Sommer Austin

Sommer is a director, actor, improviser, and stand-up comedian. She holds an MFA in Acting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is a certified Meisner acting teacher, and has been teaching acting since 2000. She is alum of the improv and comedy writing programs at iO Chicago (formerly Improv Olympic). As an actor, she has appeared all over the country from vaudevillian houses to Shakespeare festivals, and was intimately involved in the Chicago storefront theatre scene for over a decade. Feature films include Sketch and Banana Season, as well as a myriad of short films. As a director, she has worked at The Gift Theatre, The Arc Theatre, The Agency Theater Collective (founding member, artistic director), Triton College (artistic director), Northeastern Illinois University; assistant directing credits include The Gift Theatre (world premiere of Good for Otto with David Rabe) and Steppenwolf Theatre (The Flick by Annie Baker). She has taught at The University of Wisconsin-Madison, Triton College, Green Shirt Studio (co-founder), Northeastern Illinois University, The Theatre School at DePaul University and The Second City.