Scene Study – Spring 2026
Instructors: Eva Breneman, Dylan S. Roberts, and Mikael Burke
Dates: March 30 – May 4, 2026
Time: Mondays, 6:30-9:30 PM
Tiered Pricing: $250, $300, or $350

In this six-week class, students will work with three teaching artists over six weeks. Spending two weeks on each scene, students will have a chance to work in-depth with each instructor and experience a range of directing styles and perspectives. 

Students will move through the six weeks as a cohort, learning together and supporting each other’s growth. Maximum 10 students.

About the Instructors

EVA BRENEMAN is a freelance dialect, voice and monologue coach based in Chicago. Eva received her MA from The Central School of Speech and Drama, London, and her BFA from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. She has coached projects at a wide variety of venues in the Chicago and regional theatre. The range of dialects and languages she has taught goes from Australian and Bosnian to Rwandan and Zaghawan.

DYLAN S. ROBERTS is an independent director and actor living in Chicago. A company member with Midsommer Flight since 2013, he most recently directed Twelfth Night with the company in December 2019. He is also is the Co-Founder of the Framework Theatre Collective. With the Framework Dylan has adapted King Lear as a radio play, The Marriage Proposal: A One Act in Three Acts by Anton Chekhov and a modern retelling of Antigone, which he also directed. In addition he past worked with Metropolis Performing Arts Center where he directed Private Lives by Noel Coward and worked on A Christmas Carol for three years. Dylan proudly graduated with a degree in theatre arts from the University of Wisconsin at Parkside. A debonair menswear enthusiast, he can usually be found with a glass of single malt scotch in his hand.

MIKAEL BURKE (he/him/anything respectful) is a Black queer director, deviser, and educator based in Chicago. A Princess Grace Award recipient in Theatre (2017) and Joseph Jefferson Award-winning Director (2024), Mikael has worked with Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, TimeLine Theatre Company, Chicago Children’s Theatre, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company, Victory Gardens Theater, Northlight Theatre, Raven Theatre, Jackalope Theatre Company, First Floor Theater, American Theatre Company, Chicago Dramatists, The Story Theatre, and Refracted Theatre Company in Chicago, and regionally with Yale Repertory Theatre, Children’s Theatre Company, Forward Theatre, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Theatreworks Hartford, Urbanite Theatre, Theatreworks Colorado Springs, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Geva Theatre Center, Phoenix Theatre Indianapolis, and Third Avenue Playworks. Mikael has also been recognized with a Black Theatre Alliance Award for Directing (2022), and as one of New City Magazine’s 50 Players of Chicago – Theatre in 2023 & 2025. Mikael is an Artistic Associate at Remy Bumppo Theatre Company in Chicago, as well as at About Face Theatre, where he also previously served as Associate Artistic Director. He is an adjunct faculty member at DePaul University and at Roosevelt University, and is a proud member of SDC. He holds an MFA in Directing from The Theatre School at DePaul University, and you can learn more about him at mklburke.com.

Additional Information

All classes and workshops are offered with three Tiers of pricing. Tiered fees are our attempt at creating a structure that accounts for the wide range of incomes within our community. There are a limited number of slots available for Tier 1 and Tier 2. This is an honor system. When choosing your ticket tier, we trust you to do what is right for you and your community.