BELLA ITKIN
FORMER THEATRE DIRECTOR AND ACTING COACH, THE THEATRE SCHOOL
Bella Itkin was a theatre director and acting coach for 47 years. She started her career as her father's assistant, but soon developed her own name within the theatre community. As a faculty member, she saw firsthand the administration's plans to close School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the early 1970s, its acquisition by DePaul in 1978 and then helped assist with its reemergence as the Theatre School in 1985. She directed more than 200 stage productions, including "Romeo and Juliet" and "A Streetcar Named Desire." Affectionately known as "Dr. Bella," her students included Joe Mantegna, Lois Nettleton and Geraldine Page, among many others.
