Faculty

Rob Chambers has more than twenty-five years of professional theater experience as a director, actor, educator and administrator. He is the founding Artistic Director of Theatre Mir and directed the company's productions of "Beautiful City," "The Arab-Israeli Cookbook," and "The Prisoner's Dilemma. He has taught acting, directing, playwrighting and theatre history and literature courses at The Theatre School at DePaul University. Mr. Chambers is a guest artist faculty member of The Second City Training Center where he was formerly President of Training and Education for The Second City. While at The Second City, he oversaw programs in the United States and Canada, growing the division into one of the largest actor training programs in the world. At Second City, he also served as Producer of The Second City Detroit, Producer of “The Laugh Track” television program, and Board member of The Second City Foundation. He has held staff positions at Hartford Stage Company, Goodman Theatre, League of Chicago Theatres, Melanie Stewart Dance and South Jersey Regional Theatre, and has served as a consultant, board member, and volunteer for numerous arts and service organizations. As a director, he has worked with Common Ground Stage & Film in New York, and with The Second City Educational Touring Company, Silk Road, Circle, Live Bait, City Lit, Bailiwick, Public Trust, Donny's Skybox, Chicago Dramatists, Women's Theatre Alliance The Theatre School at DePaul University, and Barat College in Chicago. He earned an M.F.A. in Directing from The Theatre School at DePaul University, and a B.A. in Radio-TV-Film from Temple University.

Scott Westerman is a Chicago-based actor, director, and teacher. As an actor, he has worked with numerous theatre companies in the Chicago area, including Chicago Shakespeare, Northlight, Apple Tree, Chicago Dramatists, Strawdog, Lifeline, Stage Left, Crew of Patches, Mary Arrchie, Festival Theatre of Oak Park, Pegasis Players, Incognito, Borealis, and Reverie Theatre Company, of which he is a co-founder and co-Artistic Director. Nationally, he has worked with The Shakespeare Theatre Company and Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.; with Everyman Theatre in Baltimore; with The Warehouse Theatre in Greenville, South Carolina; and with The Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia. Mr. Westerman has done several commercials and has appeared in the television show Prison Break on FOX, as well as a pilot for HBO's The Washingtonienne. He received his MFA from The Shakespeare Theatre Company's Academy for Classical Acting at the George Washington University.

Annie Calhoun is a Chicago native who received her undergrad degree in Theatre Arts and English Education from Taylor University in Indiana, then went on to receive her Masters in Fine Arts in Acting from DePaul University's Theatre School. While attending DePaul, she fell in love with improvisation and has since then completed the iO Training Program and performs there with her group Almost ATLANTa. As an actor, Ms. Calhoun was most recently in *Anne Frank* at Metropolis Performing Arts Center. She is an avid writer and has also composed music for Northlight Theatre Academy, where she directs and teaches in the summer. Ms. Calhoun recently had five short pieces she wrote and directed performed in a festival at A Red Orchid Theatre this June. She is thrilled to be coaching the ChiArts Improv Team and feels blessed to teach such amazing students.

Erin Crowley earned her Master of Arts in Teaching from Tufts University in 2003 and her yoga certification at the Temple of Kriya Yoga in 2001. She has been teaching yoga, movement, theatre, and writing to youth for 14 years in the public and private schools of Chicago, Boston, New York, and San Francisco. Her love of invention and creative movement landed her at summer camps in New Hampshire and Colorado, teaching yoga and theatre performance to young people and touring original youth theatre productions along the New England Coast. Ms. Crowley has over 10 years experience teaching yoga to adults and, in addition to teaching at ChiArts, teaches yoga for the youth-based organizations Our Common Threads and Mindful Practices. She continues to study yoga with her mentor, Gabriel Halpern, at the Yoga Circle in Chicago.

Ms. Davis is a native of St. Louis, Missouri, where she danced with the Saint Louis Muny Opera and trained in ballet, lyrical, jazz, and tap. At the "Muny," she served as assistant to directors Matt Lenz, Peter Flynn, and Ed Hastings on their productions of Aida, Gypsy, and Oliver, and was exposed to such choreographers as Liza Gennaro, Darren Lee, and Gemze de Lappe. She received her B.A. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University, focusing on the adaptation of literature to the stage with an emphasis on French theater. Shortly thereafter, Ms. Davis worked as the Assistant Dramaturg and Development Associate for Greasy Joan & Co, a former Chicago theater that produced modern interpretations of classic plays. Most recently, Ms. Davis received her Master's in Education in Communication Arts from Webster University, and continues to pursue her love of dance. As an arts educator, Ms. Davis has worked with Variety Club of St. Louis and St. Louis Metro Theater Company's Young Artists' Theater Lab. She currently teaches at Francis W. Parker School as well as at ChiArts.

Devon de Mayo is a director, devisor and teacher. She currently serves as the Director of Education for Northlight Theatre, co-teaches the Agnes Nixon class at Northwestern University and teaches every summer at the National High School Institute. Most recently, she devised and directed "The Twins Would Like To Say" for Dog & Pony Theatre at Steppenwolf Theatre. Ms. de Mayo has taught theatre in London, Sydney (Australia), Albuquerque and Chicago, and is one of the founders and Co-Artistic Director of Dog & Pony Theatre Company. She has also worked at the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, American Conservatory Theatre and South Coast Repertory Theatre. Ms. de Mayo received her MFA in Theatre Directing from Middlesex University in London and her BA in Drama and Political Science from Kenyon College. She did further studies at the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts(GITIS) in Moscow and the Indonesian Institute for the Arts in Bali.

Lawrence Grimm has been both a freelance and full-time arts educator for over 15 years. A graduate of DePaul University's School of Education, he most recently taught for three years at Stevenson High School as an English and Drama teacher. Other teaching endeavors with young people include co-director and founder of A Red Orchid's Youth Ensemble, the Illinois Arts Council, Urban Gateways, Second City, Piven Theater Workshop, Audition Studio, CAPE, Lookingglass, Steppenwolf for Young Adults and Second CIty. For seven years, Mr. Grimm directed the Thresholds Theatre Arts Project, a program designed to give adults with mental illness a theatrical voice for their personal stories. Currently he is the Director of Erasing The Distance's "What's Behind our Eyes": a high school touring show on mental health issues for young people. He served in a similar capacity with Omni Youth Services' REALITY Troupe in Buffalo Grove. In New York, Mr. Grimm taught at the Lincoln Center Institute, Roundabout Theatre, Arts Connection and Theatre for a New Audience. His acting credits include work with A Red Orchid Theater (co-founder and ensemble member), Steppenwolf, Lookingglass, Raven, Collaboraction, Piven Theatre and Famous Door among many others. He is the recipient of Joseph Jefferson Citation.

Jeremy is a professional actor living in Chicago. He co-founded several performance ensembles over the past 20 years in Barcelona, Seattle, St. Louis, Montana and France.  He's performed and trained in disciplines from classical theatre to Japanese dance, often with multi-national casts.  In Chicago, he has performed with Writers' Theatre, The Neo-Futurists at the Goodman, Next Theatre, Collaboraction, Stage Left, Redmoon (After Dark Award) and the Building Stage.  Regionally, he's performed at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and Shakespeare Theatre D. C., among others.  Off-Broadway: New Victory Theatre.  He has trained in Suzuki and Viewpoints with Anne Bogard and SITI Company in New York and Chicago, and has led many training groups over the past 11 years in: Seattle, St. Louis, Montana, Vancouver, Paris and Chicago.  He has also taught Devising, Improvisation and Movement workshops at several universities and training centers across the country.

Rachel Slavick is in her third year as a teacher in the theatre program at Chiarts. She also teaches acting at The Theatre School of DePaul University. She is the Artistic Director of Theatre Mir. Ms. Slavick was most recently seen in Caucasian Chalk Circle, Beautiful City, Arab-Israeli Cookbook and The Prisoners Dilemma and will direct the Chicago premiere of Carson Kreitzers' Slither this fall.  She has directed a number of plays including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Exonerated and The Glory of Living.

Roger Smart was born and received his early education in England. Initially trained with a specialism in Theatre in Education, he has a Bachelor’s degree in Multi-Cultural Education from the University of Central England and an MFA in Directing from the University of California, Irvine. In addition to being Chair of the Drama and Theatre Arts Department in an inner-city high school for 12 years, Roger has taught at conservatory and university training programs in The UK and USA., including the University of North Carolina, Greensboro; Oklahoma State University and Millikin University. Roger has also taught at the Centre for Performance Research in Aberystwyth, Wales; at the London Academy of Dramatic Art and at the Institut Del Teatre in Barcelona. He continues to teach professional workshops in Chicago and London.

Roger has a particular interested in psycho-physical modalities of training and rehearsing actors, and is currently completing his PhD research in this area through Goldsmiths College, The University of London. Roger is a certified Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework. 

Roger’s professional credits include Director for A Streetcar Named Desire; Talk Radio; Saint Joan; The Road to Mecca; The Trial; In a Pig’s Valise; Œdipus; Scenes From an Execution; The Life of Galileo; The Women; Road; subUrbia; A Map of the World and Duet For One; Six Characters in Search of an Author; Julius Caesar and Romeo and Juliet. In Chicago, Roger has been nominated for two Joseph Jefferson Citations for direction, and his production of Dylan won the 2002 Joseph Jefferson Award for Actor in a Leading Role. Roger is currently Artistic Director of Shattered Globe Theatre, a twenty year veteran of Chicago’s Off-Loop theatre scene.

Jason Sperling works as an actor, singer, teacher, and director around Chicago.  He is an original company member of Barrel of Monkeys, a children’s writing and theater program, and has worked with them for over thirteen years.  Mr. Sperling created and teaches the drama program at St. Juliana school, now in its fifth year, and directs there as well; he has taught and directed with the CAST program in Oak Park for six years; he is a poet/educator with the Chicago Park District/Chicago Humanities Festival’s Words@Play program; and he has also taught or music directed for Beverly Arts Center, Raven Theatre, and Prologue Theatre.  Additionally, Mr. Sperling has taught, directed, and music directed with Elmhurst Children’s Theatre, and directed the student-authored sketch comedy show at Chicago Improv Festival’s Summer Theatre Camp in 2009.  He has worked as a performer at theatres including Marriott, Drury Lane, Apple Tree, Northlight, Theatre at the Center, Noble Fool, and Ravinia, and can often be seen in BOM’s hit show That’s Weird, Grandma, now in its tenth year at the Neo-Futurist Theatre (www.barrelofmonkeys.org).

Ms. Wester is a very active Stage Director and Acting teacher in the Chicago area. Currently she serves as the Stage Director for the newly created Opera Music Theater Ensemble which is part of the Reneé Flemming Solo Voice initiative program between the Merit School of Music and Lyric Opera of Chicago for teenage singers in the Chicago-land area. Ms. Wester was the Stage Director/Vocal Coach for Chicago Opera Theater’s ‘Chicago Opera Theater for Teens' – a paid apprenticeship program sponsored by the City of Chicago with Chicago Opera Theater. She has been active in Music Theater education for teens as well being the Stage Director of the Summer Musical Theater Workshop with Light Opera Works for four seasons as well as leading the DePaul Community Music’s Music Theater Workshop for Teens. Ms. Wester is also very active stage director. She recently returned from St. Petersburg Florida after having directed their season opener of A Little Night Music. Ms. Wester has developed a strong relationship with The St. Petersburg Opera in Florida.  She began with their 2009 spring production of La Traviata and the Fall Production of Into the Woods to rave reviews from both audiences and critics alike. Ms. Wester also has led productions at the Bay View Music Festival (The Magic Flute), Intimate Opera (La Traviata and Cosí fan Tutte) and Opera Company Brooklyn (Roméo et Juliette).  She will lead the Fall production at Savoyaires in Evanston, IL of three Gilbert and Sullivan one-acts (The Zoo, Eyes and No Eyes and Trial by Jury).   Ms. Wester has been an Assistant Director for Chicago Opera Theater, Utah Opera, Indianapolis Opera and San Diego Opera. As a classical singer, Ms. Wester was a Studio Artist with Utah Opera. She has also appeared as a featured soloist in the Welcome Yule Christmas concert with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Dabeeb in the North American Premiere of Marriages between Zones 3, 4 and 5 by Phillip Glass as well as productions with Chicago Opera Theater, Court Theater, Porchlight Theater, DePaul Opera Theater, Intermezzo Opera in Hartford, CT, American Opera Group, Elgin Opera and multiple productions with Light Opera Works in Evanston, IL. Ms. Wester holds a B.Mus. from Roosevelt University and an M.Mus from DePaul University. ajwester.com