AYLI Artist Profile: Fritz Ketchum

Fritz Ketchum plays Duke Senior in Shrewd's upcoming production of As You Like It.

Why did you decide to participate in Shrewd's As You Like It - Shakespeare: REPRESENT?

I was drawn to the non-traditional casting of women in the works of Shakespeare. There are so few roles for women in the canon, particularly for mature women. I also was excited to work with Shannon and Lily, as well as some of the brightest talent that Austin has to offer.

About Fritz

Fritz Ketchum has directed and performed professionally for nearly 30 years for many theatres in Atlanta, Athens and Savannah, Georgia, and in Austin, Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. With a M.F.A. in Directing and Acting from the University of Georgia, Ms. Ketchum has served on the Theatre Department faculties of Texas Christian University (TCU), the University of Texas at Arlington, The University of Georgia, and the Dallas Community College system. Ms. Ketchum specializes in Directing and Period Styles, and was a Guest Artist with the Kennedy Center in 2008.

Since relocating to Austin, Ms. Ketchum has been nominated for Best Direction for her productions of A Delicate Balance, Rapture Blister Burn, The Importance of Being Earnest and Freud’s Last Session by Central Texas Live Theatre. This coming year she will be directing Arthur Miller’s The Price for Jarrott Productions. She has appeared onstage in various regional theatres, including the ZACH Theatre’s production of Harvey and Circle Theatre of Fort Worth’s production of Becky’s New Car. She is an Equity Membership Candidate for Actors’ Equity Association.