actor | interpreter | designer

Gerard Williams was born in Yorktown Heights, New York in 1983 amidst the popular and passionate music of The Police, Donna Summer, and Michael Jackson. He didn't stay put long though, moving with his family to Laurel, MD where he learned to use a toilet, walk, and dress himself among other things. They moved to Columbia, South Carolina briefly, where the long hot summers and short mild winters tormented his Northeastern sensibility, but nothing much interesting happened until he returned to Maryland and started his freshman year of high school.

Luckily dragged to an audition for a Thornton Wilder play by his older sister, he suddenly found himself a theatre addict. Though he got his start in tech theatre, doing stage management, sound design and set construction, he quickly moved onto the stage and found where his passion lie. Along the way he joined his high school dance company and excelled at tap and jazz, performing at venues ranging from DisneyWorld and Carnival Cruise lines to high schools and small dance studios.

When his mind turned to college, he thought immediately of Washington, DC. The mysterious, international but mid sized city seemed more of a match for his rural background. Having grown up on a small ranch riding horses, the transition from open fields to concrete streets was difficult but formative. He was accepted to The George Washington University in 2001 as a Presidential Arts Scholar for Acting. The well rounded program at GWU continued to hone Gerard's technical skills in set design and stage management, while focusing on acting technique and physicality.

Spurred by new friendships with Deaf people in the District, Gerard took a Visual Gesture Communication class at Gallaudet University through the Consortium of Washington Schools in 2003. His experience at the Deaf liberal arts college led him to participate in the Visiting Student Program there, where he continued to study Deaf Culture, Deaf Theatre, and American Sign Language. For the remainder of his college career he split his time between his study of ASL, interpreting, and performing in a number of shows at GWU. He graduated Magna Cum Laude in May of 2005 with a Theatre Major.

After graduating, Gerard turned his eyes west and moved to Portland, OR where he worked as a freelance ASL Interpreter, and was involved as an actor, stage/tour manager, and web designer with Imago Theatre. He has since returned to the Washington, D.C. area to attend Gallaudet University and get his Masters Degree in American Sign Language interpreting.