Joyce Porter
After receiving a B.A. in Speech Education from the University of
Illinois at Champaign and an M.A. in Theater from Northwestern
University Joyce enjoyed a career as a Professor of theatre, humanities
and film at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills,
Il. While there she directed almost thirty plays and
created a film festival and a film appreciation class she still
teaches. In 2002 she accepted an early retirement offer to
pursue an acting career. Since then she has performed
with Oak Park Festival Theatre, Bailiwick’s
Director’s Fest, Piccolo Theatre, Lincoln Square Theatre, Nufan
Ensemble and others. She has made commercials,
industrials and some T.V. shows. She has been
attacked by fire ants on The National Geographic Channel and bludgeoned
by the Texas Tower Sniper on the History Channel.
She has also enjoyed making numerous independent films.
Feature films include “Crime Fiction”, “Chicago
Storefront Theatre”, “Time Capsule”, “The Art
of Pain” and “Pickman’s Muse”. Some
short films she has appeared in, notably “Piggy” and
“Bedford Industrial Park” have been selected for national
film festivals.
Joyce lives in Oak Park with her husband Paul and son
David. While most of her work has been in the Chicago
area, she has also acted in L.A. Another retirement
activity is travel, including sometimes lecturing on cruise
ships. One of her agents is in Milwaukee, so she drives
through Pleasant Prairie about once a month.