Cal Pritner is an educator, writer, administrator, and actor. He chaired two university theatre departments (University of Missouri-Kansas City, 1994–2000) and Illinois State University

Illinois State University

Illinois State University , founded in 1857, is the oldest public university in Illinois; it is located in the town of Normal. ISU is considered a "national university" that grants a variety of doctoral degrees and strongly emphasizes research; it is also recognized as one of the top ten largest...

 (1970–1981), and he was the founding artistic director of the Illinois Shakespeare Festival

Illinois Shakespeare Festival

The Illinois Shakespeare Festival is located in Bloomington, Illinois, USA. It began in 1978 and it celebrated its 30th season in the summer of 2007...

 (1978–1990). He is an elected Fellow of the College of Fellows of the American Theatre

College of Fellows of the American Theatre

- Origin :The College of Fellows of the American Theatre is an honorary society of outstanding theatre educators and professional theatre practitioners. The organization was formed in 1965 as a project proposed by members of the American Theatre Association...

 (membership limited to 150 living persons).

He is the author and co-author of three instructional television series on Shakespeare and poetry; he and his wife, Evamarii Johnson, co-authored Page to Stage: Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....

, which won the Wilbur Schramm award as best American instructional series of 1991. With Louis Colaianni

Louis Colaianni

Louis Colaianni is a prominent voice, speech, dialect and text director in the professional theatre, and teacher of voice, speech, phonetics, acting and Shakespeare performance. He was dialect coach for Bill Murray in the film Hyde Park On Hudson and vocal coach for Will Ferrell in the Broadway...

 he co-authored How to Speak Shakespeare (2001), and with Scott Walters he co-authored Introduction to Play Analysis (2004). Both books are used widely as textbooks in colleges and universities. He is the author of Mark Twain

Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...

 and Me Unlearning Racism (at press).

Pritner earned membership in all three American actors' unions: Actors Equity, Screen Actors Guild, and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. He has appeared in several episodic television series, played leading roles in Shakespeare, and he had a featured role in Robert Altman's film, Kansas City. In addition, he has performed five one-person shows, two of which he authored and continues to tour, Mark Twain Traveling and Mark Twain Unlearning Racism.

Students from the Illinois State University Department of Theatre, which Pritner served as founding department chair, include a majority of the founding members of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Ensemble, Tony winners Judith Ivey

Judith Ivey

Judith Lee Ivey is an American actress and director.-Personal life:Ivey was born in El Paso, Texas, the daughter of Dorothy Lee , a teacher, and Nathan Aldean Ivey, a college instructor and dean. She spent 1965-1968 in Dowagiac, Michigan, where she attended Union High School through tenth grade...

 and Rondi Reed

Rondi Reed

Rondi Reed is an American stage actress, singer and performer.-Career:Reed has been a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago, Illinois, for 30 years, appearing in 51 productions with the company....

, Oscar nominee John Malkovich

John Malkovich

John Gavin Malkovich is an American actor, producer, director and fashion designer with his label Technobohemian. Over the last 25 years of his career, Malkovich has appeared in more than 70 motion pictures. For his roles in Places in the Heart and In the Line of Fire, he received Academy Award...

, two former Steppenwolf Theatre artistic directors Terry Kinney

Terry Kinney

Terry Kinney is an American actor and theatre director, and is a founding member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, with Gary Sinise and Jeff Perry.-Early life:...

 and Randy Arney, and film and television stars Gary Cole

Gary Cole

Gary Michael Cole is an American actor. Cole is known for his supporting roles in numerous film and television productions since the 1990s.-Early life:...

 and Jane Lynch

Jane Lynch

Jane Marie Lynch is an American comedian, actress and singer. She gained fame in Christopher Guest's improv mockumentary pictures such as Best in Show and is currently best known for playing the role of Sue Sylvester in the television series Glee...

.