Julie B. Nichols studied jazz improvisation and composition at the University of Iowa. Since then, she has toured all over the world, performing with such esteemed companies as the Second City National Touring Company as a music director. From 2007-2009, she was the music director for Boom Chicago in Amsterdam.  Julie composed the scores for two original musicals at the Annoyance Theater: Stop That Show and Love is Dead: A Necromantic Musical Comedy. Love is Dead went on to win several awards, including Best Music and Lyrics at the New York International Film Festival, and 3 After Dark awards.  In 2009, Julie composed the score for the world premier of Tupperware: An American Musical Fable, the critically acclaimed musical produced by Chicago’s most up and coming theater group, The New Colony. Julie’s pet project is the hit NPR parody podcast, “The Fraudkast” (www.fraudkast.org), for which she serves as producer, composer and editor. Currently, Julie is the Musical DIrector for the Mainstage at Second City.