Julie Ritchey

Artistic Director / Founder

Julie Ritchey (she/her) is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Filament Theatre and a Chicago-based theater director and administrator with a primary focus on theater for young and family audiences. Critics describe Julie’s work as a director as “pinpoint” (Chicago Tribune), “captivating” (Chicago Reader) and “incredibly imaginative” (Time Out Chicago). With Filament, Julie created The Van Gogh Cafe, an adaptation of Cynthia Rylant’s book of the same name (staged in Fannie’s Bakery and Cafe with an accompanying a five course meal); a Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Portage Park (an original mystery that took the audience on foot and by bicycle throughout the neighborhood in search of clues); The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles (a play in a sandbox); and Forts: Build Your Own Adventure (an audience-driven performance installation).

Julie maintains strong relationships with theater companies in Chicago and nationally, where she focuses primarily on new and emerging work. She sometimes directs plays for grown-up audiences, too. With Boise Contemporary Theater, Julie directed the premiere production of Hansol Jung’s No More Sad Things (World Premiere), With Love and a Major Organ, Every Brilliant Thing, The Storm in the Barn, Narwhal! Unicorn of the Sea (World Premiere), and An Iliad (Idaho tour). Additionally, Julie co-founded the hugely successful children’s theatre program at the Summer Theatre of New Canaan. Julie received a Bachelor of Science in Performance Studies from Northwestern University. She lives in Chicago with her husband (Grammy Award-winning musician Timothy Munro) and their delicious toddler (Ellis).