Staff & Leadership

Michael Weber | Elaine Cohen and Arlen Rubin Artistic Director
Michael is a nationally recognized, award-winning director, producer, actor, and educator. As Artistic Director of Porchlight Music Theatre he recently directed Follies and served as the Resident Director of the Chicago premiere of Titanique . Recently he directed the Off-Broadway and European premieres of Shake It Away: The Ann Miller Story and Call Me Elizabeth written by and starring Kayla Boye. Under his artistic leadership, Porchlight was awarded Chicago’s Jeff Award for “Best Production” six times for A Class Act, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Sondheim on Sondheim, The Scottsboro Boys, Dreamgirls and Blues in the Night. Porchlight productions that he directed, including Cabaret, Gypsy, End of the Rainbow, Sweeney Todd, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Pal Joey, Assassins and Side Show, as well as Grand Hotel at Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place and She Loves Me at Theatre at the Center were each nominated for the Jeff Award Award for Best Production. He previously served as Artistic Director of Chicago’s Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place (now Broadway in Chicago’s Broadway Playhouse) as well as at Theatre at the Center in Munster, Indiana. Directing credits include Living the History-125 Years of The Auditorium Theatre starring Patti LuPone and John Mahoney, Fifth of July and Talley’s Folly at the Oak Park Festival Theatre, The Petrified Forest at Theatre at the Center, Beauty and the Beast at Marriott Theatre, Over the River and Through the Woods at Mercury Theater, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at Pheasant Run Theatre, and Cirque du Symphony at Sears Center Arena featuring stars of Cirque du Soleil with the Elgin Symphony Orchestra. The recipient of two Joseph Jefferson Awards, he has been nominated for nine awards and he wrote and directed 14 Joseph Jefferson Awards ceremonies. Weber’s regional acting credits include The Merry Widow (starring Renée Fleming) at Lyric Opera, Annie Get Your Gun and Gypsy (both starring Patti LuPone) at Ravinia Festival, The Winter’s Tale and Henry V at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Around the World in 80 Days at Cleveland Playhouse, Disney’s My Son Pinocchio at First Stage Milwaukee, It Had To Be You (starring Cindy Williams and Eddie Mekka) at Little Theatre on the Square, Angel Street at First Folio Shakespeare, and The Gifts of the Magi at Indiana Repertory. Michael is the author of the play, WAR of the WELLeS (about Orson Welles’ infamous radio broadcast.) and he supports the community as a longtime pledge host for PBS station WTTW channel 11 and as a Board Member of the League of Chicago Theatres.

Klaus Peter Schuller | Executive Director (beginning August 1, 2026)
Klaus Peter Schuller is a lifelong artist, arts enthusiast and arts worker. His current incarnation as an arts manager began with 20 years in roles of increasing responsibility with The Second City, culminating in 13 years as executive director for The Second City Canada. In 2019 he built a new venue in the Loop Theater District for Randolph Entertainment, helping to create an indoor Spiegeltent cirque venue and leading the operation until 2023’s renowned Cabaret Zazou. Most recently, Schuller led the rescue and renaissance of the Virginia Repertory Theatre in Richmond, Virginia.

Jenna Deja | Interim Executive Director
Jenna Deja is thrilled to join Porchlight Music Theatre adding to her 25+ year career focused on creating pathways for talented teams to bring beautiful and impactful stories to life on stage and beyond. She most recently served as vice president of Arts Consulting Group (ACG), a full-service consulting firm working solely in the arts and culture sector. At ACG, Jenna specialized in interim management, organizational leadership and strategic planning. Her clients at ACG included Americans for the Arts, Guthrie Theatre, Banff Centre for Arts, Long Wharf Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Mosaic Theatre, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley and many others. Jenna has a lifelong love of theatre and a successful track record of artistic innovation, leadership and excellence. Prior to her time at Arts Consulting Group, she served as managing producer for The Second City for 12 years. She led the Touring and Theatricals division, producing with partners including La Jolla Playhouse, Goodman Theatre, Center Theatre Group, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and Hubbard Street Dance. Her achievements center around developing diverse programs, increasing earned and contributed revenue and fostering collaborative relationships with artists, board members, staff, volunteers and community members. Jenna lives in Oak Park with her adored husband Tom and spoiled dogs Hazel and Ramona.

Artistic & Production

Linda Madonia | Company Manager
Linda has been music directing in the Chicago area for more than 25 years including Pippin, Pirates of Penzance, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Camelot for Music Theater Works. As well as Porchlight’s ICONS Gala 2025, Broadway in your Backyard, New Faces Sing Broadway 1979, Chicago Sings Rock & Roll Broadway and for the 2019 critically-acclaimed production of A Chorus Line. Other credits include Holiday Inn at Drury Lane Oakbrook and Forbidden Broadway: SVU at The Royal George Theater; Grand Hotel and Nunsensations at Drury Lane Water Tower Place and Gigi, She Loves Me and Me and My Girl at Theater at the Center. Madonia has also been the music director for Chicago’s Equity and non-union Joseph Jefferson Awards numerous times. She owns American Eagle Productions, an educational theatre that has presented 300 shows and workshops a year in Chicago area schools for almost 30 years.

Artistic/Production teams are announced with each production.

Development & Marketing

Pam Klier | Development Director
Pam has spent 15+ years in nonprofit management. Before joining Porchlight in June 2024 as development director, she served as campaign director, executive director and midwest regional officer for ORT America, Chicago Region. She also been director of development for JCUA, the Family Institute at Northwestern University and NAMI Chicago. In 2016, Pam created and implemented the curriculum for DePaul University CPE’s “Fundraising, the Ever-Changing Landscape” and has thoroughly enjoyed being a fundraising trainer/consultant for many nonprofits and for-profit organizations. Long before ever entering into the nonprofit sphere, Pam’s first love was performing with her primary focus being dance, musical theatre and then, public speaking. A California Institute of the Arts alum, Pam is giddy to be melding musical theatre with fundraising and nonprofit management. Pam lives in the northern suburbs of Chicago with her two daughters, Juliette and Charlotte, two dogs, Erin and Kishke and a cat named Polly.

Alex Hinand | Development Operations Associate
Alex Hinand (he/they), is thrilled to join the Porchlight Music Theatre team. Alex moved to Chicago after completing a Bachelors in Clarinet Performance and a Masters in Arts Administration at Florida State University. Alex has worked in operations and development for organizations like the Aspen Music Festival and School, the Chicago Architecture Center, Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts, and the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs. Most recently, Alex served as the Director of Development Operations for the Joffrey Ballet. Alex maintains a strong social media presence in the food, cooking, and event hosting space. You can find him on Instagram, TikTok, Substack, and YouTube @alexhinand where he offers simple recipes and tips to help build community in your own home. He runs a monthly supper club entitled “Opera Up Close,” which combines opera, food, and community.

James Juliano | SHOUT! Marketing & Media Relations
Serving as Porchlight’s marketing and media relations director for the past 10 years, James Juliano+ guides Porchlight’s corporate branding and programmatic marketing. James and business partner Jill Evans La Penna launched SHOUT! in 2018 and the firm provides individualized client campaigns, working in a variety of industries including theatre and dining. With nearly 40 years of collective experience in the entertainment and leisure industries, James and Jill partner with local, national and international clients to identify the specific needs of each organization to make every project a success.

Jenny Lynn Christoffersen  | Associate Marketing Director
Proud to be a member of the Chicago Theatre community for almost 15 years, Jenny Lynn  is thrilled to be a part of the robust history of Porchlight. She’s previously brought her incredible passion and energy to various marketing departments including TimeLine Theatre, Lyric Opera, Collaboraction, and Vagabond School of the Arts. Outside of her work in arts administration, Jenny Lynn creates freelance video projects from teasers to trailers, interviews to full capture. She has also worked as a playwright, singer/songwriter, and actress all over the country, from Virginia to Rhode Island, Tennessee to Australia. She holds a BFA degree in Musical Theatre from Central Michigan University. She loves football (Go Colts!), women’s basketball, Spiderman, and watches way too much TV.

Education

Rebeccah Singer | Education Director
Rebeccah came to Porchlight from Emerald City Theatre where she worked in youth arts education for nearly six years, two of them as the company’s Education Manager. She has also been a teaching artist for Lookingglass Theater, The Playground Theater and the iO Theater. Rebeccah holds a BFA from Syracuse University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude, and has been been through the Second City Conservatory and the iO Theater Improv program. She is thrilled to be at Porchlight, continuing to expand our education and community engagement programming for musical lovers of all ages.