CLASS ACT Artistic Director & Owner
Private Coach and Instructor/Director for Scenestealers, Showstoppers, Teen Scenes, Audition Workshop, and Adult Acting
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, IL), 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 directed many 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, Small Mouth Sounds, and WROL (Without Rule of Law) and performed in Fun Home and Falsettos. Most recently, she performed alongside many Class Act students as Momma Rose in Gypsy, directed by former Class Act student and choreographer Jordan Rinkenberger.
She is currently the drama instructor for grades 4-8 at Countryside School. She is committed to helping students of all ages develop their theatrical skills and confidence in a supportive, creative environment.
For private acting & audition coaching, improvisation workshops, or public speaking coaching for academics and professionals, email Jaclyn.Loewenstein@gmail.com
PRESS Highlights:
Read about Jaclyn and her theatrical family in the Champaign News-Gazette, 2013.
Review of Small Mouth Sounds by Bess Wohl, directed by Jaclyn Loewenstein
“Loewenstein gives a performance of “I’m Breaking Down” she’s clearly waited four years to give (you’ll recall that Falsettos at the Station was postponed in 2020 by COVID), one-upping herself until she belts the last note while descending into a split like it’s the easiest thing she’s ever done.” -Aaron Godwin, Smile Politely review of Falsettos, 2024
“Jaclyn Loewenstein was born to play Rose. She knows it, we know it, and now her Rose has been unleashed in the world. From the moment she entered with a (super cute) dog in hand, the stage belonged to her. She embodied Mama Rose. Her Rose didn’t shout to make a point; she didn’t need to. She simmered, schemed, and seduced the audience with the precision of a woman who’s spent her life making herself indispensable. In Loewenstein’s hands, “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” was a rallying cry and a tragic mantra all at once.” -Amy Penne, Smile Politely review of Gypsy, 2025
