About Iris Sowlat

Hi, I'm Iris! 

I'm a Chicago-based theatre director and I recently earned my MFA in Theater Directing from University of Massachusetts Amherst. 

My work examines socially relevant issues seen through unexpected lenses in order to foster moments of revelation for both the characters and the audience.  I work to create a perspective that cuts right to the heart and soul of the material at hand.

At UMass Amherst, I directed Emilie: La Marquise du Chatelet Defends Her Life Tonight by Lauren Gunderson (Thesis production), Orlando by Sarah Ruhl, adapted by Sarah Ruhl from the novel by Virginia Woolf, and Sarah Ruhl's Late: A Cowboy Song. 

Chicago directing credits include Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and Chekhov's The Bear (Accidental Shakespeare Co.), The Days Are Shorter (Pride Films & Plays), Joan of Arc, Underworld Anthem, and The Anxiety Variety Show (Prop Thtr's RhinoFest), The Icon Project (workshop, Violet Surprise Theatre), ABCD (Piven Theatre's Lab), and Narratives of Achromatopsia (Chicago Fringe Festival), as well as additional work with American Blues Theatre, Collaboraction, NoPassport Theatre Alliance, and Global Hive Laboratories, among others. 

I am also a passionate and experienced theater teacher. I have taught Theater 140: Fundamentals of Acting for six semesters at UMass Amherst, taught at Interlochen Fine Arts Camp, and held a supervisory position at the Skokie Park District.  This summer, I will be a Core Theatre Faculty member at Northwestern University's National High School Institute, teaching performance classes for Northwestern's intensive pre-college program. 

I love Shakespeare and have honed my Shakespeare skill by taking intensive workshops at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA, culminating in their signature month-long intensive in 2024. 

Because of my artistic and leadership work in Chicago, I was named one of Windy City Times "30 Under 30" in 2018. 

​Let's collaborate! ​