Chicago Shakespeare Slam

Greg Geffrard is an educator, Intimacy & Movement Director, Fight Choreographer, culture worker, actor, poet, consultant and facilitator whose work centers consent-forward artistic practice, ensemble building, and empathy-driven storytelling. Since 2022, he has worked on over 90+ productions as an Intimacy Director. His work has been currently featured in Chicago, DC, Atlanta, North Carolina, Boston, and Milwaukee. He is the former Resident Intimacy Consultant with Steppenwolf Theatre and has just worked on four of the last seven productions at The Goodman Theatre. 

As a Guiding Faculty member with Theatrical Intimacy Education, he has facilitated workshops at the collegiate and professional levels with a specific focus on cultural competency and sustainable Best Practices. With a background in sexual assault prevention education and spoken word poetry, his pedagogy focuses on cultivating collaborative and sustainable creative spaces for students and professionals across theatre and performance disciplines. Since 2012, he has worked extensively with actors, directors, professors, and stage managers to support processes rooted in communication, care, and artistic rigor. He is deeply committed to inspiring the next generation of artists and self-generators of radical joy. Greg holds an MFA in Theatre Performance from University of Iowa and a BA in Theatre from University of South Florida. He teaches Foundations of Theatrical Intimacy at Roosevelt University. 

is a Chicago-based storyteller, theatre educator, and multidisciplinary artist. Her professional and creative work centers communities who have historically been excluded from traditional performance and arts spaces, ensuring that all individuals have access to the creation and consumption of art that reflects who we truly are. Hawkins has been nominated for a Jeff Award and a BACA Black Excellence Award for Outstanding Achievement in Theatre. She has toured the nation, performing and teaching with numerous regional companies including Goodman Theatre, The Red Kite Project at Chicago Children’s Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, A.B.L.E. Ensemble, Olney Theatre Center, Lifeline, Filament, MPAACT, and Artemisia Theatre. Hawkins has taught over 1,500 students throughout Chicagoland and the U.S., empowering people of all ages, abilities, and experiences through storytelling. Hawkins believes that art belongs to all of us, and that we must utilize art as a tool for understanding, connection, and collective healing. 

Kevin Long was nominated for the 2015 Tony Award® for Excellence in Theatre Education and is an award-winning Professor of Theatre at Harper College and a nationally recognized expert in First Folio Technique. He is the co-author of the book Bring on the Bard: Active Drama Approaches for Shakespeare’s Diverse Student Readers. A sought-after teacher and workshop leader, Kevin frequently presents his signature workshop, Shakespeare Whispers into Your Ear, an exploration of Shakespeare’s language and theatrical practice through the lens of the 1623 First Folio. He teaches First Folio Technique at Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Education Department, Actors Training Center, American Alliance for Theatre and Education, National Council of Teachers of English, Illinois Association of Teachers of English, and at theatres, colleges, universities, and educational institutions across the country. Learn more at www.kevinlongdirector.com.