Cheryl Painter is the Head Theatre Director and Fine Arts Department Chair at Rouse High School and has been a teacher, director and designer in the Austin Area for over 25 years. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Theatre with a Specialization in Directing from Texas State and a Master of Arts degree in Theatre from Texas A&M Commerce.  She works professionally as a Director and Designer in Austin, TX and is a company member for both Capital T Theatre and Hyde Park Theatre. She has served on the UIL Theatre Advisory Board and the Texas Educational Theatre Association Board as the K12 Chair and works at Tal’s Summer Theatre Camp at Baylor University and will serve as a director at Texas A&M Commerce Lion's Camp 2023. She recently was awarded as the Texas Educational Theatre Association's K12 Educator of the Year for 2025. 

She is always working to make Theatre Education better for teachers and students all across the state.  She is a product of a Texas high school Theatre program and loves the community and confidence that Theatre builds.