Jennifer Engstrom
An ensemble member since 2003, Jennifer Engstrom has appeared in The Moors, Small Mouth Sounds, 3C, The Mutilated, Simpatico (which transferred to the McCarter Theatre Center), The Hothouse, Eric Larue (for which she also appeared in the film adaptation), Fatboy, The Fastest Clock in the Universe, and Kimberly Akimbo.
Jennifer was the Angel of America in David Cromer’s soaring production of Angels in America (both parts) at Kansas City Rep. Other regional credits include RC in Bug at Steppenwolf, Eunice in A Streetcar Named Desire (directed by David Cromer) at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, Lady MacDuff in MacBeth at Notre Dame Shakespeare, and Zelda in Lisa Dillman’s Ground at the 2009 Humana Festival. Non-AROT Chicago credits include April Green in The Hot L Baltimore at Mary-Arrchie Theatre Company (directed by David Cromer), Shirl in Defiant Theatre’s The Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage, as well as both The Incident and Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been… at Next Theatre (Jeff Awards for Best Ensemble). Jen was awarded the 2008 Orgie Award for her delicate portrayal of Fudgie in Fatboy at AROT, as well as a Jack Springer Award for Best Actress in Sky Girls at Northlight Theatre.
Jennifer also traveled to London with Steppenwolf’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and made her New York City theater debut with her one-woman show, Excuse My Dust, a Dorothy Parker Portfolio. Jen’s long and often unfortunate affinity for Dorothy Parker led her to compose a “live literature” series, bringing to life a series of Mrs. Parker’s most beloved monologues. Rick Kogan of WGN Radio called her performance at Davenport Cabaret Bar, “a revelation” and deemed its viewing “essential for those with a soul.” Jen performed an excerpt from Excuse My Dust at a 2018 joint fundraiser for AROT and the American Writers Museum.