For three decades she has brought her love of creative speech to students, teachers and young adults nationwide. Debra’s unique perspective from her years as a class teacher and a speech artist enlivens plays, poetry, and story in grades K-12. She is a core faculty member of Kairos Institute. In addition, Debra has developed a speech program for teachers, is the Pedagogical Lead for a new Waldorf-inspired charter school initiative in Baltimore City.
Education: Diploma in the arts of Speech and Drama, PerformInternational; M.Ed., Waldorf Education, Antioch University New England; B.S. Elementary and Special Education, Syracuse University.
Michael Steinrueck
Michael was born north of Toronto, Canada in 1957. He graduated from the 4-year training in Creative Speech in Stuttgart, Germany in 1984. For the following 6 years he worked with creative speech at the Karl Schubert Schule for children with special needs in Vienna. In 1990 he moved to Spring Valley, New York to work with Eurythmy Spring Valley. This work continued for 23 years, and expanded over time to include many additional areas of activity. During this time he also raised a family of three girls. In 2013 he joined the Lukas Community for adults with special needs in New Hampshire, where he ran a household, led workshops in speech and drama, and ran the farm. Beginning in 2016 he spent 3 years working at Inner Fire in Vermont with adults with psychological challenges, where he split his time between speech and gardening therapy. In 2019 he joined the Rudolf Steiner Fellowship in Chestnut Ridge, New York to focus on eldercare in community.
Linden Sturgis
Linden is now in his last year of teaching after 41 years as a Waldorf teacher. The last ten years have been as a middle school teacher near Sedona, Arizona. As a middle school teacher he has taught all subjects. He has been especially known among students and his colleagues for his exciting physics lessons, challenging math courses and his plays. While in Arizona he has produced ten plays, three of them written by himself and four of them Shakespeare plays. He is currently directing the 8th grade in Twelfth Night and, as far as he knows, it will be the last play of his directing career.
Key to his successful productions has been his training in Creative Speech and the many discoveries made through the years in how to lead the students into the world of gesture on the stage. He now looks forward to a big out-breath and then spending more time with his three children and two grandchildren.
Jeremiah David Turner
Jeremiah has worked with Anthroposophic Speech therapeutically, artistically, and pedagogically for the last 22 years since graduating from the Artemis School of Speech and Drama. He is based in San Francisco and welcomes collaboration with other speech artists, eurythmists, musicians, and medical practitioners.
Beatrice Voigt
Beatrice is a graduate of The School for Speech and Drama in Dornach, Switzerland. She came to the United States to study the Michael Chekhov acting technique through Sunbridge College. Beatrice has performed across North America and Europe, appearing with Amaranth Eurythmy Theater, the Spring Valley Mystery Drama Group, Eurythmy Spring Valley, The Harlotry Players, Hostia, Eurythmy Witten-Annen, and others.
Before coming to North America, Beatrice held the position of Speech Artist at the Rudolf Steiner Schule Bochum, Germany, for seven years. Since 1995 she has been part of the Detroit Waldorf School, teaching German and Speech, as well as class teaching, and she taught Speech and Drama in the local teacher training institute. Beatrice is a certified Chirophonetics practitioner. Currently, she coordinates the Educational Support Program of the Detroit Waldorf School, and, as a member of the program, she supports students through Creative Speech. She resides with her partner Brian near Detroit/Michigan.