Performing artist and psychologist Dr. Frederick Heide is a rare multihyphenate whose career spans from psychophysiological studies of meditation to the comedic stage of Northern Wisconsin. Known to thousands of Wisconsinites as “Doc”, he is co-founder and performer with Door County’s Northern Sky Theater. Recipient of the Wisconsin Governor’s Award for Arts, Culture, and Heritage, Northern Sky is one of the only theaters in the nation that solely creates and produces original musicals. It draws 40,000 patrons annually and has been called “one of the most exceptional professional troupes in the country” (Chicago Tribune). Heide has authored or co-authored two dozen musicals, almost all set in Wisconsin, which draw substantially on its culture and vernacular. These include the hit comedies Belgians in Heaven, Packer Fans from Outer Space, and Guys & Does as well as several shows with Second City founding director Paul Sills. Research Heide has co-conducted suggests that these shows can shift attitudes and inspire those who see them to be kinder and more forgiving. Heide has released four critically acclaimed albums, most recently Birthplace of the Thunder (2026) with his band Zen of Thieves. A Wisconsin native, Heide is also a clinical psychologist and an award-winning educator who received the Outstanding Research Contribution Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy for his groundbreaking work on relaxation-induced anxiety. At the Medical College of Wisconsin’s Door County Summer Institute, he has pioneered the use of improvisation to expand skills of mental health professionals. Heide is Professor Emeritus at the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University and has published professionally on spirituality, how charismatic communication skills can assist psychotherapists, foundational metaphors in psychotherapy, and other topics.
