Actor
Eric K. Roberts is a Jeff Award-nominated stage actor with on-camera experience. He has played Sam Phillips in “Million Dollar Quartet,” the Vicomte de Valmont in “Les Liaisons Dangereuses,” Oberon in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” and the dual role of Karl/Steve in “Clybourne Park.” He has been called “charismatic and vivacious” (Chicago Reader), “amiable and self-confident” (Daily Herald). Roberts is a permanent Theatre Y ensemble member since 2016.
Photographer
Roberts makes in situ portraits on 35mm and medium format color film. He has traveled widely, photographing intimates and strangers in India, Brazil, Spain, and his hometown of Chicago. Roberts was an Illinois Humanities Envisioning Justice resident photographer in 2018.
RHYMES & REASONS
Roberts was Creative Director of the podcast Rhymes & Reasons from 2012-2018, interviewing over 100 artists, activists, journalists, and academics about hip-hop’s impact on their lives and careers. Guests included Grammy-nominated artist Rapsody, prominent abolitionist Mariame Kaba, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones (pictured), and sports writer Scoop Jackson.
social Work
Roberts began his career in social work. He has worked at UCAN, an adolescent residential treatment facility on Chicago's West Side, since 2010. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration (renamed the Crown Family School of Social Work).