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, she has taught classical drama in numerous schools on Chicago’s south side, most extensively at Benito Juarez High School and later, directing Romeo and Juliet at Saint Thomas the Apostle Middle School. As an actor, she spent 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 assisted in launching their initial Educational Outreach program.  She has also been an actor with The Shakespeare Project of Chicago performing in Pericles, Importance of Being Earnest, Henry VI, Much Ado About Nothing, Love’s Labours Lost and Faust.