
Our People
What makes us uniquely Corn Productions?
These faces right here.
Robert Bouwman - Executive Director
Starting in 1992, Robert took the role Artistic Director and over 7 years brought the small itinerant theater to its current location, Cornservatory, where it has flourished since 1999 Along the way, he garnered the theater a Jeff Recommendation, After Dark Awards, and created long-running shows including Floss! (7-year run) as well as Nightmares on Lincoln Ave, Deathtoll, The Original Improv Gladiators and Happy Holly-daze, still staples in Corn's season today. Mostly he spent his time with late nights building props, shopping for dresses to fit men, and cleaning toilets. He is honored and proud to have worked with such a wide and vast variety of theater artists who have graced Corn's stage over the many many years!
Deanna DeMay
Deanna DeMay has been a part of Corn since her first show in 2014, the classic "Death Toll: a drinking game performance". She's loved herself some Corn ever since. It's helped that she officially met her husband there. She stars as Rosie the Riveter in Corn's feminist musical-sketch show, "The Vagina Melodies". She's also ran around and jumped, kicked, used witchcraft all over the Corn stage. Outside of Corn, Deanna practices for the next circus to sweep her away by (barely) riding a unicycle, and is ever training for the impending zombie apocalypse/downfall of civilization by updating her axe throwing and archery skills.
Michael Brook
Michael Brooks has been a Corn company member since 2001. He has designed and painted sets for many productions, including Bat-Hamlet, Spiderman the Musical (the Musical), and Bodily Functions: The Musical. MB is a contributing writer, sometimes an actor, and is often seen painting the sign in front of the building. His first Corn mainstage show was Drunk and Drunker in 2002.
Lyss Dutkanych
Lyss Dutkanych ( she, her, hers) is a native Chicago actor singer songwriter. She has studied at Second City, The Annoyance, Piven Theatre, and Vagabond. Lyss has been involved in many Corn shows including: Vagina Melodies: Here We Go Again, ReZoned, & Death Toll. Her love languages are coffee and words of affirmation.
Gus Thomas
Gus Thomas has been a company member since Spring 2019. Originally from a farm town in Oregon, Gus has worked as a bilingual actor, writer, and teaching artist in Seville, Spain as well as Chicago. He has trained as an actor at Whitman College, the American Conservatory Theater, Dos Lunas Teatro, and the iO Theater. At Corn he is an actor, director, and contributing writer.