The Illinois Theatre Center (ITC) is a theater in the southern Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 suburb

Suburb

The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...

 of Park Forest which began operation in 1976. In 1999, ITC moved to a state-of-the-art facility in downtown Park Forest, Illinois

Park Forest, Illinois

Park Forest is a village located south of Chicago in Cook County and Will County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 23,462...

 from their previous location in the basement of the Park Forest Public Library. Critical acclaim and audience support continues to grow for this Actor's Equity company.

ITC was founded in 1976 by Steve and Etel Billig

Etel Billig

Etel Billig is an American actress, singer, teacher and director; her career has spanned over 60 years. She founded Illinois Theatre Center in 1976 with her late husband Steven. Over the past 36 years, she has appeared in, as well as directed over 100 productions at ITC...

 as the first Actor's Equity professional theater in the far South Suburbs of the Chicago metropolitan area.

In addition to its Mainstage series of six plays, ITC offers a Script-in-Hand series of play readings, a free summer outdoor Shakespeare production, and a Summerfest musical. The ITC Drama School offers several classes for adults, teens and children, as well as a summer arts camp, Project S.A.M. (Summer Arts Marathon).

The Illinois Theatre Center is a constituent of the Theatre Communications Group

Theatre Communications Group

Theatre Communications Group is an organization dedicated to the promotion of non-profit professional theatre in the United States. TCG has over 450 member theatres located in 47 states; 17,000 individual members; and a growing number of University, Funder, Business and Trustee Affiliates...

—the national organization of non-profit theatres. ITC is also a member of several other theater groups.