Photo courtesy of Howard Ehrenfeld howard@photoillustration.net

GILLIAN DRAKE
Founder and Director, On Trial Associates, Inc. and Acting for Lawyers™. Witness development, post-trial jury surveys, casting read-ins.

GILLIAN DRAKE is the founder and director of ON TRIAL ASSOCIATES, INC., and Acting for Lawyers™. She was an accomplished theater director who, for over 20 years, has worked with lawyers and witnesses to elicit persuasive performances from even the most unwilling speakers. GILLIAN DRAKE is a nationally recognized expert on courtroom behavior of witnesses, lawyers, juries. She has consulted on hundreds of cases since 1985—many of them high-profile and diverse: from spies to priests accused of sexual abuse, from Indian tribes suing for federal recognition to mega-telecommunications companies trying to break up an industry, from custody battles to accounting fraud. MS. DRAKE lectures on trial strategy, witness preparation, courtroom "drama," and oral advocacy.

ON TRIAL grew from Ms. Drake's recognition of the parallels between the persuasive presentation techniques used by actors and those required of lawyers and witnesses in the courtroom. So, she began coaching lawyers and they began winning cases. She expanded her transformation of performances to attorney's witnesses and to business executives, professionals, CEO's, and governmental front-persons.

In the public communication sector, Ms. Drake and her associates use basic theater techniques to teach presentation and interpersonal communication skills - the same techniques actors traditionally use to perfect speeches, improve storytelling skills, gain self-confidence, learn to concentrate before groups, and develop a "performance image." With witnesses, the transference of performance skills is even more direct, i.e., stage fright, anxiety, presence, and authenticity are basic areas to master on stage or witness stand.

The success of Ms. Drake's unique approach has been overwhelming. ON TRIAL's clients include major corporations and law firms, non-profit organizations, government agencies, federal and state prosecutors, public defenders/defense attorneys, and legal trade and bar associations.

ON TRIAL has been featured on NBC’s "Today Show," The Wall Street Journal Report, and National Public Radio. The firm has been chronicled in the nation’s leading newspapers, magazines, and legal journals.

Before earning an MFA in directing from Carnegie-Mellon University, she studied for three years in New York City with the legendary acting teacher Stella Adler and received a BA from Bennington College in Vermont. For 15 years, MS. DRAKE was a professional theater director and voice coach. While on the artistic staff of Arena Stage several years ago, MS. DRAKE began applying her professional skills in a course called "Acting for Lawyers." The course was enormously successful and soon after expanded into On Trial Associates, Inc.—a trial consulting and speech communication company.

BENITA HOFSTETTER KOMAN
Witness preparer and On-camera coach for network and local television personalities

BENITA HOFSTETTER KOMAN has worked with OTA since 1992. She is an expert at witness preparation, including corporate fact witnesses for class action suits, multiple witnesses for complex civil litigation, and fact and expert witnesses in complex construction litigation. She has particular expertise in preparing financial services executives for testimony before the SEC and other financial oversight boards. Benita
has extensive experience working with groups and individuals, in preparation for deposition and trial, and in on-camera coaching of witnesses and attorneys. For 15 years, Benita was a lecturer, casting director, and special event coordinator in Washington, D. C. She has been an on-camera coach for Maryland Public Television, served as producing associate/ casting director at Arena Stage for three seasons, and taught at the University of Maryland. Her casting work is represented in the feature films: SHADOW CONSPIRACY, PELICAN BRIEF, OPERATION DUMBO DROP, and several others, as well as TNT made-for-TV movies. Plus, she has cast numerous commercials, industrials, political spots, and educational videos. Her clients include, to name but a few: NIH, National Institute for the Aging, National Geographic, U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Defense, Prime Cable, and The Washington Times, and she was involved in the casting of the Broadway tour of RENT. Benita production manages and coordinates large-scale special events in the Washington area and nationally (including portions of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics) through her company, BHK Arts Consultants, Inc. Her clients include Emily’s List, National Women's Law Center, Anti-Defamation League, Folger Shakespeare Library, and the Corcoran Museum of Art. Benita is also a contractor for the National Endowment for the Arts as well as the National Museum of the American Indian.

KIM SCHRAF
Acting for Lawyers™ teacher, workshop presenter and witness consultant, focus group facilitator, one-on-one coach for professional development and interviewing, seasoned actor, and coach whose specialty is teaching theater to adults

KIM SCHRAF has served as a consultant with ON TRIAL, for over 10 years as a witness consultant and focus group facilitator. Her keen literary skills enhance all her work with ON TRIAL, because she can hear the story in the details. Her acting training helps her put herself in her witnesses’ shoes and find what is most positive and talented in them. KIM has prepared scores of medical malpractice witnesses, as well as defendants in white collar crime prosecution. Witnesses feel relaxed with her, able to bring out their best in their work with her. Kim does many of our "professional development" consultations. Through a series of one-on-one sessions, she can bring out the most reticent public speaker or ready someone for interview, book tours, or professional development situations. She has also read testimony at trial and for focus groups.

KIM SCHRAF has been a professional actor and narrator of books on tape for over 20 years. She has performed locally with Arena Stage, Studio Theater, Round House, the Kennedy Center, Woolly Mammoth, and Theater J, in such productions as FROZEN, THE GIGLI CONCERT, ANGELS IN AMERICA, SKYLIGHT, and A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY. For over 13 years, KIM has been a private auditioning coach; for more than 14 years, she has served on the faculty of the Theater Lab whose specialty is adult theater education while also teaching as an adjunct professor at American University and Columbia Union College. For over 20 years, she has been a teacher, counselor, and accreditation coordinator with the Parkmont School. KIM holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Classical Liberal Arts from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland.

MELISSA FLAIM
Acting for Lawyers™ teacher, workshop presenter, focus group facilitator, and one-on-one coach for professional development, voice and speaking skills to attorneys and a graduate school faculty member at Catholic University of America theater school

MELISSA FLAIM has been an OTA consultant since 2008 teaching Acting for Lawyers™ classes, individually and at in-house seminars. As an independent vocal coach for over 10 years her clients include professionals in government, law, business and not-for-profit institutions. Melissa is a master teacher -- whether teaching lawyers applied acting skills, prepping a client on an imminent oral argument or on one-on-one vocal technique -- there isn't a better teacher of acting, speech or voice in Washington DC.

MELISSA connects with her students and sees all the strengths and talents within and can pinpoint the challenges that prevent the student from successfully delivering the message. Her gift as a teacher is helping her clients develop performance dynamics, "keeping it real" and teaching the techniques to help reproduce those performance skills time after time.

MELISSA is the Voice and Speech teacher at Catholic University where she teaches "Introduction to Theatre" and "Acting I and II" in addition to her Voice classes for both the graduate actors and the undergraduates. As a vocal coach she worked with the Baltimore Shakespeare Company, on numerous CUA productions, and was the resident Vocal Coach at Washington Shakespeare Company.

As an actress, MELISSA has performed locally with the Kennedy Center, Olney Theatre, Round House Theatre, The Shakespeare Project, Signature Theatre, Washington Shakespeare Company, Source Theatre, The Traveling Shakespeare Theater at the Folger and Arena Stage. As a company member of Bard on Wheels, she worked on both day-long workshops and eight-week residency productions of As You Like It, The Tempest, and Much Ado About Nothing as a teacher/coach, actor and director. In 1997 she founded Educational Theater Company with Stan Kang, Elizabeth Kitsos-Kang, Hope Lambert and Tom Mallan.

MS FLAIM received her Master of Fine Arts in Acting and Directing from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and French from the Pennsylvania State University.

KATE CHASE BRYER
Acting for Lawyers™ teacher, witness consultant, theater director and acting teacher

KATE BRYER returns to OTA after a 10-year absence, during which she became the Associate Artistic Director of Imagination Stage, Bethesda. Because of her years of directing adults in plays for children, Kate has a keen eye for recognizing her client/students’ inner strength and talent to create clear, cogent, credible performances. Her extensive directing experience gives her the intellectual acumen to merge performance with theme and story. Her warm voice, caring demeanor and easy sense of humor allow her clients and lawyers to find their authentic voice and natural style.

KATE BRYER has directed professional actors in over 30 shows in the last 17 years including: FERDINAND THE BULL, LYLE THE CROCODILE, MISS NELSON IS MISSING, JUNGLE BOOK, JUNEBUG AND THE REVEREND, HUCK FINN’S STORY and many more. She also has helped develop several new scripts by local playwrights Joan Cushing and Karen Zacarias.

W. THOMPSON PREWITT
Witness consultant, Acting for Lawyers™ teacher, focus group facilitator, experienced theater director

TOM PREWITT has been preparing witnesses and teaching for OTA since 1994. He helped develop two classes, called “Storyboarding” and “Staging Yourself”, for experienced trial attorneys. His strength lies in his understanding and analysis of “narrative”: storytelling in all its manifestations. His “storyboarding” techniques have helped countless lawyers find the theme, the “through-line” or the “dramatic journey” in their cases. His soft-spoken manner and keen insight into character and potential performing talent makes him a welcome addition to any witness preparation situation.

TOM is the Managing Director of City at Peace, a nonprofit youth development and performing arts group here in Washington, DC and he also serves as the Artistic Director of Serenity Players, a community theater serving Ward 7 and the community “east of the river.” For 25 years, TOM PREWITT has directed widely in the Washington DC region, staging many productions for the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Round House Theatre, Theatre of the First Amendment, Signature Theatre and others. While serving as Associate Artistic Director at Woolly Mammoth for almost 10 seasons, he helped create and produce a new play-reading series and many outreach programs. He also served as the first Executive Director of the DC Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative.

TOM is a graduate of Harvard University.

MEREDITH SIMS
Office Administrator and Focus Group Coordinator

ERIC TEMPLE (President, Canyon Productions)
Producer, writer, director

ERIC TEMPLE has been producing, writing, and directing broadcast television programs in major markets for mor e than 25 years and has spent more than 30 years in hands-on video production work. Temple served as executive producer of Evening Magazine at KPIX in San Francisco, as executive producer for programming at WJZ in Baltimore, and has produced countless episodic and documentary programs. Temple has received numerous awards for his work and is a member of the advisory council for the College of Communication at Northern Arizona University.

JOHN BUTZ (Canyon Productions)
Producer

JOHN BUTZ is Canyon Productions' producer, who specializes in the defense industry. As a Public Affairs Officer for the Secretary of the Air Force, he served as a spokesman on major defense issues to national/international print and broadcast media. During his nine-year Air Force career, Butz conducted media training sessions for the nation's highest military officials. Following his retirement from the service, Butz formed Northlight Productions in 1988, which continued to provide both media training and video production services to major corporate and government clients.

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