Theatre Teacher / Director (Part-Time)
Davis Chicago · Chicago · $13,000–$18,000 (stated in the posting)
Part-Time Founding Teaching Position · Reports to the Principal · Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s preferred in Theatre, Directing, or Theatre Education · Directing and production experience required · Dance or movement background a plus · Illinois Professional Educator License in theatre or drama preferred and National Board Certification a major plus · 3+ years of secondary (grades 6–12) teaching or directing experience preferred; high school (grades 9–12) teaching highly preferred · College-preparatory, independent, Jewish day or faith-based school experience is a plus. Being Jewish is not a requirement for this role. Fewer years but exceptional craft? We hire for mastery, not seat time.
Are you a director-educator with both stagecraft and classroom craft? Do you believe theatre builds confidence, empathy, and excellence like nothing else a school offers? Are you excited to stage a founding company’s very first production? If so, Davis School Chicago wants to hear from you.
The Dream Team
Davis School Chicago is a proudly Jewish, college-preparatory high school opening in fall 2027 in downtown Chicago, in a state-of-the-art building at the heart of a great city for learning. Every adult at Davis Chicago is an educator and a culture-builder. We hold two expectations at the same time: deep human warmth and uncompromising intellectual excellence. High health and high results, never one at the cost of the other. This is a summary of the characteristics that describe our dream team. Please read the full Profile of the Ideal Davis Chicago Educator and more information about our opportunities before you apply.
To thrive here you are:
Warm and intellectually formidable. Genuinely kind and seriously bright. We hire for intellectual horsepower; only sharp minds grow students to their full potential.
You bring the room to life. Passion people feel, loud or quiet, with the range to teach, support, and lead.
A builder who owns it. Startup grit, a real growth mindset, open about mistakes, gives the gift of feedback, and the drive to create what doesn’t exist yet.
Teach how to think, not what to think. Rigor, evidence, and a love of hard questions, including the controversial ones. Students reach their own conclusions.
Rooted in tradition, built for what’s next. Ancient wisdom and modern tools, AI included, aimed at today's problems.
Unapologetically Jewish. Israel has a right to exist; that is not up for debate. Everything else is fair game, including spirited debate about Israel’s actions. You’re excited to help build a proudly Jewish, pro-Israel school.
What Davis Chicago Needs
Davis Chicago is hiring a part-time Theatre Teacher / Director to build theatre at the school. Founding-year sections are drawn from Theatre Foundation and Theatre Tech as founding-class elective choices fill them, with the school’s first productions staged alongside them and the Performing Arts Capstone sequence opening to students who complete a first-year course. If you are interested in a full-time role and have the ability to teach across the arts in addition to theatre, Davis School Chicago is also hiring a founding Arts Department Chair. This role is a teacher-leader who builds our visual and performing arts program and teaches in it every day.
Who Thrives in This Role
Warm, Relational, and High-Performing – Kind, emotionally intelligent, intellectually rigorous, and committed to excellence.
A Director-Educator – Stagecraft and classroom craft in one person.
A Company Builder – Casts wide, builds belonging, opens strong.
An Entrepreneurial Builder – Thrives in ambiguity, solves problems, and creates programs, systems, and traditions from the ground up.
A Curious and Courageous Thinker – Embraces learning, evidence, critical thinking, and meaningful debate.
Rooted and Forward-Looking – Honors tradition while embracing innovation, technology, and AI.
Committed to Jewish Life and Community – Values Jewish identity, the diversity of Jewish thought, and meaningful engagement in Jewish life.
A Collaborative Culture-Builder – Balances accountability, care, and results while elevating everyone around them.
The Role
The Theatre Teacher / Director is responsible for delivering engaging, rigorous, and student-centered instruction in Theatre Foundation and Theatre Tech, and for staging the productions that begin the school’s theatrical tradition. This educator will develop students’ acting, stagecraft, and technical theatre skills with equal seriousness, building the company culture and craft habits that carry students into the Performing Arts Capstone.
The successful candidate will stage the school’s first productions and run a rehearsal room of curiosity, discipline, and joy. As a founding faculty member, the Theatre Teacher / Director will help shape curriculum, establish traditions, contribute to school culture, and collaborate closely with colleagues across disciplines to create a vibrant and integrated educational experience.
1. Instruction and Curriculum
Teach sections of Theatre Foundation and Theatre Tech as assigned.
Design and implement engaging, standards-based instruction in acting, stagecraft, and technical theatre, taught as disciplines with history, criticism, and performance woven together.
Teach to the National Core Arts Standards for theatre: students creating, performing, responding, and connecting in every unit.
Direct the founding productions, from selection through opening night, and establish the audition, rehearsal, and production systems a durable program needs.
Bring movement and dance into productions and coursework where your background allows.
Promote inquiry-based learning, studio practice, rehearsal and performance, critique, and project-based experiences, including immersive and experiential approaches where they deepen mastery.
Build toward the Performing Arts Capstone, a multi-year honors sequence in which students carry original work to presentation and defense before people who do that work for a living.
Champion portfolio-worthy student work — performances and productions — and help students build audition materials and portfolios, opening pathways toward collegiate and professional theatre opportunities.
Differentiate instruction to support diverse learners and learning styles.
Utilize educational technology and innovative teaching methodologies to enhance student engagement and achievement.
Assess student progress through a variety of formative and summative measures and provide timely, meaningful feedback.
Develop authentic assessments that measure student growth and mastery.
Collaborate in the development of a vertically aligned theatre curriculum, from Foundation through the Honors levels and the Capstone sequence.
2. Student Development
Foster a classroom environment characterized by curiosity, respect, inclusion, and intellectual challenge.
Build strong relationships with students and serve as a trusted mentor and advisor.
Support students’ academic, social, and emotional growth.
Encourage student leadership, confidence, and active participation in school life.
Build a company culture where students of every experience level belong and are stretched.
3. Community and Culture Building
Contribute actively to the vibrant culture and mission of Davis School Chicago.
Partner with colleagues to support school-wide programming, celebrations, and community initiatives.
Help create opportunities for students to engage with theatre beyond the classroom, from festivals and competitions to Chicago’s stages.
Serve as an ambassador for theatre education within the school and broader community.
Showcase student achievement through productions, festivals, competitions, and public events.
Create performance moments across the school year that make theatre visible in the life of the school.
Participate in faculty meetings, professional development, and community events as scoped for a part-time role.
Help moderate student clubs and activities where scope allows.
4. Family Engagement and Collaboration
Communicate regularly and effectively with families regarding student progress, learning goals, and rehearsal and performance commitments.
Collaborate with colleagues across academic departments to develop interdisciplinary learning experiences.
Partner with faculty and school leadership to advance school goals, curriculum development, and student success initiatives.
Qualifications
Education: Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s preferred in Theatre, Directing, or Theatre Education.
Experience: Directing and production experience required; 3+ years of secondary (grades 6–12) teaching or directing preferred; high school (grades 9–12) teaching highly preferred; dance or movement background a plus.
Licensure: Illinois Professional Educator License in theatre or drama preferred; National Board Certification a major plus.
Craft: Evidence of productions that grew young performers, not just filled seats.
Core Competencies
Direction: productions with professional standards and educational hearts.
Instruction: acting and stagecraft taught as disciplines.
Company Culture: belonging you can feel from the wings.
Community: theatre visible in the life of the school.
Compensation and Benefits
The anticipated compensation for this position is $13,000–$18,000 per section, per year, aligned to the same step-and-lane logic as the school’s established Faculty Salary Schedule. Placement within the range is determined by a combination of relevant experience and educational attainment, including Bachelor's, Master's, Master's + additional graduate credits, Education Specialist (Ed.S.), and Doctoral (Ed.D./Ph.D.) degrees, with the upper band reserved for advanced degrees, exceptional depth, and hard-to-staff assignments. The number of sections is agreed annually with the master schedule. Paid leave and paid sick leave accrue as required by law; this position is not eligible for the school’s benefits package.
How We Hire
Our process is thorough and we believe that hiring is a dual decision-making process; you are vetting us as much as we are vetting you. Our process includes focused conversations with the people you would work with, a battery of assessments we use for your development as much as for selection, and interview rounds both in-person and virtually. We use artificial intelligence tools in our recruitment and hiring process to help review and organize applications and interviews; every hiring decision is made by a person. Davis School Chicago is an equal employment opportunity employer.
Is this you?
This isn’t for everyone. If it’s you, it may be the best work of your life. Read the full Profile of the Ideal Davis Chicago Educator, then apply.
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