Steppenwolf announces expansion, new leadership
Steppenwolf Theatre announced on Thursday plans to expand its Halsted Street home. To that end, the acclaimed Chicago theater company is attempting to raise $55 million to build a state-of-the-art facility south of its current home.
The company has raised about $20 million for construction of the new space, which will house a flexible 400-seat theater and public atrium. Funds will also be used to renovate the building north of the theater to create another theater and administrative offices. Lastly, the capital campaign will fund renovations and improvements to Steppenwolf's existing building, which will connect to the other two on the ground floor.
The need for more space prompted the expansion, said artistic director Martha Lavey, who Steppenwolf officials announced Thursday will step down after 19 years, the longest tenure in the company's history. Ensemble member Anna D. Shapiro, Tony Award-winning director of Tracy Letts' "August: Osage County," takes over in fall 2015.
Shapiro, who is currently directing the Broadway transfer of Steppenwolf's "This is Our Youth," came to Steppenwolf in 1995 as director of the company's new plays lab. Named resident director and then associate artist, she joined the ensemble in 2005.
"Members of this ensemble and the work they have created have shaped not only who I am as an artist but as a human being," she said in a prepared statement.
Under Lavey's leadership, Steppenwolf - founded in 1976 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry and Gary Sinise - doubled the size of its ensemble and became a leader in the commission, development and production of new works. Nine of the company's 12 Tonys came during her tenure, which also saw the introduction of young adult programming, a training school, a showcase for emerging storefront companies and a new works repertory series.
"It has been the joy of my life to serve this theater and this community," said Lavey, who will remain an ensemble member. "I'm proud that it has become, in addition to a place that cultivates acting and directing, a place that introduces new work."
Admitting some trepidation about embarking on such an ambitious fundraising campaign, she says the company's ever-expanding programs demand it.
"The only way to stay on top is to be big and bold in our vision. But we won't do anything that will put the company at risk," she said.
In another management shake-up, officials announced managing director David M. Schmitz will take over executive director duties from David Hawkanson, an 11-year Steppenwolf veteran who improved the company's finances by $10 million and assisted Schmitz in acquiring the new facility.