CLASS ACT Artistic Director & Owner
Acting & Musical Theatre Instructor/Private Coaching
Since 1992, Jaclyn Loewenstein has worked professionally as an acting instructor, theatre director and audition coach at numerous institutions around the country, including: the Piven Theatre Workshop and Northwestern University’s “Cherubs” program (Evanston), Apple Tree Theatre (Highland Park, IL), The Children’s Acting Academy (NYC), and ZACH Theatre (Austin, TX), where her theatre students included Tony-nominee David Bologna (Billy Elliot).
In New York City, Jaclyn was a casting assistant for dozens of Broadway productions, including Les Misérables, Chicago and Cats, and she assisted director James Lapine on The Diary of Anne Frank, starring Natalie Portman.
A native of Chicago’s northern suburbs, Jaclyn holds an MFA in Directing from Illinois State University. After relocating to Champaign in 2011, she directed The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Annie for Champaign-Urbana Theatre Company (CUTC). She also directs musicals for CUTC’s Penguin Project, providing performance opportunities for students with disabilities, paired with peer mentors. At Urbana’s Station Theatre, she serves as the Producing Artistic Director and has directed American Wee-Pie, The Christians, and Small Mouth Sounds.
As an actress, she has performed locally with Station Theatre, CUTC, and Parkland Theatre. Credits include: Masha in Station Theatre’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Mrs. Corry in CUTC’s Mary Poppins, and Yente in Fiddler on the Roof at Parkland Theatre. She appeared in Fun Home at Station Theatre, where she played Helen Bechdel, the mother of two of her Class Act students, Eve Foley and Dema Evans.
She is currently the drama instructor for grades 4-8 at Countryside School and teaches a theatre module at Academy High. She is committed to helping students of all ages develop their theatrical skills and confidence in a supportive, creative environment.
Read about Jaclyn in the Champaign News-Gazette, 2013.
For private acting & audition coaching, improvisation workshops, or public speaking coaching for academics and professionals, email Jaclyn.Loewenstein@gmail.com
