Matt Schutz

Matt Schutz

Matt Schutz is a playwright and actor currently based in Chicago. His play .PDF Preferred was included in PlayGround-Chicago's Best of Chicago production. His play With the Weight of her Fate on her Shoulders was a winner of the New South Young Playwrights Contest, was workshopped at the Horizon Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia and earned him a finalist slot for the Dramatist’s Guild Young Playwright Award. He...
Matt Schutz is a playwright and actor currently based in Chicago. His play .PDF Preferred was included in PlayGround-Chicago's Best of Chicago production. His play With the Weight of her Fate on her Shoulders was a winner of the New South Young Playwrights Contest, was workshopped at the Horizon Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia and earned him a finalist slot for the Dramatist’s Guild Young Playwright Award. He has developed plays with the University of Iowa, Intrinsic Theatre, the Pride Arts Center, and Inkwell Theater.

Plays

  • The Rabbit Cage by Matt Schutz
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, farce, mystery/thriller
    Four twenty somethings who work in the box office at a theater festival might also be selling cocaine. But no one knows anything. However, when money starts to go missing, someone has to fess up or pay up.
  • Into the Sky by Matt Schutz
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    2–3
    ·
    Genre: adventure, dark comedy + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: LGBT, space + 3 more
    Genre: adventure, dark comedy, drama, romantic comedy, science fiction
    Keyword: LGBT, space, astronaut, astronauts, lgbtqia
    Aboard the spacecraft Passage, Roderick and Johann tend to caterpillars while journeying towards a habitable planet. The long journey allows the two to simply drift through space – and towards each other.
  • Salt Fire by Matt Schutz
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: adventure, comedy + 7 more
    ·
    Keyword: LGBTQ, ghosts + 3 more
    Genre: adventure, comedy, dark comedy, drama, fantasy, horror, mystery/thriller, science fiction, tragedy
    Keyword: LGBTQ, ghosts, supernatural, intergenerational, queer
    SALT FIRE follows Danny as he investigates the death of his “co-worker and close friend,” Oliver. But as evidence comes to light and turns over theory after theory regarding Oliver’s death, Danny and the other characters in the play are forced to believe in things they never thought possible. Part thriller, part comedy, part supernatural story, SALT FIRE looks at the modern definition of selfhood, the beliefs...
    SALT FIRE follows Danny as he investigates the death of his “co-worker and close friend,” Oliver. But as evidence comes to light and turns over theory after theory regarding Oliver’s death, Danny and the other characters in the play are forced to believe in things they never thought possible. Part thriller, part comedy, part supernatural story, SALT FIRE looks at the modern definition of selfhood, the beliefs we hold, and how we interact with - and are haunted by - our history.
  • windows by Matt Schutz
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: LGBT, lgbtqia + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: LGBT, lgbtqia, grief, growing up, Relationships, injury, soccer
    Olivia is a former soccer player still recovering from a career-ending injury. Her girlfriend, Natalie, is stuck in a job she’s not passionate about, caught between finding her own happiness and caring for Olivia’s. Meanwhile, Natalie’s roommate Clay is trying to take the next step in his life – towards a new promotion, away from a past relationship, and into his own power. As all three maneuver through the...
    Olivia is a former soccer player still recovering from a career-ending injury. Her girlfriend, Natalie, is stuck in a job she’s not passionate about, caught between finding her own happiness and caring for Olivia’s. Meanwhile, Natalie’s roommate Clay is trying to take the next step in his life – towards a new promotion, away from a past relationship, and into his own power. As all three maneuver through the ever-present reality of Olivia’s injury, they find escape however they can.
  • Into the Forest by Matt Schutz
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Two ghosts explore the forest they've been trapped in, wondering if they actually want to escape. Meanwhile, four young folk explore the same forest as they question what the next steps in each of their lives might look like - and what that means for each of their individual lives.
  • Permission by Matt Schutz
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: comedy, holiday
    ·
    Keyword: christmas, holiday + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, holiday
    Keyword: christmas, holiday, Holidays, winter holidays
    It’s Christmas Eve at the local grocery store. The workers are stressed, jolly, excited, and angry – as are the varied customers that come through Gabby’s register. She is usually afraid to stand up for herself, but might this evening just push her to her limit?
  • The Showcase by Matt Schutz
    Cast: 
    7
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: graduation, college + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: graduation, college, actors, bfa, acting, growing up, life after graduation
    A group of BFA acting students prepare for their final showcase. However, the stress of finals, auditions, graduation, and the future weigh heavily on their hearts and minds. What does it mean to be graduating without knowing who you are or what you're doing? What was the purpose of the last four (or five) years?
  • With the Weight of her Fate on her Shoulders by Matt Schutz
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: drama, mystery/thriller + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: poetry
    Genre: drama, mystery/thriller, tragedy, verse
    Keyword: poetry
    When words become weapons, a new kind of war begins. A young woman, Atlas, waits to hear news about her brother Tithon – and the war – outside. When Chiron, a friend and soldier, brings news that Tithon has been captured by the enemy, Atlas is set on edge. With the opposing army approaching and Tithon in grave danger, Atlas must decide what is more important: the safety that Chiron provides or the hope of Tithon’s return.
  • The Stoddard Stud House by Matt Schutz
    Cast: 
    7
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, romantic comedy
    The Stoddard Stud House follows the three wives of Ezekiel Stoddard as they try to support his failing fruit factory. After several illicit money-making schemes have failed, Sarah, Carrie, and Kelsey finally find success in running a secret brothel for the many wives of Salt Lake City. Caught somewhere between love and lust, devotion and obsession, and sanity and chaos, the three wives (and others!) must fight...
    The Stoddard Stud House follows the three wives of Ezekiel Stoddard as they try to support his failing fruit factory. After several illicit money-making schemes have failed, Sarah, Carrie, and Kelsey finally find success in running a secret brothel for the many wives of Salt Lake City. Caught somewhere between love and lust, devotion and obsession, and sanity and chaos, the three wives (and others!) must fight for control over the factory and ultimately, control over their lives.
  • The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Matt Schutz
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    8–20
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, adventure + 1 more
    Genre: adaptation, adventure, young audiences
    Adapted from the children's book by Kate DiCamillo, this short readers theater play follows the china rabbit Edward Tulane as he traverses the world and learns what it means to truly love and be loved.