Melissa Carlson (Director of Education) has taught in, and facilitated drama-based educational programs for children in and around the Chicagoland area.  Through the Artists in Schools program with The Court Theater, as well as Chicago Shakespeare Theatre’s outreach program, she has taught classical drama in numerous schools on Chicago's south side, including directing Romeo and Juliet for Saint Thomas the Apostle Middle School in Hyde Park. As an actor, with Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, she spent several months touring A Midsummer Night's Dream throughout the tri-state area and formed a unique understanding of the importance of bringing Shakespeare directly to students.  As an administrator, Melissa also served as Assistant Director of Education for The Metropolis Centre for the Performing Arts, where she helped launch their initial educational outreach program.  In addition to performing in theaters in and around Chicago for the past fifteen years, her Shakespeare Project staged reading credits include:   The Tempest, Antony & Cleopatra, Pericles, The Importance of Being Earnest, Henry VI, Much Ado About Nothing, Love's Labours Lost and Faust.