5.2 A Conversation with Jolaine Orlin
This week Jimmy talks with Illinois theatre teacher Jolaine Orlin. She talks about her Emmy-winning career in broadcasting, her love for the resistant student, and teaching theatre in a post-pandemic world.
Jolaine’s Recommended Resources
Truth in Comedy: The Manual for Improvisation by Charna Halpern, Del Close and Kim Howard Johnson
Improvisation for the Theatre: A Handbook of Teaching and Directing Techniques by Viola Spolin
Applied Meisner for the 21st Century Actor by Kevin Otos and Kim Shively
Meisner for Teens: A Life of True Acting by Larry Silverberg
Audition by Michael Shurtleff
Acting One by Robert Cohen
Freeing the Natural Voice by Kristin Linklater
Making Theatre: The Frazzled Drama Teacher’s Guide to Devising by Joss Bennathan
Teacher/Director
Theatre/Acting Major - University of Miami and Boston College.(B.A)
MFA in Acting - Roosevelt University, Chicago
Theatre/Speech Certification H.S. - Northeastern Illinois Univ, Chicago
Past Experience:
Worked in Television Production - NBC Chicago - Emmy award (Korea Olympics)
Performance:
High school and college - acting/performance
Radio/voice-over and commercial work - North Carolina
Improvisation training- Second City, Chicago
Acting and Directing training - Victory Gardens Theatre
Summer Stock Theatre - North Carolina
Teaching Experience: (high school and university level, private coaching):
Teaching Theatre and Directing plays since 1997: Oak Park and River Forest H.S,. Proviso Township (Math and Science Academy), BRAVO (Brooks Middle School, Oak Park), Triton College, Harper College, Concordia University and Dominican University (adjunct professor - subjects: Theatre History, Acting, Voice, Directing, Creative Drama)
Current position: Glenbard North High School, Carol Stream Illinois -
Teaching/Directing - and hopefully inspiring - students in Speech, Theatre, Acting, Film Study and Video Production.
Throughout my career, have directed over 30 productions - middle school through adult.
Mother of three wonderful "kids".
Wife of equally wonderful husband - who I met while working in television news (North Carolina).
A couple more years til retirement.... Plans: to pursue private coaching (acting) and perhaps back to acting myself.:)
