Sommer Austin

Sommer is a director, actor, improviser, producer and stand-up comedian. She holds an MFA in Acting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is a certified Meisner acting teacher, and has been teaching acting since 2000. She is an alum of the improv and comedy writing programs at iO Chicago. As an actor, she has appeared in theatres all over the country, has appeared in a myriad of indie feature and short films, including the award-winning shorts Eat at Joe’s and Feral Fatale. She performs stand-up all around Los Angeles, is a regular cast member of the award-winning comedy game show, Wisecrackin’, and is a co-producer of The Gogo Show, now in its 10th year. As a director, she has worked at The Gift Theatre, The Arc Theatre, The Agency Theater Collective (which she co-founded and managed for 10 years), Triton College, Northeastern Illinois University; assistant directing credits include David Rabe’s Good for Otto at The Gift Theatre and Annie Baker’s The Flick at Steppenwolf Theatre. In addition to AMAW, she has taught at The Second City Chicago, The University of Wisconsin-Madison, Triton College, Green Shirt Studio, The Theatre School at DePaul University and Northeastern Illinois University. She is incredibly grateful to be a part of the wonderful community of storytellers at AMAW. Why Did You Become an Actor? Sommer is a director, actor, improviser, producer and comedian. She holds an MFA in Acting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is a certified Meisner acting teacher, and has been teaching acting since 2000. She is an alum of the improv and comedy writing programs at iO Chicago. As an actor, she has appeared in theatres all over the country, and in a myriad of indie feature and short films, including the award-winning shorts Eat at Joe’s and Feral Fatale. She performs stand-up in and around the Los Angeles area, and is a regular co-host of the Dat Phan & Friends comedy show. As a theatre director, she has worked at The Gift Theatre, The Arc Theatre, The Agency Theater Collective (which she co-founded and managed for 10 years), Triton College, Northeastern Illinois University; assistant directing credits include the world premiere of David Rabe’s Good for Otto at The Gift Theatre and the Chicago premiere of Annie Baker’s The Flick at Steppenwolf Theatre. In addition to AMAW, she has taught improv at The Second City Chicago, and acting/voice at The University of Wisconsin-Madison, Triton College, Green Shirt Studio, The Theatre School at DePaul University and Northeastern Illinois University. She is incredibly grateful to be a part of the wonderful community of storytellers at AMAW.