Staff

Dorothy Milne - Artistic Director Dorothy has been the Artistic Director of Lifeline Theatre since 1999 and an ensemble member since 1992. She has directed over twenty productions at Lifeline, receiving a Non-Equity Jeff Award (Direction) for Around the World in 80 Days in 2003; and Non-Equity Jeff Nominations (Direction) for Pistols for Two, Jane Eyre (for which she also received an After Dark Award), Strong Poison, and Gaudy Night. Outside of Lifeline, she directed Little Brother, Stardust, and No More Dead Dogs for Griffin Theatre. Previously, she received an Equity Jeff Nomination for her direction of Eleemosynary at Interplay Theatre Company. Dorothy is also involved in the Chicago storytelling scene: she has been writing and performing with the storytelling collective Sweat Girls for the past 19 years, directs occasionally for 2nd Story and at Lifeline leads The Lifeline Storytelling Project and co-curates The Fillet of Solo Festival.

Allison Cain - Managing Director Allison was the Executive Director of The Factory Theater from 2001-2008, and the Artistic Director of Studio 108 from 1991-1998. She received her training at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA and Columbia College in Chicago and has worked almost exclusively on new work since 1990, in Los Angeles, Connecticut, Scotland and Chicago. For 25 years, Allison had concurrently been working in the corporate world, 13 of those years as a Human Resources professional. Allison is thrilled to have made the full-time transition to the not-for-profit theater world where she remains committed to the production of new works. Lifeline audiences will recognize Allison from her performances in Johnny Tremain, Crossing California, The Mark of Zorro and Mariette in Ecstasy. She has also been seen in numerous productions with The Factory Theater and other fine theaters throughout the Chicagoland area over the past 19 years.

Robert Kauzlaric - Marketing Director & Casting Director Robert is a member of Lifeline’s artistic ensemble and has been working with the company since 2000. Before joining the Lifeline staff, he spent eight years in group sales and marketing in the hospitality industry, and five years as a freelance website designer and webmaster. Also a playwright, Robert has written more than a dozen theatrical adaptations which have been produced in eighteen states around the U.S., as well as in Ireland, England, and Canada. His adaptation of H.G. Wells’ The Island of Dr. Moreau received five Non-Equity Jeff Awards, including New Adaptation and Best Production; his adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere received the Non-Equity Jeff Award for New Adaptation; and his version of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray was nominated for New Adaptation. He was commissioned by the Illinois Shakespeare Festival in 2010 to produce a new adaptation of Dumas’ The Three Musketeers, and two of his plays are published by Playscripts, Inc.

Lea Pinsky - Director of Education Lea began her professional arts career in theatre by earning her BFA at NYU and acting on Broadway in the 1997 Tony-winning revival of A View From the Bridge. She then returned to Chicago to pursue an MA in Performance Studies at Northwestern University, and transition her career to arts education. Over the last 10 years in Chicago, she has managed and taught youth arts programs with Columbia College Chicago, Urban Gateways, the City of Evanston, Chicago Humanities Festival, After School Matters, Art Encounter, and Steppenwolf Theatre. As a teaching artist, she focuses on murals and beautification projects for schools and community spaces.

Alex Kyger - Development Manager Alex moved to Chicago in 2006 from the island of Bahrain, quickly becoming embedded in Chicago’s theater community as a performer, administrator, and producer. Kyger received his BFA in Theater with honors from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, serving as Development Apprentice at Redmoon Theater while pursuing his studies. Upon graduating, Kyger joined Red Tape Theatre as a member of the artistic ensemble and the company’s first Director of Community Engagement, establishing meaningful relationships with locally-owned businesses, securing season sponsorship, and generating a blueprint for the company’s first major giving campaign. Concurrently, Kyger served as the Executive Producer of the fledgling Les Enfants Terribles (LET) company, securing the ensemble a spot in the 2011 New York International Fringe Festival, where it received a Fringe NYC Excellence Award for Best Ensemble. Before joining the Lifeline staff, Kyger also served as American Theater Company’s Development Associate, cultivating increased grant support for the theater’s education and mainstage programming, and launching a major giving campaign to raise funds for ATC’s Youth Ensemble.

Erica Foster - Operations Manager As Lifeline's Operations Manager, Erica is in charge of all audience services and oversees the entire front-of-house staff. Erica has stage managed numerous MainStage productions at Lifeline, including Watership Down, Neverwhere, Treasure Island, The Mark of Zorro (both the original production and the remount at Theatre Building Chicago), Queen Lucia: A Musical Romp (which she also assistant directed), Johnny Tremain, The Talisman Ring (2005), The Sirens of Titan, The Killer Angels, The Shadow, Around the World in 80 Days, Cat's Cradle and Cooking with Lard. For the KidSeries, she has stage managed Snowflake Tim's Big Holiday Adventure, Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type, and The Rescuers.

Benjamin W. Dawson - Production Manager Ben received his MFA in Technical Design & Production Management from Florida State University. He served as the Production Safety Coordinator with The Santa Fe Opera and as Art Director for several television series with networks like Discovery, PBS, MTV and VH1. In Chicago, Ben has served, among other things, as Production Manager for Zombies Attack Chicago; as Technical Director for Remarcable Theatre’s Lips Together, Teeth Apart; and as the Scene Shop Foreman at Goodman Theatre. He is also currently a Company Member and the Production Manager for Sideshow Theatre Company and the Technical Director for American Theater Company. Ben is extremely grateful for the opportunity to tell stories with the fine folks here at Lifeline.

Joe Schermoly - Technical Director Joe is a set designer, technical director, and painter. His design work has been seen at Lifeline Theatre (The City & The City, The Count of Monte Cristo, props for The Moonstone) and around Chicago at Griffin Theatre (Punk Rock, No More Dead Dogs, Port, Constant Wife), Strawdog Theatre (Duchess of Malfi, The Master and Margarita, Richard III), Sideshow Theatre (Idomeneus, The Ugly One), Eclipse (Beyond the Horizon, Trestle at Pope Lick Creek), and more. He has also designed and built shows in London for The Finborough, Bush and Gate theatres among others. Joe studied set design at Northwestern University and has received two After Dark Awards. His portfolio is available at www.joeschermoly.com.

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