Arlene (Henry) Hinkle has been involved with CST for more than 30 years. Her connection began at age two, when her mother brought her to late-night rehearsals and she fell asleep in the theatre chairs. Arlene’s first show was playing a Bumble Bee at age two. Arlene holds a Bachelor of Science in Theatre from Indiana State University. Over the years, she has directed, worked tech, acted in, and designed many shows with CST and in college. She has two children and a wonderfully supportive husband. Arlene is grateful for the opportunity to teach young people and help give them a comforting place to call home. Through her classes, she hopes students expand their knowledge of theatre and discover more about themselves. Chicago Street Theatre is her family, and she hopes it can become yours, too. Thank you for choosing CST as a place to call home.

Jason Kaplan holds a Bachelor of Arts in Acting from Illinois State University and is a classically trained actor and fight choreographer with extensive experience in both performance and instruction.  He was a recognized Advanced Actor/Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors (SAFD), with training in seven disciplines, including unarmed combat, rapier & dagger, smallsword, broadsword, quarterstaff, knife, and sword & shield.  His professional experience includes stunt work with Dueling Arts International and Leofoo Village Theme Park in Taiwan, as well as actor combatant training with Fort Harrod Production Company with a focus on firearms.  Jason has served as Fight Choreographer for productions including Macbeth, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, She Kills Monsters, and many others throughout Chicagoland and The Region, and currently serves as resident Fight Choreographer and Weapons Master with Chicago Street Theatre.

Avery Thompson is currently studying Theatre Arts at The Theatre School Conservatory of DePaul University. He will graduate with a Bachelor of Fines Arts degree by Thanksgiving 2026. He likes to call himself The Renaissance Being, meaning he explores many aspects of the arts. While having a concentration in directing and teaching, he has done work in almost every single area of theatre, including design. At Chicago Street Theatre, Avery has most recently directed Ride the Cyclone: Teen Edition, as well as two of his own original pieces, WILD CARD. and The Waiting Room. Something that Avery values is appreciating all of the magic it takes to produce a show. He stage managed Lear and Shakespeare in Love. He has designed sound and
projections for many shows at CST. He designed costumes for Lizzie and both CST productions of Ride the Cyclone. He also loves marketing, another form of storytelling. Being versatile is one of the greatest joys in life. While it is important to have a specialty within a career, it is equally as important to be surrounded by other hobbies and skills. (This is how you avoid burnout. What a privilege it is to be exhausted by the things you love! Always have an escape.) Avery’s mission as a teacher is to provide students with an abundance of employable skills that can be used in many areas of life, even offstage!

June Saavedra has been a public school teacher for 30 years. She studied art and theater at Columbia College in Chicago before transferring to DePaul University where she earned her bachelor’s degree in education followed by a master’s degree in teacher leadership with a focus on adolescence from North Park University.

June began her teaching career in Chicago Public Schools, while expanding her involvement with Chicago’s Redmoon Theatre as a performer and teacher of free community children’s art classes. Redmoon Theatre recognized the vital role community youth played in their productions, and created the Redmoon Children’s Company where June held the role of Assistant Director then Director. When motherhood beckoned, June and her husband desired quieter evenings and a larger backyard and relocated to Valparaiso. June has been a teacher at Ben Franklin Middle School for 20 years. She sponsored Drama Club at Ben Franklin from 2015-2021, directing 6th, 7th, and 8th grade superstars. She has also been a familiar face at Chicago Street Theatre over the years, performing on stage and volunteering.

June’s classroom is a safe space for students to express their creativity, take risks, and show off the light that shines within them.

Michael Glorioso- Michael has been seen both on and off stage at many NWI theatres. After receiving his BFA in Performing Arts with a focus on Acting and Directing from Marian University in Indianapolis, he went on to work for the Indianapolis Civic Theatre and Indiana Repertory Theatre. There he assisted
in the back stage side of theater as a prop’s designer, scenic painter and carpenter. Michael also acted professionally with the Shakespeare and More Theatre Company, Phoenix Theatre, and Lilly Theatre located in the Indianapolis Children’s Museum. Michael moved back to the NW Indiana to pursue a career in non-profit program management but his passion and vision for the performing arts never stop. Some of his past performances in area productions including, Lips Together Teeth Apart (Sam), A Year With Frog and Toad (Toad), The Drowsy Chaperone (Aldolpho), Into the Woods (Baker), 25 th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Barfee), Lucky Stiff (Vinnie), Avenue Q (Nicky/Trekkie Monster), and Hello Dolly (Cornelius). A few of Michael directorial/scenic design credits include Ride the Cyclone, Godspell, Bleacher Bums, Next to Normal, Misery, Heathers the Musical, Evil Dead the Musical, Glass Menagerie, Legally Blonde, and Night of the Living Dead.

Allison Granat has been an active member of CST for several years both on and offstage. She   has a BFA in English and Theatre, with a focus in production design, from Valparaiso University, and spent time working at Steppenwolf and Court theatres in Chicago. She is a librarian by trade, but believes that all her passions–writing, performing, painting–have found a place to grow and shine in the theatre, especially here at CST. 

Allison has been seen onstage in shows like: Charlie Brown Christmas (Snoopy), She Kills Monsters (Agnes), Bleacher Bums (Rose), and Lips Together, Teeth Apart (Sally). She is also incredibly passionate about her offstage credits such as directing Rules for Living and The Half-Life of Marie Curie, her dragon puppet design for She Skills Monsters, and her scenic designs for both Rules for Living and Lips Together, Teeth Apart. 

As a props artisan and painter, there is one thing her craft has taught her: hands-on experience is key, that we learn best from our mistakes, and that nothing ventured is nothing gained–but it’s a good idea to have a rough plan in place! These tenets are key to her teaching and directing styles that she believes helps set students and performers up for success, and gives them the flexibility to adapt and pivot on the fly.

She hopes to help encourage young artists to make bold choices and take chances in their creative endeavors because you never know where they may lead you–or what stories you’ll get to tell from those adventures.