Biography

A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Graff has performed onstage for several seasons at the American Folklore Theatre

American Folklore Theatre

The American Folklore Theatre is a professional theater company that creates, develops, and produces musicals and plays based on the populist culture and heritage of the United States. Located in Door County, Wisconsin, the company began in 1970 as The Heritage Ensemble, performing on the stage of...

 (AFT) in shows such as Lumberjacks in Love which became one of the company's biggest box office hits.

She originated the role of the wisecracking jill-of-all-trades secretary Charlene “Charlie” Osmanski in the off-Broadway

Off-Broadway

Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...

 production of Zombies from The Beyond

Zombies from The Beyond

Zombies from The Beyond is an American musical comedy with book, music, and lyrics by James Valcq. It opened Off-Broadway on October 11, 1995 at the Players Theatre. The show examines American ideals and foibles during the era of President Dwight D...

and played the role of the Effy, the gossipy postwoman, in the regional production of The Spitfire Grill

The Spitfire Grill

The Spitfire Grill is a 1996 American motion picture that tells a story of a woman who was just released from prison and goes to work in a small-town café known as The Spitfire Grill. A central theme is redemption....

. Other New York credits include performances in Twelfth Night with the Riverside Shakespeare Company

Riverside Shakespeare Company

The Riverside Shakespeare Company of New York City was founded in 1977 as a professional theatre company on the Upper West Side of New York City, by W. Stuart McDowell and Gloria Skurski...

.

She has performed in national tours of She Stoops to Conquer

She Stoops to Conquer

She Stoops to Conquer is a comedy by the Irish author Oliver Goldsmith, son of an Anglo-Irish vicar, first performed in London in 1773. The play is a great favourite for study by English literature and theatre classes in Britain and the United States. It is one of the few plays from the 18th...

, As You Like It, Oedipus and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In Milwaukee, she has appeared at the Skylight Opera Theatre

Skylight opera theatre

The Skylight Opera Theatre is a professional light opera company located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1959, Skylight performs in the 358-seat Cabot Theatre at the Broadway Theatre Center in Milwaukee...

 and Theatre Tesseract. Other regional credits include She Loves Me

She Loves Me

She Loves Me is a musical with a book by Joe Masteroff, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and music by Jerry Bock.The musical is the fifth adaptation of the play Parfumerie by Hungarian playwright Miklos Laszlo, following the 1940 James Stewart-Margaret Sullavan film The Shop around the Corner and the...

at the Indiana Repertory Theatre

Indiana Repertory Theatre

-History:Indiana Repertory Theatre, frequently abbreviated IRT, is a theatre in Indianapolis, Indiana that began as a genuine repertory theatre with its casts performing in multiple shows at once. It has subsequently become a regional theatre and a member of the League of Resident Theatres...

 and in the Twin Cities

Twin cities

Twin cities are a special case of two cities or urban centres which are founded in close geographic proximity and then grow into each other over time...

 at the Great American History Theatre and the Jon Hassler Theater

Jon Hassler Theater

The Jon Hassler Theater is a professional live theater located in Plainview, Minnesota. - History :In 1999 the International Harvester Implement building was purchased by the Rural American Arts Partnership to become the theater itself. Back in 1985 the Lyric Theatre was founded by Sally Childs who...

.

Since 1998, Graff and her husband, Jerry Gomis, have collaborated as producers for Door Shakespeare theatre, where her acting credits have included roles in productions such as Twelfth Night, the Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...

, The Merry Wives of Windsor and Much Ado About Nothing

Much Ado About Nothing

Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....

. She studied with acting teachers such as Paul Sills

Paul Sills

Paul Sills was a director and improvisation teacher, and the original director of Chicago's The Second City.-Biography:...

  and trained with the National Shakespeare Conservatory

National Shakespeare Conservatory

The National Shakespeare Conservatory was an acting school in New York City, offering a two-year certificate program and an eight-week summer training program...

in New York.