Meet the Directors of Our 97th Season at Theatre of Western Springs!
We are thrilled to introduce the incredible artists leading the way in our 97th Mainstage and Forum season! These directors bring a wealth of talent, experience, and creative vision to our stage—from longtime TWS favorites to exciting new faces. Whether they're making their debut or returning to build on years of collaboration, each one brings something special to this season's unforgettable productions. Get to know the brilliant minds behind the shows that will inspire, entertain, and move you all year long!
Read on to meet our Season 97 directors!
MS1 – Angel Street (Gaslight) – Holly Robison
HOLLY ROBISON is thrilled to be a part of her first production with the Theatre of Western Springs! A director, actor, and improviser, Holly is also Co-Artistic Director of Ghostlight Ensemble. Favorite directing credits include Alabama Story, An Ideal Husband, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She conceived and curates Ghostlight's reading series, For Your (Re)Consideration, which explores historically overlooked works by female writers. Through an ongoing partnership between Ghostlight and the Driehaus Museum, she most recently directed Holiday Spirits, an immersive staging of three Victorian holiday ghost stories performed simultaneously across three floors of the Gilded Age museum. She has studied directing with various organizations including A Practical Approach to Directing at Yale School of Drama and is a member of Lincoln Center Directors Lab. She is also a Cast Member, Producer, and Board Member with Improvised Jane Austen.
F1 – Doubt – Jean Gottlieb
JEAN GOTTLIEB has been involved in theater in many capacities over the last thirty years as Artistic Director, Director, Playwright, Producer, Actor and most recently as Managing Director for Subtext Studio Theatre Company. She holds a Master’s Degree in Directing from DePaul University’s The Theater School, and a BA in Acting from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Favorite directing experiences include Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley, Biloxi Blues by Neil Simon and Confessions of a Spiritual Existential Nihilist by Sandy Borglum. Her plays Hard Candy and Descent are published through Next Stage Press.
MS2 – Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors – Greg Kolack
GREG KOLACK has been on the TWS Artistic staff since 2014, and is currently Associate Artistic Director. He has directed over 20 productions at TWS, including Noises Off, Misery, Murder On The Orient Express, The Other Place, Radium Girls, Nunsense, Calendar Girls, HSR’s Laramie Project, and the film It’s A Wonderful Western Springs Life. He served as Co-Artistic Director at Circle Theatre for 7 years, where directed numerous productions, including the World Premiere of Rebecca Gilman’s The Crime of the Century, which he also conceived, and produced Circle’s appearance at House of Blues with Russel Crowe’s band, 30 Odd Foot of Grunts. He has directed at theatres all over Chicagoland and the Midwest, including Drury Lane, Raven, Redtwist, Pegasus, and Brightside, as well as Universities and high schools, and has also acted in dozens of stage productions, as well as films and commercials (most recently extolling the virtues of ABC Plumbing.) He was on staff at Candlelight Playhouse for 22 years and was GM of Apollo Chorus of Chicago for 9 years. Greg has been honored with 3 Jeff Citations for directing A Piece Of My Heart, The Crime of The Century, and columbinus.
MS3 – Twelve Angry Jurors – Karen Holbert
KAREN HOLBERT is a Life Member of the Theatre of Western Springs, and for the last 18 years, a faculty member of the Children’s Theatre of Western Springs, teaching primarily improvisation and acting classes. For CTWS, Karen has directed the HSR annual improv shows, Little Red Robin Hood (co-director), Beauty and the Beast Jr. (assistant to the director), Nancy Drew: Girl Detective and Little Mermaid Jr. (pre Covid shutdown.) Most recently, Karen served as the faculty advisor to HSR’s production of Little Women. For TWS, she directed Brighton Beach Memoirs, Silent Sky and was an assistant to the director for How I Learned to Drive. Karen holds a theatre degree from Wesleyan University (CT) and is a graduate of the Conservatory Program of the Second City Training Center. Karen also has enjoyed performing at TWS and at other community and professional venues throughout the Chicagoland area.
F2 – Tartuffe – Greg Kolack
GREG KOLACK has been on the TWS Artistic staff since 2014, and is currently Associate Artistic Director. He has directed over 20 productions at TWS, including Noises Off, Misery, Murder On The Orient Express, The Other Place, Radium Girls, Nunsense, Calendar Girls, HSR’s Laramie Project, and the film It’s A Wonderful Western Springs Life. He served as Co-Artistic Director at Circle Theatre for 7 years, where he directed numerous productions, including the World Premiere of Rebecca Gilman’s The Crime of the Century, which he also conceived, and produced Circle’s appearance at House of Blues with Russel Crowe’s band, 30 Odd Foot of Grunts. He has directed at theatres all over Chicagoland and the Midwest, including Drury Lane, Raven, Redtwist, Pegasus, and Brightside, as well as Universities and high schools, and has also acted in dozens of stage productions, as well as films and commercials (most recently extolling the virtues of ABC Plumbing.) He was on staff at Candlelight Playhouse for 22 years and was GM of Apollo Chorus of Chicago for 9 years. Greg has been honored with 3 Jeff Citations for directing A Piece Of My Heart, The Crime of The Century, and columbinus.
MS4 – Dirty Rotten Scoundrels – Ray Frewen
RAY FREWEN is delighted to return to TWS, having directed last season’s Pygmalion. Active in Chicago theatre for forty years, Ray has served as Artistic Director at Drury Lane Oakbrook, Associate Producer at Apple Tree Theatre, Actor’s Equity Central Regional Board, and on the Board of Governors of the Sarah Siddons Society. The former Associate Dean/Director of Theatre at Roosevelt University, his university work includes Columbia, Northern Illinois, Moraine Valley, and Northwestern. A ten-time Joseph Jefferson nominee, in both acting and directing, he has performed at Marriott’s Lincolnshire, Court, Wisdom Bridge, Candlelight, Apple Tree, Illinois Shakespeare, Ravinia, and many others as well as the 1st National Tour of Les Misérables, and the original production of The Foreigner Off-Broadway. Awards include a Jeff (Director – Musical) for 1776 at Drury Lane, The Chicago Stage Talk Award (Director – Tintypes) and the President’s Award for Social Justice at Roosevelt University, as well as an After Dark Award and Jeff nominations for playing Henry Higgins twice and for directing My Fair Lady. Television appearances include Chicago Fire, Prison Break, and Crime Story. Ray holds a Bachelor’s degree from Illinois State University, and an M.F.A. from Florida State’s Asolo Conservatory.
