Posted on May 6, 2021

Steppenwolf Theatre Company has announced that Anna D. Shapiro, who has served as Artistic Director since 2015, will step down from this role when her contract expires in August 2021.

Over the last several months, Shapiro has been working with her fellow Steppenwolf ensemble members—a group of 49 visionary actors, directors and playwrights who call Steppenwolf home—on a succession plan for when her contract expires at the end of the summer. Shapiro remains an active member of the Steppenwolf ensemble (which she joined in 2005) as she is slated to direct both ensemble member Rajiv Joseph’s King James and ensemble member Tracy Letts’s virtual play, The Stretch as part of the 2021/22 Steppenwolf Comeback Season announced last week.

In keeping with Steppenwolf tradition, and in accordance with its founding documents, it is the responsibility of the 49 ensemble members to select the next artistic director.

For more details Steppenwolf’s Campus Expansion and 2021/22 Comeback Season, visit steppenwolf.org.