William Payne is currently the Interim Dean of the School of Fine Arts and a Professor of Directing/Acting at the University of Minnesota Duluth where he teaches acting, directing, and new play development. He has served as a member of the UMD Office of Civic Engagement Steering Committee and was the co-chair of the Liberal Education Task Force. He is a co-founder (1985) and current company member of the American Blues Theater Company, Chicago, Illinois. Bill has enjoyed a long career directing professional theater, with an emphasis on developing and premiering new work.
He is currently teaching Theater and Global Change, a two part on-line course for the New York Times Knowledge Network and UMD. The course features Ben Brantley, chief theater critic for the New York Times, as a co-instructor.
He has created several documentaries and educational video seminars about various aspects of life in the United States. They include: HaysKids: Pathways to Understanding-Raising Kids with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder A Seminar with John Hays This seminar outlines basic parenting techniques for children with FASD. John and Holiday Hays have adopted thirteen children, ten with FASD, and have developed parenting techniques that work. The video is currently being given to parents adopting FASD children and parents whose children receive a diagnosis of FASD at various locations around the midwest. The video is free. For more information, go to <www.hayskids.com>. A second DVD on Life Planning for Fetal Alcohol teens and adult will be completed by 2012.
The documentary 50/50: The American Divide is about why people vote and why they don't vote. Shot during the 2004 election, the movie was produced by Follow Productions of St. Paul, Minnesota in collaboration with the University of Minnesota Duluth Office of Civic Engagement as part of the American Democracy Project sponsored by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. 50/50: The American Divide presents the voices of "We The People" and inspires hope about the future of America. The movie is an excellent teaching tool to engage college and high school students in a discussion about the electoral process, the impact of participation, and what it means to be a citizen. For more information go to <http://www.50-50movie.com>.
Bill has directed many theatre projects, including a production of The Ice Fishing Play by Kevin Kling for the 2009 UMD Sieur du Luth Summer Arts Festival, the Commedia D'elle Arte scenario Sausage for UMD Theatre, and the world premiere of Half Of Plenty by Lisa Dilman for the American Blues Theater in 2007. His most recent production was South Pacific by Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, and Joshua Logan, for UMD Theatre. The production included the Northland Veterans Project, which featured a lobby display honoring veterans from the Northland since World War II, a special free performance for veterans and their families and friends, and a pre-show ritual that honored deployed soldiers, local military units, and the singing of the National Anthem.