The process of joining Theatre Pro Rata as a Company Member begins with nomination. All company members have the opportunity to nominate individuals. We look for people who fit our aesthetic, are enthusiastic collaborators, and have demonstrated a level of excellence in their work with us in the past.
Carin Bratlie – Artistic Director
Founder & Member Since 2001
Carin is a freelance director, fight choreographer, and acting instructor in Minneapolis, MN. She is the founding Artistic Director of Theatre Pro Rata and has worked on every production in the theater’s history in some capacity. In addition to directing, she has also designed fight choreography, costumes and/or set for a number of Pro Rata productions. As a freelance artist she has directed for Park Square, Theatre L’ Homme Dieu, The History Theater, Theatre Unbound, Croix Valley Summer Theater, Tedious Brief Productions, Chameleon Theater Circle and others. She has assistant directed for the Guthrie Theater, Outward Spiral, and The History Theater. She teaches theater classes at the Guthrie, Youth Performance Company, and Steppingstone Theater. She was a participant director and full scholarship recipient at the Wesley Balk Opera/Musical Theater Institute in 2007, received a B.A. from Concordia College, Moorhead, MN in 1998, and is a member of the Society of American Fight Directors. Her recent all-female production of Julius Caesar with Theatre Unbound won an Ivey Award in 2012.
TC Theater Connection Podcast – Roundtable
TC Theater Connection – Interview
Galileo Rehearsal Video
TC Theater Connection Podcast – Interview with Carin and Zach Curtis
Amber Bjork – Artistic Associate
Member Since 2009
Amber is a Twin Cities-based actor and director who has worked with Theatre Pro Rata extensively in the past and formally joined the company in 2009. Theatre Pro Rata productions she has participated in include: Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom, Lovers & Executioners, T Bone N Weasel, Dido, Queen of Carthage, The Taming of the Shrew, Traveling Light, The Spanish Tragedy, Marisol, Quills, Machinal, and Slag Heap, as well as several of the scripts presented for the company’s Playreading Series. Amber has worked with the Guthrie Theatre, Tedious Brief Productions, Sandbox Theatre, Pommelhorse Productions, Freshwater Theatre, Killing Joke Productions, Nimbus Theatre, Theatre Unbound The Winding Sheet Outfit, and others. She holds a B.A. in English Literature with a minor in Theatre Performance and Dramatic Theory from the University of Minnesota, Duluth, and has a four-year education in puppetry, storytelling, mask, mime and movement-based theatre from the Masque Theatre and School of Rochester, MN.
Julia Carlis – Artistic Associate
Member Since 2010
Julia is a Twin Cities-based freelance designer and has worked with Theatre Pro Rata since 2008. She joined the company in 2010. Pro Rata productions include Killer Joe, The Spanish Tragedy, The Taming of the Shrew, Dido, Queen of Carthage, and Cat’s Paw. Julia’s work has been seen around town with Theatre Unbound, Yellow Tree Theatre, Upright Egg, Eclectic Edge Ensemble, North Hennepin Community College, and the Minnesota Shakespeare Company, among others. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts from the University of Minnesota, concentrating in Lighting Design and Stage Management, and a Master’s in Library Science from the University of North Texas.
Andy Chambers – Company Member
Member Since 2006
A Twin Cities based actor and director, Andy has been a company member of Pro Rata since 2005. TPR collaborations include: The Spanish Tragedy, The Life of Galileo, Quills, Machinal and Hamlet as well as all performances in Pro Rata’s Playreading series. Andy has been seen on stage with several theatres including the Guthrie Theatre, Gremlin Theatre, nimbus Theatre, Theater in the Round Players, Shakespeare and Company, Cromulent Shakespeare Company, Behemouth Theatre, Here Today Productions, In the Basement Productions and Commedia Beauregard among others. As a director, Andy has worked with In the Basement and Trinity High School. On camera credits include Hypothetical Productions’ Newton’s Disease, Committee Films’ Holy Grail In America and others including several spots with shopNBC. Before graduating with a B.A. in Drama from the University of Dallas, Andy took part in more than 45 university productions including a staging of Aristophanes’ The Frogs (as director and actor) at the ancient Ampitheater at Epidaurus.
Grant Henderson – Company Member
Member Since 2010
Grant is a freelance actor, and has been a company member since 2010. Theatre Pro Rata productions he has participated in include: Lovers & Executioners, 44 Plays for 44 Presidents, Cat’s Paw, Dido: Queen of Carthage, The Taming of the Shrew, The Spanish Tragedy, and Marisol as well as performances in Pro Rata’s Playreading series. Grant has been seen onstage with several theaters including Bloomington Civic Theater, Theater in the Round, Shadowplay Theater, Tedious Brief Productions, Starting Gate Productions, and The Pioneer Players. Grant graduated from Iowa State University with a BFA in Visual Studies.
Mandi Johnson – Company Member
Member Since 2010
Mandi is a freelance costume designer and a Theatre Pro Rata company member. She has designed for The Spanish Tragedy, The Life of Galileo and Killer Joe for Theatre Pro Rata. Mandi has worked locally with Ordway Center, Frank Theatre, Sandbox Theatre, Old Log Theater, and others. Mandi has been recognized for “best costumes” in 2009 by Lavender Magazine. She received her B.A. In Technical Theatre from The College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, MN, and works full time as a costumer at Northwestern Costume Company in Minneapolis.
Ben Tallen – Company Member
Member Since 2011
Ben is a freelance actor and writer and became a Theatre Pro Rata company member in 2011. He has performed in Pro Rata’s production of T Bone n Weasel, Dido, Queen of Carthage, and Lovers & Executioners. He has performed with Gremlin Theater, Paul Bunyan Playhouse, Hardcover Theater, Starting Gate Productions, Workhouse Theater, Flying Pig Theater, and Theatre in the Round, among others. He is also a member of Tedious Brief Productions, having co-written and performed in two plays for that company. His plays have been performed in the Twin Cities, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and Providence, RI. He was nominated for a 2012 LA Weekly Theater award for Best Adapation. He graduated from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, with a Bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts.
Heather Meyer – Company Member
Member Since 2013
Heather Meyer is a freelance writer and performer. Heather has performed with Theatre Pro Rata in 44 Plays for 44 Presidents and the 365 Days/365 Plays project. Heather has also been a part of Theatre Pro Rata’s Play Reading series both as a playwright and an actor. Heather has worked locally with The Brave New Workshop, Huge Improv Theater, Swandive Theatre, Actors Theatre of MN, Theatre Unbound, nimbus theatre, Chicago Avenue Project and The National Theatre for Children She also produces her original work under the name Black Market Doctor for the Minnesota Fringe Festival. Her plays have also been produced in NYC, LA, Chicago, Washington DC and exotic Madison, WI. Heather is an MFA candidate in Playwriting at Spalding University, has undergraduate degrees in Theatre and Journalism from Clarke University, a certificate in Sustainable Design from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
Amy Bouthilette – Company Member
Member Since 2013
Amy Bouthilette is a freelance prop designer and actor. She has designed props for Pro Rata’s productions of Lovers & Executioners and Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom. She works in the Prop Shop, Scene Shop, and on Run Crew at the Guthrie Theater, and has designed for Park Square and Nimbus Theatre, among others. Amy graduated from North Dakota State University in 2011 with degrees in Theatre and Psychology and a minor in Neuroscience.
