Ken T. Williams is an actor, educator, director, and violence designer based in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area. For more than 30 years, he has performed, directed, designed, and taught across nearly every facet of the performing arts.As an actor, Ken has portrayed a wide range of memorable characters with some of the region’s most respected theatre companies. His stage credits include Megs in Stephen Metcalfe’s Strange Snow and Houston in the Midwest premiere of Lori Matthews’ October, Before I Was Born (Milwaukee Chamber Theatre); Harry in Theresa Rebeck’s The Understudy and Dave in the New York premiere of Gwendolyn Rice’s Lucky Numbers (Renaissance Theaterworks); Epilogue in Will Eno’s The Flu Season (Youngblood Theatre); O Li Roon in the Milwaukee premiere of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s In the Red and Brown Water (Uprooted Theatre); Jamie Tyrone in Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Cornerstone Theatre); Foster Batterham in the world premiere of Patty McCarty’s This Other Love (Acacia Theatre); Andrei in Anton Chekhov’s The Three Sisters (Windfall Ensemble); Stephano in Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Angus in Macbeth (Optimist Theatre); Howard Rudd in Romulus Linney’s Holy Ghosts (Quasi-Theatre); the original Zeke Zelinsky in Tony Wood’s A Cudahy Caroler Christmas and Kip Harris in David Lindsay-Abaire’s Wonder of the World (In Tandem Theatre); the Duke of Albany in Shakespeare’s King Lear (Alchemist Theatre); and Crumpet in David Sedaris’ one-man show The Santaland Diaries (Lake Geneva Theatre Company).
A passionate advocate for arts education, Ken believes theatre is one of the most effective tools for developing communication, collaboration, and interpersonal skills. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from the Peck School of the Arts at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and has taught students of all ages in academic, professional, and community settings.
His teaching experience includes work with Sunset Playhouse School for the Arts, Waukesha Civic Theatre’s Academy, Racine Prairie School, Milwaukee Public Schools, the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Wisconsin Lutheran College, First Stage Children’s Theater (where he served as Summer Academy Director), the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater, Marquette University, Marquette University High School, Pius XI Catholic High School, Carmen High School of Science and Technology, Cristo Rey Jesuit High School Milwaukee, University Lake School, Next Act Theatre, and Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Ken also assisted in developing theatre education standards for both Milwaukee Public Schools and First Stage, one of the nation’s largest actor-training programs. Courses he has taught include Audition Techniques, Acting for the Stage, Acting for Film, Improvisation, Scene Study, Creative Drama, Arts Integration, Theatre History, Dialect Preparation, Stage Combat, Relaxation Techniques, Shakespeare Text Analysis, and Movement.
Ken’s work extends to film and television as well. He starred as Howard Bluhm, a mild-mannered and bumbling CPA, in Salty Earth’s Telly Award–winning web series Fifth Pew From the Front, and portrayed the rambunctious man-child Tommy in Discovery World’s Secret Labs Radio Show. His feature film credits include a hard-nosed public servant in WTA’s Something for Stevie; Frank, a private investigator with secrets of his own, in Salty Earth’s Journey to Paradise; Bob Cratchit in A Mister Scrooge to See You; the sinister Dybbuk in The Return, where he also served as violence designer; Tony in The Author, The Star, and The Keeper and its sequel Stand in the Gap; Bob in Salty Earth's upcoming feature film Run for Glory based on the life of Don Beebe; and a voice of reason in Sekou Lukes’ short film Voices from the Front Lines. Television and commercial appearances include work for Mills Fleet Farm, the Milwaukee Brewers, Verlo Mattress, Miller Brewing Company, and PC Productivity. He has also appeared in industrial and training videos for companies such as Harley-Davidson, Johnson Controls, Lakeside International Trucks, Briggs & Stratton, Kohl’s, Mercedes-Benz, and Salty Earth.
Behind the scenes, Ken remains equally active as a director, violence designer, and production manager. He wrote and directed You Can’t Stop the Beat for the Lourdes Players and has directed productions at the academic, community, and professional levels. He also directed the world premieres of Ben Parman’s Work in Progress and Sydney Schlager’s As We Wait as part of Milwaukee Chamber Theatre’s Young Playwrights Festival. In addition, Ken frequently serves as a dialect coach for theatre productions and educational institutions throughout Wisconsin.
Dedicated to mentoring the next generation of artists, Ken brings decades of professional experience into every classroom, rehearsal hall, and production. He is a proud member of the Actors’ Equity Association and resides in Hartland, Wisconsin, with his wife, Rachel, and their children, Calder, Mara, and Elliette.
A passionate advocate for arts education, Ken believes theatre is one of the most effective tools for developing communication, collaboration, and interpersonal skills. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from the Peck School of the Arts at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and has taught students of all ages in academic, professional, and community settings.
His teaching experience includes work with Sunset Playhouse School for the Arts, Waukesha Civic Theatre’s Academy, Racine Prairie School, Milwaukee Public Schools, the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Wisconsin Lutheran College, First Stage Children’s Theater (where he served as Summer Academy Director), the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater, Marquette University, Marquette University High School, Pius XI Catholic High School, Carmen High School of Science and Technology, Cristo Rey Jesuit High School Milwaukee, University Lake School, Next Act Theatre, and Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Ken also assisted in developing theatre education standards for both Milwaukee Public Schools and First Stage, one of the nation’s largest actor-training programs. Courses he has taught include Audition Techniques, Acting for the Stage, Acting for Film, Improvisation, Scene Study, Creative Drama, Arts Integration, Theatre History, Dialect Preparation, Stage Combat, Relaxation Techniques, Shakespeare Text Analysis, and Movement.
Ken’s work extends to film and television as well. He starred as Howard Bluhm, a mild-mannered and bumbling CPA, in Salty Earth’s Telly Award–winning web series Fifth Pew From the Front, and portrayed the rambunctious man-child Tommy in Discovery World’s Secret Labs Radio Show. His feature film credits include a hard-nosed public servant in WTA’s Something for Stevie; Frank, a private investigator with secrets of his own, in Salty Earth’s Journey to Paradise; Bob Cratchit in A Mister Scrooge to See You; the sinister Dybbuk in The Return, where he also served as violence designer; Tony in The Author, The Star, and The Keeper and its sequel Stand in the Gap; Bob in Salty Earth's upcoming feature film Run for Glory based on the life of Don Beebe; and a voice of reason in Sekou Lukes’ short film Voices from the Front Lines. Television and commercial appearances include work for Mills Fleet Farm, the Milwaukee Brewers, Verlo Mattress, Miller Brewing Company, and PC Productivity. He has also appeared in industrial and training videos for companies such as Harley-Davidson, Johnson Controls, Lakeside International Trucks, Briggs & Stratton, Kohl’s, Mercedes-Benz, and Salty Earth.
Behind the scenes, Ken remains equally active as a director, violence designer, and production manager. He wrote and directed You Can’t Stop the Beat for the Lourdes Players and has directed productions at the academic, community, and professional levels. He also directed the world premieres of Ben Parman’s Work in Progress and Sydney Schlager’s As We Wait as part of Milwaukee Chamber Theatre’s Young Playwrights Festival. In addition, Ken frequently serves as a dialect coach for theatre productions and educational institutions throughout Wisconsin.
Dedicated to mentoring the next generation of artists, Ken brings decades of professional experience into every classroom, rehearsal hall, and production. He is a proud member of the Actors’ Equity Association and resides in Hartland, Wisconsin, with his wife, Rachel, and their children, Calder, Mara, and Elliette.