Gretchen Sonstroem is a highly experienced teacher known for her passionate, dynamic and insprirational style of teaching that includes a sincere respect for both the creative and technical aspects of the acting process. She brings a vast knowledge of the acting process. She brings a vast knowledge of acting styles to her teaching from her classwork at Circle-In-The-Square Theatre school in New York City (including Uta Hagen’s and Mira Rostova’s systems), as well as that of Frank Galati’s textworkk and Mary Zimmerman’s movement techniques which Gretchen studied while receiving her Master’s degree in Performance Studies at Northwestern University. Gretchen’s Midwest theatre credits include work at Madison Repertory, Strawdog, Bailwick and Writers’ Theatre – Chicago, where her favorite portrayals include George Sands and Anne Sexton. In Addition, Gretchen enjoys creative forays into playwriting (including her production of “The Psalm of Levi Yoder” with Annabel Armour and Jane Heitz at Northwestern University), memoir writing, and the adaption of oral histories for the stage. Most recently, Gretchen honors the physical aspects of the performer through her study and teaching of Yoga, having recieved her teacher certification through N.U. Yoga in Chicago in 1997.