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Rob
Adler

Director · Filmmaker · Actor · Educator · Writer · Scholar

I direct theatre and films, act, teach, write, and coach. I work with actors to make the work highly prepared, technically precise, and alive in the moment.

Explore the work LA intensive · Aug. 15–16

The work

What I do—and
how I do it.

I move between rehearsal rooms, sets, classrooms, and the stage. Each role sharpens the others.

Theatre

Theatre Director

I direct new plays, classics, musicals, devised work, and Shakespeare. Rehearsals combine close text work, physical action, improvisation, and Viola Spolin’s theatre games.

View theatre portfolio →

Cinema

Filmmaker

I make fiction, documentary, and video essays. I care about performance, story, composition, rhythm, and what the camera sees when an actor is truly present.

View film portfolio →

Performance

Actor

Recent stage work includes Driver, Lender. Acting keeps me honest about what I ask of actors in rehearsal, on set, and in the classroom.

Recent performance →

Teaching & writing

Educator & Writer

I teach actors and filmmakers how to prepare deeply, solve concrete problems, and stay alive while meeting the technical demands of the work.

Teaching and publications →

Founder · AdlerImprov

Great acting has to be highly prepared—
and still look improvised.

The profession can ask an actor to do all the work of a drama-school or regional-theatre rehearsal process before a 48-hour self-tape. Then, on the day of the shoot, you may have to hit three marks in one sentence. The entire world may be a green-screen soundstage that has not been built yet. Your scene partner may be a famous actor—or a piece of tape.

I created AdlerImprov to meet that reality. The games and exercises are gasoline for the creative fire. They help actors accelerate their preparation, meet extraordinary technical demands, and deliver opening-night aliveness—with precision, on the spot.

Explore AdlerImprov

How I work

Prepare it.
Make it precise.
Keep it alive.

In rehearsal · On set · In class · Onstage

About Rob

I am a director, filmmaker, actor, educator, writer, and the founder of AdlerImprov. I have spent my career moving between rehearsal rooms, film sets, classrooms, and the stage.

I do not see those as separate careers. Acting shapes how I direct. Directing shapes how I teach. Teaching forces me to explain what actually works.

Viola Spolin’s theatre games showed me how play can become a rigorous part of the actor’s craft: giving attention something concrete to do, freeing the body, and making real listening possible. I have carried that work into acting, directing, filmmaking, teaching, and coaching.

I have taught at the University of Southern California and The Theatre School at DePaul University, developing acting-for-camera, filmmaking-for-actors, improvisation, and performance curricula. My scholarly work has appeared through Johns Hopkins University Press.

Featured in VoyageLA: Inspiring Conversations with Rob Adler of AdlerImprov →

DePaul UniversityAssistant Professor of Acting · 2017–present

USCSchool of Cinematic Arts & School of Dramatic Arts · 2014–2017

TeachingExcellence in Teaching Award · 2021

ResearchWicklander Fellowship for Professional Ethics · 2024–25

Teaching & writing

The work continues
on the page.

My writing begins with problems I meet in rehearsal and the classroom. I follow the question, make an argument, and bring what I learn back into the room.

Forthcoming chapter

“Playing Therapist: Theatre Games in Occupational Therapy” Adler, R., Barrett, K., Bathje, M., & Calhoun, A. In Using Applied Drama in Nursing and Healthcare Education: A Handbook for Educators.

Theatre Topics · 2025

Beyond the Script: Harnessing the Power of Play in Clybourne Park Read the article →

Theatre Journal · 2025

The Alchemy of Space: Viola Spolin and the Conjuring of the Invisible Watch the video essay →