Jack Gritzmacher
As the founding member of Mesabi Musical Theatre, Jack Gritzmacher has been with the organization since the beginning, working mainly as producer and managing director; however, with the re-organization of MMT in 2013, he was appointed Artistic Director of the organization and asked to direct Chicago in 2014. Jack has been the backbone of this troupe since its inception and currently serves as a member-at-large on the MMT board. Jack is a retired from teaching language arts at Eveleth-Gilbert High School, where he directed fall and spring plays and award-winning one act plays. He also coached the Eveleth-Gilbert (later Rock Ridge) speech team and is currently the junior varsity coach. He also serves as a Minnesota State High School League Region 7A Speech/Drama Representative.
Jack has made good use of his double-major in Theatre Arts and English from the University of Minnesota, as well as his minor in speech communications, spending the vast majority of his adult life coaching speech and directing high school plays. He was also a founding member of St. Paul’s Shakespeare & Company, first acting in several of the summer repertory productions before directing Twelfth Night for the company, and becoming the company’s stage combat master in such productions as Julius Caesar and Macbeth. While teaching in Arizona early in his career, he produced several shows for Mesa Little Theatre, eventually becoming the group’s artistic director for four seasons. He has also traveled the country with Dan Witkowski Productions, performing in and directing magic shows in such venues as Las Vegas, Disneyland, Disney World, and the Six Flags theme parks. Somewhere along the line Jack missed his calling to be a major league baseball coach. Jack feels blessed to have had not one but two wives, at different times of course; he also boasts of a long-time mistress—the theatre. He’s the proud father of four boys: Tanner, Tory, Alec, and Max.
Jack has made good use of his double-major in Theatre Arts and English from the University of Minnesota, as well as his minor in speech communications, spending the vast majority of his adult life coaching speech and directing high school plays. He was also a founding member of St. Paul’s Shakespeare & Company, first acting in several of the summer repertory productions before directing Twelfth Night for the company, and becoming the company’s stage combat master in such productions as Julius Caesar and Macbeth. While teaching in Arizona early in his career, he produced several shows for Mesa Little Theatre, eventually becoming the group’s artistic director for four seasons. He has also traveled the country with Dan Witkowski Productions, performing in and directing magic shows in such venues as Las Vegas, Disneyland, Disney World, and the Six Flags theme parks. Somewhere along the line Jack missed his calling to be a major league baseball coach. Jack feels blessed to have had not one but two wives, at different times of course; he also boasts of a long-time mistress—the theatre. He’s the proud father of four boys: Tanner, Tory, Alec, and Max.