DIRECTOR
Melanie has directed on Chicago-area stages, regionally, and as a guest artist at several universities. Her production of SILENT SKY (First Folio Theatre) received a Joseph Jefferson Award Nomination for Best Production. Also at First Folio, she directed MARY'S WEDDING, which was Jeff Recommended, and received 3 1/2 (out of 4) star review from the Chicago Tribune.
Her production of THE DROWNING GIRLS (Signal Ensemble) received a Joseph Jefferson Award Nomination for Best Ensemble. Melanie also directed THE AMISH PROJECT and MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING for Oak Park Festival Theatre. Recent productions include I OUGHT TO BE IN PICTURES, TRYING and MURDER FOR TWO at Peninsula Players and MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING and AS YOU LIKE IT for Montana Shakespeare in the Schools. University shows include THE OUTSIDER at Illinois Wesleyan University and A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM at Northern Illinois University.
Click here for her full directing resume.
REVIEWS
MARY'S WEDDING
"Melanie Keller’s stirring and beautifully acted production for First Folio Theatre provides an unabashedly emotional journey." -CHICAGO TRIBUNE
"A tale of war told on the intimate scale of ordinary lives, addressing timeless themes of love and loss, and presented in a unique format that rewards the imagination of the viewer." -BROADWAY WORLD
"[Keller] manages to find exactly the right rhythms to keep this ethereal story moving along." -CHICAGO ON STAGE
SILENT SKY
"Directed by Melanie Keller for Oak Brook’s First Folio Theatre, the production’s five-person ensemble creates a gorgeous, inspiring drama that manages to convey both the vastness of an endless world and the subtlest of human emotions." -CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
"Lauren Gunderson’s simple, gracefully written biographical play, about pioneering American astronomer Henrietta Leavitt—whose discoveries in the early 20th century greatly expanded our conception of the size of the universe—is well matched by director Melanie Keller’s strong, elegant, moving production for First Folio Theatre." - CHICAGO READER
THE DROWNING GIRLS
"Keller's staging ... unfolds through an intricate mix of music hall comedy, confessional moments and playful physical interactions among the three women..." - CHICAGO TRIBUNE