American Theatre Magazine has reported founder and artistic director Barbara Gaines will step down in 2023 after leading Chicago Shakespeare Theater for 36 years. During her time leading the theatre, she has directed 33 Shakespeare plays and six world premieres amongst her total of 60 productions.
"Change can infuse a new and bold creative energy," Gaines said in a statement, "as our work to imaginatively explore Shakespeare alongside other playwrights continues and evolves in new ways to meet our changing world."
With the search for the next artistic director on the horizon, chair of the theatre's board of directors Mark S. Ouweleen recognized "Her audacious impulse to build a Shakespeare theatre for Chicago has blossomed into a world-class theatre that continues to raise the bar for artistry and service."
Gaines founded the theater in 1986 and began with performances held on the roof of the Red Lion Pub in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. It underwent a name change while performing in residency at Ruth Page Theater, but reverted to Chicago Shakespeare Theater in 1999 when it built its permanent home at Navy Pier.
With up to 20 productions and 650 performances annually, Chicago Shakes won the 2008 Regional Theatre Tony Award in addition to having won three Laurence Olivier Awards and 77 Joseph Jefferson Awards. Gaines has personally been recognized for her contributions to British-American cultural relations as an Honorary Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire and for those to the city of Chicago with the Chicago History Museum's Making History Award.
