Helen currently is on the faculty of the Department of Theatre & Film at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss). She is an instructional assistant professor for the BFA Acting for Stage & Screen program where she teaches several specialized classes, including Shakespeare, Business of Acting & Auditioning, and Dialects for Stage & Screen.
Previously, she was an acting tutor for the BA Acting program at CU Scarborough, where she taught voice, classics, and clown. She also taught for a time at the UK’s world-famous Rugby School and coached students privately for LAMDA exams.
Since 2014, Helen has called the Piven Theatre Workshop her artistic home, where she still occasionally teaches a variety of scene-study, clown, story-theatre, and musical theatre classes.
Helen has taught classes and lead workshops for Elmhurst Children’s Theatre, Nonsuch Studios, Chorus Theatre, Stagecoach, Redhill Academy, and Immaculate Conception Grade School.
Interested in booking a workshop or private lesson?
Send Helen a message!
Clown
Shakespeare*
Scene Study / Monologues*
Audition Lab
Musical Theatre
Operetta
Dialect Coaching*
Story-theatre / Devising
Public Speaking*
Singing lessons (ages 10+)*
Acting lessons (ages 10+)*
*virtual option available
Helen founded her a theatre company in 2009, directing summer shows for children and teens. Based in the Chicago suburbs, Hatbox Theatrix (formerly DIY Teen Theatre) staged full-scale musical theatre productions for grades 3 to 9. In 2014, Helen expanded the company in order to work with young adults, providing a unique opportunity for rising professional actors and college students.
In 2020, Hatbox Theatrix offered a series of weekly free musical readings for elementary and middle school students, incorporating an educational lecture on the show with a full read-through and discussion, encouraging each child to share their voice and explore multiple roles. A monthly play-reading group for high school actors was formed with the same format to target age-appropriate scripts.
“Helen not only works diligently, but makes the production so special and fun for the kids. She finds a way for every one of them to shine! It is so encouraging to see a young person take a dream and make it come true!”
– Laura Rehling, parent
