Therese has been working primarily in theatre for the last 36 years, though her siblings would say she’s been an actress since birth. After receiving her BFA in Theatre, Therese was chosen out of hundreds of national applicants to be one of 12 interns for the 1979-80 season at the prestigious Alley Theatre in Houston, Texas. While at the Alley, she performed as the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz for the children’s program, as well as understudying main stage productions. However, the call of the Northwest lured her back home the next year; are you aware that there are NO mountains in Texas?

Arriving back in the Inland Northwest, Therese was one of the founding company members of Interplayers Ensemble, a professional non-profit theatre, which is still in existence today. During her tenure at Interplayers, Therese was a Jack of all Theater Trades, acting and directing, conducting outreach programs in area schools, managing the box office, designing and running sound to name but a few.

She moved to Seattle in 1985, immediately landing an understudy job in the original long running production of Angry Housewives at Pioneer Square Theatre. She’s performed at the 5th Avenue, The Bathhouse, Village Theatre, Civic Light Opera and for Greenstage, Seattle Public, Theater Schmeater and for Northwest Shakespeare. Her credits also include writing for and directing children’s camps for Stone Soup as well as Actinclass, directing at the Mae West Fest and stage direction of Mozart’s Don Giovanni for Opera Indeed!

In other media, Therese appeared with Paula Kelly, Esther Rolle and Bernie Casey in the made for Public Television series South by Northwest, Episode 5 - Aunt Tish.
She has played Lois Lane for Comic Book Radio and has worked in training films for the Nursing Center in Spokane.

She lives in Seattle with her son, Abraham.
 

Therese Diekhans

Actor

“I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it what I can.”

GB Shaw ( By way of Uta Hagen’s A Challenge for the Actor.)

REVIEWS

From a Seattle Times review for WIT at Seattle Public Theatre by Jeff Shannon - October 2005:

“In Seattle Public Theater’s fine production of Margaret Edson’s Pulitzer Prize winning ‘Wit’, the commitment of Therese Diekhans goes well beyond the mandatory requirement of shaving her head….She must win our affection even as she reveals the thornier aspects of her character. Diekhans…pulls it off with grace….She makes the role distinctly her own. Comparisons to Emma Thompson’s performance in the Mike Nichols directed HBO version…become instantly unnecessary.”


From a Seattle PI review for Upstart Crow’s Production of King John by Joe Adcock - May 2006:

“Even motherhood is evil. Therese Diekhans as John’s mother and…are sly, sneaky Machiavellians.”