Steppenwolf Theatre Company held a news conference this morning to announce future plans, including the handoff of artistic directorship from Martha Lavey, the company's leader for nearly 20 years, to ensemble member Anna D. Shapiro at the conclusion of the 2014–15 season. The current executive director, David Hawkanson, will also hand off his position to managing director David M. Schmitz.
Steppenwolf also made official its long-in-the-works plans to expand its Halsted Street campus, replacing the current parking garage (and Steppenwolf Garage theater) with a new 400-seat flexible theater; a new 80–100 seat black box, known as "the Lab at Steppenwolf," will be installed on the street level of the building just to the north of the main building, formerly an Ethan Allen furniture store, the upper floors of which were recently converted into new office space for Steppenwolf's staff. The main stage theater at 1650 N Halsted will remain in place. The current open parking lot just south of the main building will be the location of an atrium the company and its architects are calling "the Public Square," a new main entrance and lobby for the entire campus.
Shapiro, who's been regularly directing on Broadway (recently represented by Of Mice and Men and This Is Our Youth) and is chair of Northwestern University's theater program, said she will be re-centering on Chicago—a move "I'm very much looking forward to." She'll remain on the Northwestern faculty while handing off department chair duties to Jessica Thebus, a process she said was already in motion.