Former horsegirl and current grownup gay lady, Whitney Chitwood (she/they) is a Chicago based writer/director who was raised by two theatre owner/director parents in small-town Illinois. She’s a finalist for Blumhouse, Sundance, & K Period Media’s “Screamwriting” Fellowship (2026); a semi-finalist for NewFest’s “New Voices Grant” (2026); and selected by the Emmy-nominated OTV for their Atlas Ambassador program (2025) alongside her short film Sam Wants Her Sweater Back.

SWHSB premiered in April (MdFF, MSPFF, Provincetown Int’l, and more). A co-production with Full Spectrum Features (Desire Lines, Signature Move) it was selected as Best of the Fest (MdFF) and the screenplay received Seed & Spark’s Mark Duplass Spotlight and finished Top 10 in Cinequest’s Screenwriting Competition.

Previously, Whit’s queer anti-Western series Kid was in development with the likes of Lilly Wachowski’s Anarchists United.

Prior to moving behind the camera full time, she toured nationally as a headlining comedian. Her debut album "The Bakery Case" premiered at #1 on iTunes and Top 10 on the Billboard Comedy Charts.

As an artist, Whit’s work always passes the hell out of the Bechdel Test and strives to center queer, trans, and disabled characters without queerness, transness, or disability being the central conflict, ideals integral to her production company Witch It Productions, LLC.

Whit shares a home with her girlfriend and dog Flea in Chicago. If they don’t answer when you knock, they’re more than likely at the softball field (Whit plays 3B, Flea plays cheerleader) or visiting the family farm to bark at barn cats.