Professional, process-driven classes for young and adult actors, serving the Chicago suburbs and North Shore.

Carole Dibo has been a professional actress for over twenty-five years. Carole has been directing and training and coaching teens for well over a decade. Carole is also a well respected teacher and coach in Los Angeles where she co-teaches with L.A. Casting Director, Deborah Dion and teaches at Northwestern University. She has also worked as a Casting Assistant for Tenner Paskal Rudnicke Casting and Steppenwolf Theatre Co. She is one of the owners of the Wilmette Theatre and the Founder/Director of the Actors Training Center.

Philip Markle is the Associate Director and Co-Founder of the Actors Training Center. Since graduating from Northwestern University in 2008, he has worked professionally as an actor, director, improviser, and teacher in Chicago. He is a proud company member of Barrel of Monkeys and performs often in their critically acclaimed show That's Weird, Grandma! He is a member of various improv groups in Chicago, and has performed at theaters such as Second City, iO, The Annoyance, and in both the Chicago and San Francisco Improv Festivals. He created his own original musical improv show - Happy Karaoke Fun Time - which was featured live on the air on WCIU's You And Me In The Morning. Nothing brings him as much joy as working with young actors. He will be performing with Second City Theatricals on the high-seas in the Carribbean from late Oct, 2011 - Feb, 2012. He will miss his students at ATC while he's gone! 

Cortney Lowinski (McKenna) is the Education Director at the Actors Training Center.  She holds a BA in Theatre from Loyola University Chicago as well as an MA in Acting from the University of Essex, East 15 Acting School in London.   She has extensive training in acting techniques of various practitioners, voice, singing, dance, and movement.  In 2008 she studied with the renowned Teatr Piesn Kozla Company in Wroclaw, Poland learning their unique approach to theatre combining ensemble unity, musicality of the body and physical communication.  In Chicago she has trained in the techniques of Clown as well as Laban Movement.  Cortney has performed with a number of local companies including Buffalo Theatre, Redmoon, Organic, Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, and Breadline Theatre.  As an educator Cortney has taught and directed various classes and productions both in London and Chicago.  Her repertoire includes undergraduate physical theatre workshops, youth and teen drama programs, as well as workshops in musical theatre, acting, writing, and movement. 

Janet Louer is a freelance Casting Director and co-Director of Eyes Wide Open and Double Shot Productions. Janet coaches privately and is on the faculty of DePaul Theatre School where she teachers "Audition". Janet was a Casting Associate in New York for film and television and worked at TNI casting Broadway Shows such as Elizabeth Taylor's LITTLE FOXES, WEST SIDE STORY and Sandy Duncan's PETER PAN. Ms. Louer has won a Joseph Jefferson Citation and has choreographed National Tours.

Ryan Kitley has worked in Chicago and Los Angeles for nearly 20 years as an actor, an improviser, a director, and an acting teacher. He is a member of SAG, AFTRA, and AEA with his MFA in acting from the Theatre School at DePaul University. Film and television credits include Boss, Detroit 1-8-7, Turks, Early Edition, Miss March, Soul Survivors, Barbershop II, San Gabriel, Dream Slashers, Laqueus, The Heart of the Matter, and Jimmy Kimmel Live, in addition to many commercials and industrials. Ryan also works as a voice-over artist and has voiced nearly 20 characters for the Lucas Arts video game The Old Republic. Theatre credits include major roles at Writers’ Theatre, Provision Theatre, The Matrix Theater, Colony Theater, The Organic Theatre, Mercury Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Shattered Globe Theatre, Goodman Theatre, The Piven Theatre Workshop, Theatre at the Center, Meadow Brook Theatre, Journeymen, Free Associates, and Talisman Theatre He received two Jeff Citation nominations for his role as Nick in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Austin in The Big Funk. As an improviser Ryan has studied and performed at IO, The Second City Training Center, The Piven Theater Workshop, and The Westside Eclectic. He is also the published author of his new book Acting with Integrity. Ryan has worked as a teaching artist for many acting schools and programs in Chicago and LA. He was born and raised on the Jersey Shore - exit 109. Ryan and his wife Kelley have three kids, Connor, Maggie, and Murphy who always seem to make life a little bit more exciting! Please visit Ryan’s site at www.ryankitley.com for reels and related information.

Katherine Condit-Ladd is a professional actor, director and teacher. She has appeared on Broadway, in National Tours and at such local theatres as Goodman, Marriott and Organic. Katherine was also co-founder/Artistic Director of Cobalt Ensemble Theatre in Chicago which had a successful Jeff nominated 5 year run. Directing credits include: Cowboy Versus Samara - Silk Road, Feeding the Moonfish - Artistic Home, and three Chicago Premiers produced by C.E.T.; The Architect, Dream of a Common Language, and Waiting for Phillip Glass. Katherine also taught drama and directed at Lake Forest Country Day for four years and now continues to teach privately.

Doug McDade's professional acting career spans 30 years and over 60 stage credits, as well as work in radio, television, film and commercials. He is an original ensemble member of Chicago's critically acclaimed Shattered Globe Theatre Company and currently serves as President and Managing Artistic Director of The Gurnee Theatre Company, which he co-founded in 2001. Doug received a JEFF Award (non-equity wing) for Supppoting Actor, five for Ensemble, and several nominations. He's performed with many Chicago theatres including American Theatre Company, Bailiwick, Chicago Dramatists, Light Opera Work

An area native, Jess Jones has freelanced with O'Connor Casting and Claire Simon Casting, assisted in producing multiple years of the Chicago Improv Festival (with whom is currently an Assistant Producer), and worked as a freelance Casting Associate for various production companies and television networks, including Bravo and Oxygen. She studied acting at Illinois State University and graduated from the conservatory at Second City Training Center Chicago. She recently finished a most rewarding tenure with Lily's Talent Agency working as an agent for their on-camera, voice over, and theatre department, and is now working with Grossman & Jack Talent.

Kirsten Fitzgerald is a proud Ensemble Member and the current Artistic Director at A Red Orchid Theatre. Kirsten first came to play at A Red Orchid Theatre in The Removalists and it was clear she had found her artistic family.  She has since been seen at home in Abigail’s Party, Pumpgirl and Mr. Bundy (all of which earned her Jeff Award Nominations), Four Murders, Weapon of Mass Impact, The New Electric Ballroom and The Sea Horse (for which she was honored with a 2006 Jeff Award).  Kirsten recieved an After Dark award for her performance in A Moon for the Misbegotten at Circle Theatre and was honored to understudy Cherry Jones in the same role at The Goodman.  Kirsten has performed with The Utah Shakespeare Festival, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Steppenwolf, Apple Tree, Next, Goodman, Shattered Globe, Remy Bumppo, Plasticene, Prop, National Pastime, the much missed Defiant Theatre and more.  She has been seen on the television show, ER and recently got to play a really rude customer in an MTV pilot. An MFA graduate of the University of Iowa and a BA graduate of the University of Kansas, Kirsten also teaches acting at Columbia College.  For many years Kirsten managed the Thresholds Theatre Arts Project, a project committed to providing individuals struggling with mental illness the opportunity to share their storieson stage and to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness by educating our communities.  Now she just loves to see the shows!

Tim Soszko has a Bachelor's degree in Directing and he minored in Being Awesome. He has been studying improvisation, sketch comedy, and acting for 15 years. Tim has been to many Wilmette Theater productions and actually performed with a couple different theater companies there. He is very excited to teach a weekly class for ATC! He also teaches with Second City, Barrel Of Monkeys, Emerald City Theatre Co., Elmhurst Children's Theatre, and Columbia College to name a few. Tim writes and performs with The Cupid Players, Bri-Ko, The Deltones, and The Tim and Micah Project. He is also a voice over artist (www.timsoszko.com) and a producer for The Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival. He loves his wife and his books.

Matt Pierce has acted, taught, and directed on both sides of the Atlantic. He has recently returned from three years in England, where he worked with London’s Almeida Theatre and directed at the Royal and Derngate Theatre and University of Northampton. Matt’s work with Shakespeare has come with a variety of companies including First Folio Theatre, Milwaukee Shakespeare, Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, and Great Lakes Theatre Festival in his home of Cleveland, Ohio.  Matt received his Master’s Degree in Acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University and his Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre from Bowling Green State University.

Amanda Rountree has been performing improvisational theatre professionally since 1992, teaching since 1998, and directing since 2002. She relocated to Chicago in 2007 from Seattle where she was a performer and instructor with Unexpected Productions and a performer and co-artistic director of Playback Theater Northwest. Amanda has entertained audiences in seven countries and countless North American cities utilizing a wide variety of styles, disciplines, and formats—everything from improv games in Kentucky and improvised Shakespeare at the Colorado Shakes Fest to drama therapy in Japan and breakthrough long-form improv in Germany. In addition to ATC, she is a resident teaching artist for Lifeline Theatre and the Second City Training Center. Her one-woman show, The Good, the Bad, and the Monkey has been touring since its 2009 Chicago run. To find out about her current projects, please go to amandarountree.com.

Rachel Wilson has been teaching theater and writing for more than ten years, creating original curricula for programs with After-School Matters, Pegasus Players, Moraine Valley Community College, and STAR Education in Los Angeles, where she served as Co-Director of the Literacy Department. She is a proud company member of Barrel of Monkeys where she serves as a lead teacher, adapts students' writing for the stage, and regularly performs in the long-running hit, That's Weird, Grandma! As a performer, she has also worked with the Neo-Futurists, Pegasus Players, Northlight, and the Lecoq-based movement theater Sprung, among others. Her theatrical loves include physical theater, adaptation, and devising new works with an ensemble. Rachel holds an MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts program in Writing for Children and Young Adults, and she graduated from Northwestern summa cum laude with Departmental Excellence in Theater.

Robert Schleifer is a Chicago actor, a teacher, and a photographer. Deaf since birth. Robert has developed an innovative series of classes geared to teaching actors and singers the art of physical expression and character development with no voice  He has the privilege of teaching his classes and workshops all over the world. He has also taught acting internationally including the renowned Opera Programs in Austria and Italy. Mr. Schleifer is proud to be member of Actors‘ Equity Association.  Most recent appearance as John Singer in The HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER ( Steppenwolf Theatre). Mr. Schleifer has appeared nationwide in many prominent theatre productions, including the Broadway National Tour of the Deaf West- co production of BIG RIVER. His Chicago credits include seven seasons with the famed Goodman Theatre as Mr. Adams and Ghost of Christmas Past in A CHRISTMAS CAROL. Robert’s performance as Ariel in THE TEMPEST ( Milwaukee Shakespeare Company), Hamlet in HAMELT DREAMS and the Stage Manager in OUR TOWN ( Bailiwick Rep.). Robert was received with great acclaim and honored with the After Dark Outstanding Performance Awards for the role of Dr. Dysart in EQUUS, Stinger in POLICE DEAF NEAR FAR and Holy Ghost in the Jeff Award-winning musical POPE JOAN. Robert was educated at R.I.T and University of Rochester, NY. His website is www.ActZone.org

Geoffrey Soffer is a New York based entertainment executive with accomplishments in casting and talent development. He runs Soffer/Namoff Entertainment, a management and production company that boasts a roster of actors starring on television, film, and stage.
Geoffrey was a casting executive at ABC/ABC Studios from 2003-2008, where his work includes the original pilots of "Army Wives", "Miss/Guided" produced by Ashton Kutcher, "Ugly Betty", "Dirty Sexy Money", "The Deep End", and "Legend of the Seeker"
 

Eric Woodall's Broadway/Tours Casting Credits include: Broadway/tours:  Promises, Promises, A Little Night Music, Billy Elliot, Shrek, Guys and Dolls, The Country Girl, Rock N’Roll (US casting), The Farnsworth Invention,Young Frankenstein, Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady, Pirate Queen, Les Misérables, The History Boys (US Casting), Spamalot, Jersey Boys, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Producers, Mamma Mia!, The Phantom of the Opera, Good Vibrations, Bombay Dreams, Oklahoma!, Happiness, Flower Drum Song, Imaginary Friends, Metamorphoses, Frogs, Contact, Thou Shalt Not, Man of No Importance. Yale Rep.

Deborah Dion, Los Angeles Casting Director, has worked with directors Tim Burton (American kid casting for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and additional casting on "Alice in Wonderland"), PJ Hogan (Peter Pan, Unconditional Love), Lasse Hallstrom (Cider House Rules, Chocolat, The Shipping News, An Unfinished Life), John Madden (Shakespeare in Love) and M. Night Shyamalan (The Last Airbender, The Happening, Lady in the Water) among others. She has devised an efficient and focused three day seminar for the actor ready to take their on-camera audition and acting skills to a new level.

Jennifer Rudnicke and Mickie Paskal have been casting directors in Chicago for the past 15 years. They have cast for hundreds of commercial clients both regionally and nationally. Recent film credits include the upcoming Public Enemies starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale and the recently released Express starring Dennis Quaid. Other credits include Road to Peridition, Fargo, What Women Want, Amityville Horror and Stranger Than Fiction. They have worked with film directors such as Michael Mann, Robert Altman, The Coen Brothers, Sam Mendes, Marc Forster and Harold Ramis.

Adam Belcuore is an original founding member of Serendipity Theatre Company and currently serves as Director of Artistic Development. In 2003 he was honored by receiving the first SDCF Mike Ockrent Fellowship, through which he assisted Harold Prince on Steven Sondheim and John Weidman's new musical Bounce. He had previously assisted Mr. Prince on Carol Burnett and Carrie Hamilton's Hollywood Arms. He also served as assistant director to Kate Whoriskey on the Goodman's production of Regina Taylor's Drowning Crow and to Ross Shirley on Serendipity's production of The Day Maggie Blew Off Her Head. He is the executive producer of Serendipity's 2nd Story, a series devoted to the art of wine, music and storytelling. Other directing credits include: Delores Dogan, by Courtney Shaughnessy; Go!, by Jonathan Jacobs and the world premiere of Alcatraz, by Al Letizia. As a casting director, Adam has worked with Lookingglass, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Northlight Theater, and The Goodman Theatre, where he currently casts full time.

Erica Daniels has been the Casting Director at Steppenwolf Theatre Company since 2001 where she cast the original production of AUGUST, OSAGE COUNTY (also for Broadway, The National Theatre of London and Sydney Theatre Company) and the Broadway production of SUPERIOR DONUTS. Prior to this, Erica worked as an agent for Geddes, Arlene Wilson and Shirley Hamilton, and spent a year as The Theatre Department Coordinator at William Morris in New York. Working under George Lane, she worked with such writers as John Patrick Shanley, Richard Greenberg, and Edward Albee and directors such as Michael Mayer, Robert Falls and Daniel Sullivan. Erica began her career as a casting assistant at Jane Brody Casting. She has freelanced with various Chicago companies including Lookingglass, Collaboraction, About Face and Profiles. Erica teaches acting techniques for adults and teens at Acting Studio Chicago and has given lectures on "The Business of Theatre" and "Audition Techniques" at colleges and universities around the country, including Northwestern University, Brown University, DePaul University, Illinois State University, University of Illinois, Ashland University in Ohio, Columbia College, University of Illinois Chicago, and The Chicago College for the Performing Arts. She is on adjunct faculty at both UIC and Ball State University.
Erica holds a degree in Performance Studies from Northwestern.

Bob Mason has been casting director at Chicago Shakespeare Theater since 2000, where his classical credits cover more than two-thirds of Shakespeare’s canon, including numerous productions with Artistic Director Barbara Gaines. Other CST productions of note include a quartet of Stephen Sondheim musicals (Pacific Overtures, Sunday in the Park with George, A Little Night Music and Passion) directed by Gary Griffin, as well as Rose Rage: Henry VI Parts 1, 2 & 3 (director Edward Hall) and The Molière Comedies (director Brian Bedford). Additional Chicago casting credits include: the Sondheim/Hal Prince premiere of Bounce (Goodman Theatre and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts) and productions for Northlight Theatre, Northwestern University’s American Music Theatre Project and the Chicago mounting of I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change. Prior to casting, Bob enjoyed a 15-year career as a Jeff Award-winning Chicago actor and singer, and has been a visiting educator for the School at Steppenwolf and Northwestern University.

Jenny Wilson is a Film/TV agent with Stewart Talent and heads their renowned children's on-camera division. Jenny is a frequent speaker and panelist at industry and education forums where she shares her perspective on breaking into the business, finding an agent, and other career topics. Jenny holds a B.A. from Kenyon College and joined Stewart Talent in January of 200­­­3.  Stewart Talent has offices in Chicago, New York and Atlanta.  Learn more about Stewart Talent at stewarttalent.com
 

Brooke Shoemaker joined Gray Talent Group from Claire Simon Casting, where she had worked as a freelance casting assistant, handling street casting and assisting with on-camera auditions. As an agent at Gray Talent Group, she has recently booked actors on various theatre projects - including the Broadway shows Mamma Mia, Billy Elliot, Jerusalem, and Rock of Ages. Television projects include placing actors in starring and recurring roles roles on series Shameless (Showtime), Level Up (Cartoon Network), Boss (Starz), and film projects such as Conviction, Flipped, Trust, 30 Min or Less, Contagion, and Reel Steel. She is a graduate of the Columbia College acting program and has a minor in Entertainment Business with a focus on talent management. Previous to her work in casting, Brooke worked as a costumer and freelance makeup artist in Chicago. Brooke is also a part-time faculty member at Columbia College in the AEMM department where she teaches aspiring talent managers and agents. Brooke feels very blessed everyday to be able to do what she loves and to work with the most talented and wonderful actors in Chicago.

Matthew Miller is a Chicago based director and teacher. As an associate casting director with Tenner Paskal & Rudnicke Casting, Matt’s film credits include the Chicago casting for THE WEATHERMAN, THE AMITYVILLE HORROR, THE ICE HARVEST, STRANGER THAN FICTION, LET’S GO TO PRISON!, THE BREAKUP,THE PROMOTION, THE EXPRESS, and PUBLIC ENEMIES. He has been privileged to work with directors like Marc Forster, Michael Mann, Harold Ramis, Gore Verbinski,Bob Odenkirk, Peyton Reed, and Michael Keaton. Matt is also very active in the Chicago theatre community. Matt is also a proud twelve-year company member of Barrel of Monkeys, a group that provides creative writing workshops for Chicago Public Elementary Schools that lack arts funding. As a stage director, Matt’s recent credits include the Jeff recommended revival of THE WEIR for Seanachai Theatre Company, the staged reading of 4000 MILES for Steppenwolf’s First Look Repertory, Serendipity’s Chicago and L.A. productions of GIRL,20 (Best Director and Best Ensemble nominations LA Weekly 2008 Theatre Awards) and the world premiere of GRACELAND for Profiles Theatre (Top 10 Plays of the Year 2009, Chicago Tribune).