Shantz Theatre (pronounced Shaw-ntz)
is a not-for-profit non-equity theater located in Chicago. Shantz Theatre
was
founded in January of 2002 by Matt Fotis and made its debut at the 2002
Minnesota Fringe Festival with The Candid Biography of a Single Chess Table
Chosen at Random on an Ambiguous Spring Day in Central Park, which saw an
extended run at the Pittsburgh New Works Festival (where it won a Donna Award)
and at the Bryant Lake Bowl Theatre. Shantz Theatre has also been a participant
in the 2003 and 2004 Minnesota Fringe Festivals. Shantz Theatre's 2004 entry
The Van Gogh Exhibit, was named by Skyway News' Anna Pratt the "Pick
of the Fringe", and saw a successful extended run at Monmouth College and
Illinois State University. In 2005 Shantz Theatre took a summer tour, with
stops in Kansas City (where A Year in the Life... was listed by the
Kansas City Star as one of seven reasons to visit the Fringe), Indianapolis
(where the Indy Alt Paper Nuvo gave the show 4 Stars) and Chicago. In
2006 Shantz Theatre is celebrating our 5 year anniversary, and things are off to
a great start. A Year in the Life...was the #7 show at the
Minnesota Fringe (out of 167), and was named a finalist in the Guthrie Theatre's
Fringe Encore.
lops plays and playwrights through the
Shantz Theatre Reading Series. Selected plays receive several rehearsals with
professional actors and
directors, and a public staged reading with a post-show discussion with audience
and artists.