The Illinois Theatre Center (ITC) was a
theater
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...
in the southern
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
of
Park Forest which began operation in 1976. In 1999, ITC moved to a state-of-the-art facility
Illinois Theatre Center
from Metromix Chicago Theater in downtown Park Forest, Illinois
Park Forest is a village located south of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, with a small southern portion in Will County, Illinois, United States. The village was originally designed as a planned community for veterans returning from World War II. ...
from their previous location in the basement of the Park Forest Public Library.
ITC was founded in 1976 by Steve and Etel Billig
Etel Billig (December 16, 1932 – March 28, 2012) was an American actress and director; her career spanned more than 60 years. She founded Illinois Theatre Center (ITC) in 1976 with her husband, Steven.
For more than three decades she appeared ...
as the first Actor's Equity professional theater in the far South Suburbs of the Chicago metropolitan area
The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hi ...
.
In addition to its Mainstage series of six plays, ITC offered a Script-in-Hand series of play readings, a free summer outdoor Shakespeare production, and a Summerfest musical. The ITC Drama School offered several classes for adults, teens and children, as well as a summer arts camp, Project S.A.M. (Summer Arts Marathon).
In April 2012, faced with sizable debts due to drastically reduced ticket sales and donations, combined with the death of co-founder Etel Billig, the board of directors decided to close the theatre. The theatre had produced 247 Mainstage shows, 42 Summerfest shows, plus numerous workshops, children's theatre, etc.
References
;Notes
External links
Official website
Theatre companies in Illinois
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