University Lake School is excited to announce that Adam Sheaffer has officially accepted the position as our new Theatre Director and Teacher starting in the fall. Adam aims to be present on campus this spring to get to know his new colleagues, families, and friends. It’s an exciting moment for the ULS performing arts program and the students it serves.
Read on to learn more about Adam’s background and experience:
A native of southeastern Wisconsin, Adam Sheaffer is thrilled to be joining the caring, curious, and dedicated faculty of ULS as the new Theatre Director & Teacher. Adam’s two great loves have always been Theatre and Philosophy. After receiving his undergraduate degree in Philosophy at UW-Madison, Adam moved to NYC, working at a pair of bookstores, reading every play he could get his hands on, and dreaming of a life in the Theatre. This led him to pursue an MFA in Acting from UNC-Chapel Hill, where he had the pleasure of teaching acting for the first time, while performing with Playmakers Repertory Company. No story of an aspiring actor would be complete without a stint working as a restaurant server, and for three glorious years he plied his trade at a Latin/Asian fusion restaurant on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
The allure of a deeper, fuller understanding of Theatre led Adam to teach and study at Eastern Michigan University, where he spent three glorious years, reading, teaching, acting, directing, writing, and doing just about anything anyone in the Theatre asked him to do. By this time, Adam had incorporated teaching as another great love of his, as it satisfied his own insatiable curiosity and love of endless exploration, questioning, and play. The final formal step in his educational journey came when he pursued his PhD in Theatre History & Performance Studies from UMD-College Park. After completing his program, Adam taught at the university level until the Spring of 2020, before turning to his high school alma mater, Shorewood High School, to teach and direct their Theatre program.
