Debra A. Peterson earned her bachelor's degree in English and theater from the University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire in 1981 and a master's degree in journalism at the University of Kansas in 1994, writing her thesis on theater criticism. Now a teacher, she also has worked as a reporter, a copy editor, a professional actress, a Broadway theater concessions manager, and a farm laborer. In 1988, Dramatics magazine published her feature Working With Munchkins, based on her experience of directing children in The Wizard of Oz. In 1994, she was one of only 20 theater educators from around the country to receive a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to study theater for a summer at Bread Loaf College in Middlebury, Vt. While there, she played Audrey in the resident company's production of As You Like It. She has been teaching since 1984 at Memorial High School in Eau Claire, Wis., expanding the theater program there from one class in 1984 to six classes in 1996. Memorial High School theater graduates have gone on to college theater and to successful careers in the professional theater. Peterson has directed and designed more than 20 productions, including three premieres of works never before produced in her city. She currently is a consultant for an Atlanta playwright and is working on another book.
