Howie Seago (born December 15, 1953) is an American actor and director.

Early life, family and education

Seago, who is

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

, was born in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Pa ...

. His father was hard of hearing, and that side of the family had a history of hearing loss. Howie has two brothers (one is hard of hearing; one is deaf) and two sisters (who are both hearing). He first began to develop his mimicking abilities as a child with the help of his mother. He began his serious acting work in college, when he joined the

National Theatre of the Deaf The National Theatre of the Deaf (NTD) is a Connecticut-based theatre company founded in 1967, and is the oldest theatre company in the United States with a continuous history of domestic and international touring, as well as producing original wo ...

. His major was psychology.

Career

Seago's television career includes appearances on '' Hunter'', '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (episode: " Loud as a Whisper") and '' The Equalizer'' as well as involvement in the children's show, '' Rainbow's End''. He has also produced some plays, using both hearing and deaf actors. He is a central figure of the American Deaf Community, especially as an author and teacher. His break-out role was in

Peter Sellars Peter Sellars (born September 27, 1957) is an American theatre director, noted for his unique contemporary stagings of classical and contemporary operas and plays. Sellars is professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where ...

' production of ''

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...

''. He was later cast by David Byrne for the German production of ''The Forest'' (1989), because he was so impressed with Seago's performance. This production was directed by Robert Wilson for the

Berliner Festspiele The Berliner Festspiele (German for Berlin Festivals) are a series of festivals, art exhibitions, and other cultural events organized all year long by a common organization in Berlin. Events are held at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele, a pre-ex ...

. In Austria, Seago worked as an actor for the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Ama ...

and the

Vienna Festival __NOTOC__ The Wiener Festwochen (Vienna Festival) is a cultural festival in Vienna that takes place every year for five or six weeks in May and June. The Wiener Festwochen was established in 1951, when Vienna was still occupied by the four Alli ...

and as a director for

ARBOS - Company for Music and Theatre ARBOS is an Italian agricultural machinery company located in Migliarina di Carpi, Modena, Italy. It was founded in 1954 in Piacenza, Italy. ARBOS manufactures tractors, fertilizer equipment, seeding equipment and sprayers. History ARBOS, a b ...

. He also had a significant role in '' Beyond Silence'', a German film about a hearing girl growing up with deaf parents, directed by

Caroline Link Caroline Link (born 2 June 1964) is a German film director and screenwriter. Life and work Caroline Link is the daughter of Jürgen and Ilse Link. From 1986 to 1990 she studied at the University of Television and Film Munich (HFF), and then wo ...

. Since 2009, Seago has been a company member with the

Oregon Shakespeare Festival The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) is a regional repertory theatre in Ashland, Oregon, United States, founded in 1935 by Angus L. Bowmer. The Festival now offers matinee and evening performances of a wide range of classic and contemporary pla ...

, in Ashland, Oregon, where he is the first deaf actor to perform in the festival's history. His roles there have included The Ghost of Hamlet's Father in ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'', Ned Poins in ''

Henry IV, Part I ''Henry IV, Part 1'' (often written as ''1 Henry IV'') is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. The play dramatises part of the reign of King Henry IV of England, beginning with the battle at ...

and Henry IV, Part II'', Marcellus Washburn in ''

The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments ...

'', Bob Ewell in ''

To Kill a Mockingbird ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a novel by the American author Harper Lee. It was published in 1960 and was instantly successful. In the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' has become ...

'', Duke Senior in '' As You Like It'', King Cymbeline in ''

Cymbeline ''Cymbeline'' , also known as ''The Tragedie of Cymbeline'' or ''Cymbeline, King of Britain'', is a play by William Shakespeare set in Ancient Britain () and based on legends that formed part of the Matter of Britain concerning the early Celti ...

'', Little John in "The Heart of Robinhood", and Wolf in ''

Into the Woods ''Into the Woods'' is a 1987 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. T ...

.''

Honors and awards

Seago has been honored many times, including being a recipient of the

Helen Hayes Award The Helen Hayes Awards are theater awards recognizing excellence in professional theater in the Washington, D.C. area since 1983. The awards are named in tribute of Helen Hayes, who is also known as the "First Lady of American Theatre." They ar ...

.; Dramalogue Award, and Joe Velez Memorial Award. He also co-produced the PBS television show, ''Rainbow's End'', which won an Emmy Seago spoke candidly about the effect his deafness has had on his life and work in the book '' Chronicles of Courage: Very Special Artists'' written by

Jean Kennedy Smith Jean Ann Kennedy Smith (February 20, 1928June 17, 2020) was an American diplomat, activist, humanitarian, and author who served as United States Ambassador to Ireland from 1993 to 1998. She was a member of the Kennedy family, the eighth of nine c ...

and

George Plimpton George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 – September 25, 2003) was an American writer. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found ''The Paris Review'', as well as his patrician demeanor and accent. He was also known for " ...

and published by

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

Personal life

Seago's wife Lori is a fan of '' Star Trek''. They have two sons, Ryan and Kyle Seago, neither of whom is deaf. The family resides in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Written works

*Seago, Howie. ''In an Alien World of Sound'', ARBOS-Edition, Vienna-Salzburg-Klagenfurt, 1996/1997.

References

External links

*
''Deaf Life'' Magazine Cover
April 1989 {{DEFAULTSORT:Seago, Howie American male television actors Living people 1953 births American male deaf actors Deaf film directors American theatre directors Male actors from Tacoma, Washington American deaf people