Up close and personal: Red Orchid artistic director loves the connection storefront theater provides

To say that Kirsten Fitzgerald was impressed with A Red Orchid Theatre is an understatement.

It was a 1995 production of Eugene Ionesco’s absurdist drama “Victims of Duty” that introduced the actor and director to the company.

“I was floored,” said Fitzgerald, who grew up in Lake Bluff and Lake Forest. “I was blown away by what they did in the space and how it affected me and the audience.”

For two years, Fitzgerald auditioned for the Chicago theater without success. Finally, she landed a role in Red Orchid’s production of “The Removalists” by David Williamson.

A long and happy theatrical partnership ensued. She joined the ensemble in 2001. In 2008, artistic director Guy Van Swearingen — who co-founded the theater with actor/directors Lawrence Grimm and Michael Shannon — announced he was stepping down. Fitzgerald stepped up.

She figured she would serve about five years. Eighteen years later, it’s become Fitzgerald’s longest-running role, which she balances with acting and directing. Currently, she plays Rhonda in her company’s premiere of “Targeted,” Hanna Kime’s tragicomedy about victims of surveillance and harassment by international government agents who spend a weekend in the woods devising strategies to battle their oppressors.

“One of the central questions of the piece is how do you communicate with people who have an entirely different set of beliefs?” Fitzgerald said. “Where does the breakdown happen, and where might there be room to make repairs?”

Ensemble members first encountered “Targeted” about 18 months ago as part of the company’s “Taste of Red” reading series.

“It felt urgent, in a way, because of the discord in our world socially and politically,” recalled Fitzgerald. “It moved a lot of people.”

World premieres like “Targeted” figure prominently at Red Orchid, which is also keen on staging second productions of new works.

“When a play has its world premiere, the playwright is often still learning,” she said. “It’s often not until the second or third full production that the playwright says ‘OK, it’s done.’”

That’s why, if the budget allows, Red Orchid invites playwrights to sit in during rehearsals.

One of Chicago’s more intimate storefront theaters, Red Orchid seats about 75 people, which means if an audience member sitting in the first row crosses his or her leg, that limb is in the play.

That proximity of audience to actors appeals to Fitzgerald, a two-time Joseph Jefferson Award-winner who has worked with Goodman, Steppenwolf, Victory Gardens, Chicago Shakespeare and Remy Bumppo theaters.

“One of the reasons I love live theater so much is that immediate knowledge that you’re having an effect on a group of people,” she said. “You can feel it in larger spaces too, but with a different intensity. That proximity opens the door for wider human connection.”

“I can’t get enough of it,” said Fitzgerald, whose TV and film credits include “Somebody Somewhere,” “Widows,” “Sirens,” “Chicago Med/Fire/Justice.”

Whether in a 1,000-seat house, or a small venue like Red Orchid’s, it’s important for human beings to connect with others, now more than ever, Fitzgerald said.

“I would encourage everybody to challenge themselves to do that at least a few times a year.

“It feeds the soul,” she added, “knowing that you are not alone in this crazy thing we call life.”

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“Targeted”

Showtimes: Previews Thursday through Saturday, May 7-9 and 14-15; 3 p.m. Sunday, May 10; and 3 and 7 p.m. May 16. The show opens May 17 and runs 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 3 and 7 p.m. Saturday; and 3 p.m. Sunday through June 14

Where: A Red Orchid Theatre at Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St., Chicago, (312) 943-8722, aredorchidtheatre.org

Tickets: $33-$55