Our Education Mission
Bramble Education seeks to provide theatremakers with the tools to find and develop their own artistic voice. By offering a wide variety of classes and instructors, we empower students to direct their energy toward the skills and experiences that most inspire them. Our educators promote collaboration between diverse artists, exploration of new ideas and techniques, accessibility, and ensemble building. We strive for all of our students to continuously hone their skills, thrive in ensemble environments, and enrich the larger theatre community.
Bramble Education Program
UPCOMING CLASSES
All classes take place at the Bramble Arts Loft (located at 5545 N. Clark Street, 2nd Floor in Andersonville) unless noted otherwise.
For Raucous Playwrights: How to Write Farce
July 29 to Sept 2, 2025 - Tuesdays from 6:30-9:30pm
$275
Want to make people laugh? Write a farce. From plays like Noises Off and The Play That Goes Wrong to The Servant of Two Masters, this action-packed comedic form uses physical comedy, two-dimensional characters and improbable situations to leave ‘em rolling in the aisles. In this writing workshop, you will learn the building blocks of farce, analyze how they are employed within a dramatic structure, and apply these principles to your own writing. The course will emphasize sharing work that you have written outside of class. You will also practice giving and receiving constructive feedback and edit your material based on classmates’ responses. The course is designed to benefit theatre artists who are interested in exploring the mechanics of comedy, challenging themselves as writers, and growing in community with others. Creators of all theatrical disciplines and experience levels are welcome.
This course welcomes playwrights of all levels as well as directors, actors, dramaturgs and other theatre makers who are interested in deepening their understanding of comedic writing.
Jamie Olah is a playwright and educator from the mighty Midwest. She is proud to be the granddaughter of first-generation immigrants and a registered member of the Sokaogon Chippewa Community. She is a scholar of comedy and is dedicated to creating new, experimental works that inspire positive social change. She uses her extensive background in physical theatre to craft plays that are athletic, visceral, and visually striking. Jamie is the founder of Chicago Playwrights Group, a writing workshop that has supported over 60 theatre creators. She was the co-founder and artistic director of Grassroots Theatre Project, and she served as a company member with both Dal Vivo and The Moving Dock Theatre Co. Her plays have been presented by New American Folk Theatre, Broken Nose Theatre, The New Coordinates, The Arc Theatre, Links Hall, Physical Theatre Festival Chicago, Adventure Stage Chicago, Clock Productions, Red Tape Theatre, Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre, Food & Performance, and others. Jamie holds an MFA in Dramatic Writing from Carnegie Mellon University and a BFA in Acting from Viterbo University. She won third place in the 2023 Alfred P. Sloan Script Competition and was awarded a Certificate of Merit from The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival National Playwriting Program. Jamie is the recipient of a Frank-Ratchye Further Fund grant from The STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, a GuSH research grant from Carnegie Mellon University, and three artistic grants from the City of Chicago. www.jamieolah.com
Viewpoints Master Class with Jonathan Berry
August 9 and 10, 2025 - 10:00am to 2:00pm
$149
Registration Closes August 8!
Viewpoints work is an outside in approach to relationship and emotional connection. Beginning with physicality, the work provides 9 different viewpoints with which to approach your relationship to others and the space you are working in. It helps to create connection and builds ensemble while freeing up your approach to character and relationship. This two day intensive will, on day one, introduce and put into practice the 9 Viewpoints. On day two, we will put those viewpoints into more practical application exploring thematic and character based approaches. The work is physical, but it's open to anyone of any ability who would like to explore different approaches to connection and ensemble building.
This class is great for anyone who has had curiosity about this work and wants to know more, or anyone who has knowledge but would like the opportunity to reconnect and move forward with their approach.
JONATHAN BERRY is back in Chicago having served for 3 years as the Artistic Director of Penobscot Theatre Company in Bangor, Maine. a director and teacher, he is also, a proud ensemble member of both Steep Theatre and Griffin Theatre and a former Artistic Producer at Steppenwolf Theatre Company. He directed the Steppenwolf productions of: Lindiwe, The Children, You Got Older, Constellations, and the SYA productions of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, The Crucible, and A Separate Peace. Steep Theatre Company: Paris, Red Rex, Earthquakes in London, Posh, The Life and Sort of Death of Eric Argyle, If There Is I Haven’t Found it Yet, The Knowledge, Festen, Moment, The Hollow Lands and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. At Griffin, productions include: The North American premiers of Simon Stephens Punk Rock (Jeff award Director, Lead Actor, and Ensemble) Port, and On the Shore of the Wide World, as well as The Harvest, Winterset, Pocatello, Balm in Gilead, Golden Boy, The Burnt Part Boys, Spring Awakening Company, Picnic, Time and the Conways, Dead End, The Hostage and Journey’s End. He was the Assistant Director for Anna D Shapiro’s Broadway productions of Of Mice and Men and This is our Youth. Gift Theatre: The world premiers of both Dirty and Suicide, Incorporated, as well as Othello. Goodman Theatre: The Solid Sand Below and The World of Extreme Happiness for their New Stages Festival. Other work includes: American Theatre Company: Kill Floor, American Blues: Little Shop of Horrors and Sideman; Redtwist: Look Back in Anger and Reverb, Chicago Dramatists: I am Going to Change the World, Jackalope Theatre: The Casuals, Strawdog: Conversations on a Homecoming, Remy Bumpo: The Marriage of Figaro, Theatre Mir: The Sea and Caucasian Chalk Circle, Lifeline Theater: The Piano Tuner (Afterdark award – Best Production) He pursued his MFA in directing from Northwestern University. He has taught acting, directing, and viewpoints at University of Michigan, Northwestern University, University of Chicago, Act One Studios, Columbia College and is incredibly proud to have served as the director for the ensemble training program The School at Steppenwolf.
Scene Study with Cliff Chamberlain
Mondays August 18 and 25, 2025 - 7:00pm to 10:00pm
$149
Registration Closes August 4! Only 6 slots for this class.
This course is an invitation to dive headfirst into the messy, scary process of scene work—where preparation meets instinct and brave choices reveal truths. Over the course of two weeks, students will engage with scenes from three different plays in pairs, developing their collaborative processes and capacity to listen, take creative risks, and work together.
In our first week, you will begin by identifying the early stages of your approach to a scene through table work—your instincts, your habits, your entry points—and learn to observe and articulate these same processes in your partners. In the second week, you will come in prepared for a “first rehearsal” of your scene. Using structured feedback, we will evolve these instincts into intentional, repeatable practices.
This is not a class about separating scenes into clean performances. This is about the process—the conversations at the table, the risk of being wrong, and the art of failing forward. You'll be asked to blow up the “facts” of a character or moment and reassemble them from a place of discovery. What do you say about yourself? What do others say about you? What do you say about them? These are the clues we will follow.
Core elements include:
Scene study in collaborative pairs (3 scenes from 3 different plays)
Active ensemble listening, collaboration, and discussion.
Etude work rooted in personal memory, imagined futures, and private moments.
Risk-taking: making big choices, sometimes mortifying ones, in a safe, supported space
Balancing story clarity with emotional boldness.
Ongoing exploration of intention, story beats, and responsiveness.
You are expected to come prepared: full play read, scene prepped. This does not mean memorized; it means you know it enough to play! The more you bring of yourself and your knowledge, the more room you’ll have to play.
This is a class for beginning and experienced actors. This class is for the brave, the curious, and the willing-to-look-stupid in service of the story. Those who want to know the rules—so they can break them.
Taught by Cliff Chamberlain with Bramble ensemble members Hilary Williams and Jonathan Shaboo
Cliff Chamberlain is an ensemble member with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company where his credits include The Minutes, Fool For Love, You Will Get Sick, Belleville, Clybourne Park, Theatrical Essays, and Superior Donuts. Chicago theatre: The Seagull (Goodman Theatre); The Sparrow (The House Theatre of Chicago); Dolly West’s Kitchen (Timeline). Broadway: The Minutes, Superior Donuts. Television: Homeland, Altered Carbon, The Act, Dirty John: Betty, Fatal Attraction, State of Affairs, Chicago PD, Paper Girls, The Chair. Film: The Wise Kids, Win it All, and Netflix’s upcoming RIP. Training: UC Santa Barbara and The School at Steppenwolf. He lives in Northwest Indiana with his wife and three daughters, along with their dog and three cats.