Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department alumnus and teacher Eric Burgher has launched Under the Lights, a new podcast highlighting the work of Chicago artists–actors, directors, writers, musicians, improvisers, performance artists, casting directors, and others. Each episode of the podcast is a conversation with one or more artists–“a unique opportunity to get to know the people who make up our Chicago arts community, and a place for artists to promote their work,” says Eric.

Individual episodes of Under the Lights can be downloaded via iTunes, or listeners can subscribe to the podcast and new episodes will be automatically downloaded to their iTunes and iPhone at https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/under-the-lights-podcast/id965678716?mt=2.

Listeners can also download individual episodes to listen on their computer at http://underthelights.libsyn.com.

Upcoming guests include Columbia Theatre alumni and/or faculty members Brian Posen (artistic director of Stage 773), singer-songwriter Jess Godwin, and Jackalope Theatre co-founder Kaiser Ahmed, as well as beatbox artist Yuri Lane, actresses Lia Mortensen and Maura Kidwell, and others.

Eric graduated from Columbia College in 2006 with a B.A. in Acting. He is an adjunct faculty member at the Columbia College Theatre Department and is also an ensemble member of Profiles Theatre, where he has appeared in such productions as Reasons to be Happy, The Dream of the Burning Boy, Jailbait, Fat Pig, Graceland, and A Behanding in Spokane by Martin McDonagh, for which he received a Joseph Jefferson Award nomination. He directed Profiles’ productions of Hellcab and Annapurna and has directed Columbia College productions of Blood Wedding and The Shape of Things.

Under the Lights is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UTLPodcast and on Twitter: @UTLPodcast.