ABOUT DR. MARIA BAKALIS

Combining both her strong academic credentials and professional theatre experience, Dr. Bakalis brings to Curtain Up Classroom a commitment to creativity in learning. As a Professor of Communications and Theatre (for 23 years), Dr. Bakalis has coached students both in communication skills and acting techniques.

Among her professional acting credits are performances at the Next Theatre Company, Stage Left, and Chicago’s interactive-theatre show Tony ‘n’ Tina’s Wedding. One of her proudest theatre achievements is her original one-woman play The Life and Loves of Maria Callas, performed for the Lyric Opera Guild and for the Skironio Museum in Athens, Greece. She has also written the one-woman play Mary Todd Lincoln: Reflections on a Life of Shattered Dreams, a compassionate portrayal of the tragic life of Mary Lincoln following her husband's assassination.

Dr. Bakalis is Director of Greek Theatre and recently adapted The Halsted Street Play for the Hull House and Hellenic Museums. She has also been Theatre Director at Dominican University, Wheaton Drama, Inc., and at a theatre in Des Plaines. At Waubonsee Community College, she has directed more than 60 theatre productions, involving a total of more than 1000 students.

In England she presented a paper at Oxford University on the importance of Arts in Education. The presentation, given at the Oxford Round Table Conference, highlighted the critical role that theatre and acting can play in education. In 2010, she presented a scholarly paper in Athens at an international conference and also conducted a Master Class at the University of Athens, where she taught on the Stanislavski Methods using American playwrights.

At Waubonsee, Bakalis personally designed and created the following courses: (1) Theatre in America: The Depiction of Race and Ethnicity on the American Stage; (2) Creative Dramatics as a Learning Methodology;(3)  Musical Theatre Practicum; (4) Children’s Theatre Practicum; (5) Interpersonal Communication; and (6) Voice and Diction.

Dr. Bakalis holds a Bachelor of Arts in Speech and Theatre from DePaul University, a Master’s in Communication from Northeastern Illinois University, and a Doctorate of Education from Northern Illinois University. Her continued professional training includes certificates in acting from London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and the Athens Center in Greece. Dr. Bakalis is dedicated to tapping into the creative artist in all of us.