Lewis Merkin
Lewis Merkin (American Sign Language Consultant) has had varied and eclectic careers, all connected with communication somehow. For 30 years his acting career has taken him all over the world. Broadway: original cast Children of a Lesser God (1979-1982); London: Equus (1981); 2 years with the National Theatre of the Deaf (1986-1988); Off-Broadway: On House WPA Theatre (1997),Epic Family Epic dir. Ain Gordon (2003, 2007), regional theaters and TV. He is the co-writer (with Drew Emery) of Language of One, a journey of a Deaf, Gay, Jewish architect which was produced initially in Seattle (1993) and subsequently produced at New York Deaf Theatre (1995) and the Australian Theatre of the Deaf (1999). As a consultant, he worked with Mary Louise Parker, Michael O’Keefe and Rosie Perez on Reckless.
A second career is that of a public speaker/educator. For several years, Lewis worked for the AIDS Education for the Deaf program at GLAD in Los Angeles; helped organize the 2nd International Deaf & HIV conference at Asilomar, CA in 1990, and served on the board of the National Coalition on the Deaf Community and HIV, Inc. He also worked at Abused Deaf Women’s Advocacy Services in Seattle, WA in the same capacity.
He is also an American Sign Language interpreter with a national certification (CDI) from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf and currently serves as Member at Large on its Board of Directors. Lewis is a staff interpreter with the NYC Dept. of Education.