Bill O'Brien is a

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

, and the Senior Advisor for Program Innovation for the

National Endowment of the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

. Bill O'Brien was appointed to serve as Deputy Chairman of Grants and Awards for the National Endowment for the Arts shortly after the election of

President Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

in 2008, where he supervised the design and implementation of grants and awards programs, designed and led national leadership initiatives, developed partnerships to advance discipline fields, and managed the panel review process across multiple arts disciplines. In 2009 he was appointed Senior Advisor for Program Innovation for the Endowment. This appointment serves as the senior executive at the NEA responsible for exploring, examining and identifying innovative and emerging practices, programs and endeavors in the arts that are transformative and potentially worthy of federal government support or acknowledgement. In this capacity, he has served as the agency's lead on the

Walter Reed Walter Reed (September 13, 1851 – November 22, 1902) was a U.S. Army physician who in 1901 led the team that confirmed the theory of Cuban doctor Carlos Finlay that yellow fever is transmitted by a particular mosquito species rather than ...

/NEA Healing Arts Partnership (including

Operation Homecoming Operation Homecoming was the return of 591 American prisoners of war (POWs) held by North Vietnam following the Paris Peace Accords that ended U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Operation On January 27, 1973, Henry Kissinger (then assistant ...

) investigating the role of the arts in helping to heal military service members recovering from traumatic brain injuries and psychological health issues, the

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nat ...

's "Declaration of Learning" initiative and various activities of interest to the agency at the intersection of arts, science, technology and the humanities. Prior to these appointments, O'Brien was named the NEA's Director of Theater and Musical Theater in July 2006, where he designed and directed national leadership initiatives, promoted partnerships to advance the theater field, and managed the review process for theater and musical theater applications. In 2007, he designed and initiated the NEA National New Play Development program—administered by Arena Stage, which featured the NEA Outstanding New American Play and Distinguished New Play Development selections. Before joining the NEA, he served for seven years as producing director and managing director for Deaf West Theater (DWT) where he received a Tony and a Drama Desk nomination for producing the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

sign language production of Big River and received three

Ovation Award The Ovation Awards are a Southern California award for excellence in theatre, established in 1989. They are given out by the non-profit arts service organization LA Stage Alliance and are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. Winne ...

nominations for his work on the production of Big River at Deaf West (as producer, sound designer and lead actor). That production went on to win three Best Musical awards (Ovation, LADCC and

Back Stage Garland Awards The Back Stage Garland Awards — also referred to simply as the Garland Awards, and known as the Back Stage West Garland Awards from 1998 to 2008 — were bestowed by the entertainment-industry newspaper ''Backstage'', honoring excellence in Sout ...

) and the cast of Big River was awarded the 2004 Tony Honor for Excellence in Theatre. Other productions he produced for Deaf West include

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pe ...

(Ovation Award for Best Play) and

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a coming-of-age stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before ...

(Ovation Award for Best Musical). He has appeared in Deaf West productions of True West and Big River (Backstage West Garland Award for Lead Actor,

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 ...

Nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor). His advocacy efforts on behalf of the

Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a piece of American legislation that ensures students with a disability are provided with a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) that is tailored to their individual needs. IDEA w ...

of the

United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Departme ...

helped garner Deaf West Theatre the

Secretary of Health and Human Services The United States secretary of health and human services is the head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all health matters. The secretary is ...

Highest Recognition Award for “bridging the gap between the deaf and hearing worlds through theatre.” In addition, O'Brien has served as executive vice president on the executive board of the National Alliance for Music Theatre and as a task force member, conference speaker, and grant panelist with

Theatre Communications Group Theatre Communications Group (TCG) is a non-profit service organization headquartered in New York City that promotes professional non-profit theatre in the United States. The organization also publishes ''American Theatre'' magazine and ''ARTSEA ...

, both national service organization for the theater and musical theater fields. O'Brien also performed onstage in 48 states in numerous national touring and regional productions, was an

American College Theatre Festival The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) is a national theatre program dedicated to the improvement of collegiate theatre in the United States. Focused on the celebration of diverse and exciting theatre, KCACTF involves student ...

Irene Ryan Acting Competition National Finalist and has recurred in all seven seasons as Kenny, Marlee Matlin's interpreter, on ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial (radio and television), serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the ...

''. O'Brien graduated with a degree in Musical Theater from the

University of Northern Iowa The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI offers more than 90 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities, Arts, and Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences and gr ...

in 1985.

Selected filmography

*''

Gideon's Crossing ''Gideon's Crossing'' is an American medical drama A medical drama is a television show or film in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television), dramatic pr ...

'' (2001) :Two episodes, as Conor McGrath *''

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

'' (2002) :''Great Expectations episode, as Brian McCulley *''

'' (2000–2005) :22 episodes, as Kenny Thurman (sign language interpreter for Joey Lucas, the role performed by

Marlee Matlin Marlee Beth Matlin (born August 24, 1965) is an American actress, author, and activist. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for a ...

). *'' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' (2007) :'' Silencer'' episode, as Detective Peter Lyons Additional Actor/Singer/Composer/Songwriter Credits • Composed the score for the independent film "Church". • 7 year ensemble member of NBC's "The West Wing" (as Kenny, Marlee Matlin's sign language interpreter) • Recurring and featured roles on network television, including "Law and Order", "Providence" and "Gideon's Crossing". • Over 700 performances in 48 states playing Will Rogers in "The Will Rogers Follies". • Performed roles on national tours and in regional theatre productions including Buddy in "The Buddy Holly Story", Romeo in "Romeo and Juliet", George Bailey in "It's a Wonderful Life", Mark Twain/voice of Huck in "Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn". • Composed music for national tours of "The Grapes of Wrath" and "Hand-made Stories" (National Technical Institute for the Deaf • Composed the score for the independent film "Church".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Bill Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American male television actors University of Northern Iowa alumni