Marilyn Halperin
Chicago Shakespeare Theatre
Chicago, IL USA
"I think that a human being has so many possibilities."
Career Roadmap
Marilyn's work combines: Acting & Theatre, Education, and Being Creative
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Take Roadmap QuizSkills & Education
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Graduate Degree
Clinical/Medical Social Work
Smith College
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
Calls her path "entirely circumlocutious"; years ago, would've never imagined she'd be running a theater.
2.
After school, she did a year of soul-searching; reached the point of studying the Dictionary of Occupational Titles, searching for jobs she liked.
3.
The first thing that caught her eye was volunteer administration-she directed a volunteer program at the Morton Arbortoreum for 11 years.
4.
Started volunteering at a small theater called the Shakespeare Repertory on the side.
5.
Gradually experienced a shift in priorities; realized she was more excited for the volunteer work at the theater than she was for her actual day job.
6.
Made it her goal to turn the Repertory-now the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre-into a permanent institution in Chicago.
7.
Says there were highs and lows along the way, but all of the emotion made her feel more certain that she'd found her passion.
8.
Under her guidance, the Theatre developed a Shakespeare-centric classroom curriculum, now one of the country's most respected arts-in-education programs.