About Forest Park Theatre
Who we are
Forest Park Theatre (FPT) was founded in Forest Park, Illinois by graduates and faculty of the University of Illinois, Chicago School of Theatre and Music in the spring of 2021. In that inaugural year, our free production of Shakespeare's great comedy “As You Like It” was performed outdoors at the Roos Pavilion with a multi-racial, cross-gender cast to an audience of over a thousand people.
In August of 2022, we presented an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Cymbeline centered around the character of Innogen; our performances, at The Grove at Altenheim, again served over a thousand people.
Forest Park Theatre is dedicated to language-centered, meta-theatrical, multi-disciplinary, multi-lingual, and multi-cultural performances that invigorate the classical canon and create new classics for the 21st century. We are also dedicated to bringing theatre arts to the community of Forest Park through readings, educational programs and partnerships and productions of local scripts.
FPT operates with support from the Village of Forest Park and the Park District of Forest Park. FPT has the full support of the Mayor as an integral part of bringing arts and culture to Forest Park and its neighboring communities.
We are a non-profit organization through our affiliate with the Forest Park Arts Alliance, and proud members of the Forest Park Chamber of Commerce.
mission and values
Theatre should be accessible to Everyone
That is why our summer performances are free, and our indoor fall and winter performances will be low cost. Every person who wants to see a Forest Park Theatre play will be able to see it, regardless of cost.
Theatre should look like our world
Our productions feature casts of diverse gender and ethnicity, and are open to cross-gender and race-forward casting.
Theatre should tell stories that cannot be told any other way
We embrace theatricality, music, dance, clowning, puppetry, and other storytelling devices that speak to theatre's unique, magical power.
Theatre should tell stories about the world we live in
Whether we re-envision work from the past or discover a contemporary voice, our goal is to speak to our present movement as dynamically as possible.
Land Acknowledgement
The Chicago area is the traditional homeland of the Council of Three Fires: the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations. Forest Park Theatre Company honors acknowledges the past, present, and future generations of Indigenous people who call this land home.