Jackie's porch
Jeff Mills is an award winning actor, director, teacher, fight director and musician. He holds an MFA from the National Theatre Conservatory in Denver, CO. He is best known for his work as founder and co-artistic director of Proboscis Theatre in Chicago. With Proboscis Jeff co-created and/or co-produced many original works of mask, puppet and physical theater that explored science, Shakespeare, vaudeville and a podcast/radio variety program called Live from the Piano Kitchen. Proboscis productions include Prick (2025) Infernal (2025) Philoctetes (2024) Prospero's Black Box (Jeff's solo show 2023-2025) Tempest (2023) Queens of Infinite Space (2021)
La La La Strada (2014-2018) Strap-On (2015) Piezoelectic Love: The (half) Life of Marie Curie (2011)
As an actor Jeff has performed all over the world. He most recently played Macbeth in Macbeth/Revolt, a collaboration with Italian troupe Teatro Pataló. He portrayed Henry IV, Don Armado, and Gonzalo with Prague Shakespeare Company. He played Hamlet in Lit Moon's Hamlet in Bitola Macedonia, Bialystok Poland, Beijing China, and Santa Barbara CA. His solo show has toured to Prague CZ, Verona Italy, Hydra Greece, Denver CO, Santa Barbara CA, and Chicago IL.
In Chicago Jeff has acted with The Raven Theatre (Hank inThe Undeniable Sound of Right Now) The House Theatre (Bad Lias in Hatfield and McCoy) and Underscore Theatre (Cash in My Name is Annie King.)
Nationally and internationally, Jeff has also performed with the Denver Center Theater Company, Theatre de la Jeune Lune, American Folklore Theater, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Seattle Shakespeare Festival, Wooden O Theater, the International City Theater, Pominencer Census (Munich DE) the Estudia Busqueda de Pantomima Teatro (Guanajuato, MX) and Theater Mitu/Visthar Center (Bangalore, India.) In California Jeff has acted and/or directed with several companies including Shakespeare Santa Cruz, PCPA Theaterfest, Shakespeare Santa Barbara, Speaking of Stories, Genesis West, Dramatic Women, Lit Moon Theater.
As a core member of BOXTALES Theatre Company in Santa Barbara, Jeff co-created ten original works in as many years including his direction of OM: An Indian Tale of Good and Evil (The Ramayana) and his portrayal of Odysseus in The Odyssey. Jeff and BOXALES toured their innovative theater for young audiences throughout the U.S. and in Mexico.
Some favorite roles include Macbeth, Katurian in The Pillowman, Edward in Henry VI Part 3, and Carlotta in The Cherry Orchard. In 2004 Jeff appeared on screen as Tristan in Bill Viola's and Peter Sellars' production of the opera Tristan and Isolde which was performed at the Opera National in Paris, the Disney Hall in Los Angeles the Lincoln Center in New York.
From 2007 to 2016 Jeff was a full time faculty member at the University of California Santa Barbara where he taught movement, acting and solo performance. He currently directs and teaches movement at The Theatre School, DePaul University in Chicago.