Dr. Brian A. Cheslik is Assistant Professor and Program Director for the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, USA, American Sign Language and Interpretation BA program. Dr. Cheslik is a Certified Deaf Interpreter, specializing in music and theatre. He is the founding artistic director of Deaf Austin Theatre (DAT), where he has directed productions of Next to Normal (2019), The Last Five Years (2022) and Cinderella (2023). He services the theatre profession by educating theaters on accessibility needs for Deaf performers and audiences, as well as training performance interpreters.