Steppenwolf Theatre Company announced a new model of leadership, naming ensemble members Glenn Davis and Audrey Francis as the incoming artistic directors of the storied Chicago company.
The new appointment continues Steppenwolf's tradition of its artistic leadership being placed in the hands of ensemble members. However, this is the first time co-artistic leaders have been appointed by the 49-member ensemble in its nearly five-decade historyand the first time the company has elected an artistic director of color.
Both deeply rooted in the Chicago community, Davis and Francis have built the foundations of their artistic careers in the city's arts community. They each started at the School at Steppenwolf and, in 2017, became ensemble members under then-Artistic Director Anna D. Shapiro.
Steppenwolf recently completed the final phase of its ambitious three-phase campus expansion plan that includes a 400-seat, highly accessible theatre-in-the-round, a dedicated education center and new spaces for community and socializing that will open this fall. The building will be the largest permanent cultural asset in Chicago to open this year.
The 2021-22 mainstage season will begin live performances with the return of Bug, in November; followed by King James, in February, featuring Glenn Davis; Seagull, in April; and Choir Boy, in June. Steppenwolf for Young Adults brings a virtual production of The Red Folder Project to more than 30,000 students worldwide this fall; and, in February 2022, it will present the world premiere of Eve Ewing's 1919, in the new Round Theater.
Steppenwolf's production of The Minutes returns to Broadway in March 2022; and Pass Over, which received its world-premiere production at Steppenwolf, will be among the first shows to open on Broadway this fall, starring ensemble members Jon Michael Hill and Namir Smallwood.
To learn more about Steppenwolf's 2021-22 Season and membership options, visit steppenwolf.org or call Audience Services at 312-335-1650.