Actor.
Hailing from Minneapolis, based in Chicago, with over a decade in New York City along the way, Kim Schultz has worked at many national theatres as an actor and writer. She has worked at The Goodman Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre, Silk Road Rising, The Guthrie Theatre, Childrens’ Theatre Co., Theatre de la Jeune Lune, The Chicago Improv Fest, The Brave New Workshop, HBO Comedy Showcase and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, The Hamptons Shakespeare Festival, Oberon Theatre, 3LD, and more. She also created, produced and acted in a regionally televised comedy improv show on ABC-KSTC called Comedy Hotel. And in 2009, she was commissioned to travel to the Middle East as a playwright/activist to meet with Iraqi refugees and write a play inspired by the trip. Out of that came the play "No Place Called Home" which she performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. as part of World Refugee Day and off-Broadway in NYC, as well as at many regional theatres, colleges and universities throughout the country. Kim is also touring a storytelling play to combat Islamophobia and Anti-Semitism called, "Sisters of Story". Kim's new play: Root Beer Lady premiered at the History Theatre in February of 2023. It was directed by Addie Gorlin-Han.
Kim has broad experience performing and teaching improvisation and also does film, television and commercial work.
PRESS
On THE ROOT BEER LADY:
"Written and performed by Kim Schultz, it’s something like a memoir in monologue that chronicles how a nurse from Chicago heard the call of the loon and left civilization behind, paring her life down to essentials and cultivating a profound connection with nature. Schultz convincingly taps into Molter’s gruff, tough, no-nonsense bearing, but never allows Molter to lose touch with the wonderstruck woman she was on her first foray to the North Woods. It’s a ceaselessly engaging chronicle of a life quite unlike any other...Thanks to Schultz’s homespun script, welcoming characterization and elastically expressive face, you’ll likely feel like one of those visiting canoeists as she regales you with tales of dragging Berglund to a hospital by toboggan or having her life saved by a loon."
Ron Hubbard, St. Paul Pioner Press
"The Root Beer Lady at History Theatre was so good I had to go twice! A true love letter to nature and fun way to learn more about Dorothy Molter (aka The Root Beer Lady) and the 56 years she lived in the beauty of north woods. It was stunning storytelling and performance by Kim Schultz that made you laugh out loud then leave you misty eyed and inspired to live your life a little more like Dorothy."
On A CHRISTMAS CAROL:
"There are sharp performances by...Kim Schultz (hilarious in her flirtations) as the high-spirited Fezziwigs and others."
Chicago Sun-Times
"And Kim Schultz...fantastic, who makes you laugh every time she hits the stage!"
FranklyHank, Windy City Live, ABC7 Chicago
"Kim Schultz provides some much-welcome giddiness as...Mrs. Fezziwig."
Chicago Theatre Review
"Kim Schultz steals wonderful moments while playing several different characters."
Chicago Stage Review
On NO PLACE CALLED HOME:
"Over the course of Ms. Schultz’s performance on Thursday, the Iraqi refugee population of New York City increased virtually by something like 10 percent, as she brought stories of urban refugee life into a spare rehearsal room...Schultz transforms herself..."
New York Times
"Under Sarah Cameron Sunde’s perceptive direction, Schultz gains our sympathies for a people who many people automatically suspect are our enemies. That alone is no small achievement."
NJ Star Ledger
On THE F TRIP:
"The play...presents Kim as Kim, an instantly likeable lady. Why so? Because she’s so unpretentious and clearly vulnerable behind what’s sometimes a tough shell she wears to protect herself from tough breaks...Kim Schultz makes a fine traveling companion: she's funny, insightful, and often delightful."
Rob Lester, Edge New York
"As a performer, Schultz is tremendously talented and very present—not to mention very funny—and the ease and openness she exudes make you feel like you are re-experiencing her emotional journey in the moment on a very intimate level."
Fred Backus, NYTheatre.com
On CUPID AND PSYCHE:
“…Kim Schultz, as Kris, has a fine comic turn in Act 2.”
Josephine Cashman, NYTheatre.com
“Better is Kim Schultz as Psyche’s older, caustic sister, who’s always armed with an acidic attack for anyone or anything that displeases her.”
Matthew Murray, Talkin’ Broadway
On COMEDY OF ERRORS:
“Kim Schultz, playing the roles of the Duke, Balthazar and the Abbess Emilia was particularly strong, creating a memorable, cigar-chomping, phlegm-choked Frenchman for the role of Balthazar and a slightly demented Abbess in Emilia.”
Mariah Quinn, East Hampton Independent
On SCAPIN:
“ In the small role of Nerina, a mystery woman with an interesting ponytail, she stole the show…and does a dandy bit of improv during intermission too!”
Bonnie Prinsen, Fillmore County Journal
On MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN:
“Her strong performance is the main reason to see this play. Schultz…makes the effort worthwhile. She carries the play for the duration.”
Rohan Preston, Minneapolis Star-Tribune
“And that’s what her performance is — heroic. She has the confidence to play the full intensity of Josie’s passions and is very moving.”
William Randall Beard, FocusPoint
On BABY WITH THE BATHWATER:
“Kim Schultz steals the show as the nanny and as a vacant school administrator…Schultz treats absurdity as a walk in the park with big, comic eyes, a versatile voice and impeccable timing.”
Graydon Royce, Minneapolis Star-Tribune
