Barbara Gaines (Director) is the founder of Chicago Shakespeare Theater, where she has directed more than 30 of Shakespeare’s plays. Her work has been honored with Jeff Awards for Best Production (Hamlet, The Tale of Cymbeline and King Lear) and for Best Director (The Tale of Cymbeline and King Lear). In 2005, Ms. Gaines was awarded the prestigious Honorary OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in recognition of her contributions strengthening British-American cultural relations. She received the 2007 Public Humanities Award from the Illinois Humanities Council this spring, and is the recipient of the 2004 Spirit of Loyola Award. Ms. Gaines serves on the Shakespearean Council of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London and is a Life Trustee of Northwestern University. She is a member of the Cultural Affairs Advisory Board for the City of Chicago and has served on panels for the National Endowment for the Arts.

Michael Philippi (Scenic Designer) returns to Chicago Shakespeare Theater, where his design credits include: Troilus and Cressida, Hecuba, Measure for Measure, King Lear, The Winter’s Tale, As You Like It and Love’s Labor’s Lost. Other Chicago credits include: projects with Goodman Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Court Theatre, Remains Ensemble and Wisdom Bridge Theatre. Regional credits include projects with: Arena Stage, Alliance Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Center Stage, Cincinnati Playhouse, Huntington Theatre Company, Milwaukee Repertory, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and Mark Taper Forum. Broadway designs include the Goodman Theatre’s revival of Death of a Salesman (Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in New York, London and Los Angeles) and The Speed of Darkness (Belasco Theater). Additional New York credits include: Frank’s Home (Playwrights Horizons), Blue Surge (Public Theatre) and Boy Gets Girl (Manhattan Theatre Club). He also designed The Iceman Cometh at the Abbey Theatre (Dublin). Mr. Philippi received two Jeff Awards for designs in Chicago and two Hollywood Drama-Logue awards for work at Mark Taper Forum and Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

Susan E. Mickey (Costume Designer) returns to Chicago Shakespeare Theater, where she designed costumes for The Comedy of Errors and The Taming of the Shrew, both directed by David H. Bell. Chicago credits include costume design for Jitney and Miss Evers’ Boys (Goodman Theatre). Regional credits include designs for: The Guthrie Theater, Hartford Stage, Arena Stage, Huntington Theatre Company, Center Stage, Cleveland Play House, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Goodspeed Musicals, Portland Center Stage, Pittsburgh Public Theater, Dallas Theater Center, Studio Arena Theatre, Geva Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, the Alabama and Oregon Shakespeare Festivals, and more than 50 productions with the Alliance Theatre Company in Atlanta. Television and film credits include costume design for the feature film The Adventures of Ociee Nash, Miss Evers’ Boys (HBO); and the miniseries Mama Flora’s Family (CBS). She serves as associate chair and head of design and production at The University of Texas Austin.

Philip S. Rosenberg (Lighting Designer) makes his Chicago Shakespeare Theater debut. Regional credits include: The Lady in Question (Bay Street Theatre). He has spent much of the last 10 years as an associate lighting designer on Broadway, where his credits include: The Pirate Queen, The Caine Mutiny Court-Marshall, The Odd Couple, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Spamalot, Bombay Dreams, The Graduate, Man of La Mancha, Hairspray, The Crucible, 42nd Street, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Music Man, The Civil War, On the Town and Triumph of Love.

Lindsay Jones (Sound Designer/Original Music) returns to Chicago Shakespeare Theater, where his credits include: Troilus and Cressida, Marionette Macbeth, Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, Hecuba, The Merchant of Venice, Kabuki Lady Macbeth, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Short Shakespeare! A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Shakespeare’s R&J. Regional credits include projects with: Center Stage, American Conservatory Theatre, South Coast Repertory, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Arena Stage, The Old Globe, Hartford Stage, Pasadena Playhouse, Ford’s Theatre, Geva Theatre, Alliance Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Milwaukee Repertory, Indiana Repertory, and Lookingglass Theatre Company. Off-Broadway credits include: The God of Hell, Dedication or the Stuff of Dreams, In the Continuum, Luminescence Dating, String of Pearls, Boy, O Jerusalem, Beautiful Thing and Closet Land. International credits include productions in Austria, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Scotland and with the Royal Shakespeare Company in England. He is the recipient of four Jeff Awards and 11 nominations, an Ovation Award and two ASCAP Plus Awards, and was the first sound designer to win the Michael Maggio Emerging Designer Award.

Melissa Veal (Wigs and Makeup) Chicago Shakespeare Theater design credits include: Troilus and Cressida, The Three Musketeers, Short Shakespeare! The Taming of the Shrew, The Two Noble Kinsmen, Hamlet, Hecuba, A Flea in Her Ear, Henry IV Parts 1 and 2 (at CST and at the Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratfordupon- Avon), Much Ado about Nothing, Short Shakespeare! Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet, Measure for Measure, The Merry Wives of Windsor, King John, The Molière Comedies, A Little Night Music, Rose Rage: Henry VI Parts 1, 2 and 3 (at CST and The Duke on 42nd Street), The Taming of the Shrew and wig supervisor for The School for Scandal. Canadian credits include: 10 seasons with the Stratford Festival, where she was the recipient of four Tyrone Guthrie Awards, including the Jack Hutt Humanitarian Award; Canadian Stage Company, Canadian Opera Company, Tarragon Theatre, Mirvish Productions, The Citadel Theatre, and longtime association with The Grand Theatre in London.

Alaric Jans (Original Music) returns to Chicago Shakespeare Theater, having written the scores for Measure for Measure, The Merry Wives of Windsor (1996, 2004 After Dark Award), King John (2004), The Winter’s Tale, Julius Caesar, Love’s Labor’s Lost, The Tempest (Jeff Award), Richard II, King Lear (2001), The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Jeff Award), All’s Well That Ends Well, Antony and Cleopatra, Henry IV Parts 1 and 2 (Jeff Awards 1999 and 2006), Henry V, The Merchant of Venice, Timon of Athens, Hamlet, Twelfth Night (Jeff Award) and Pericles. Other Chicago credits include the score for A View from the Bridge (Jeff Award, St. Nicholas Theater), songs for The Adventures of Captain Marbles (Hull House Theater and St. Nicholas Theater) and Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? (Forum Theatre and Broadway’s Alvin Theatre). Film scores include: David Mamet’s Homicide, Things Change, House of Games, and The Winslow Boy. He is the first artist to hold the Bob Tilles Music Chair at Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

Robin McFarquhar (Fight Choreographer) returns to Chicago Shakespeare Theater, where his credits include: Troilus and Cressida, The Two Noble Kinsmen, Hamlet, A Flea in Her Ear, The Merchant of Venice, King John, Julius Caesar, Richard II, King Lear, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Antony and Cleopatra, Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, Richard III, Othello, Short Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet (at CST and on NEA tour); Macbeth and Pacific Overtures. Other Chicago credits include: Lost Land, The Ballad of Little Jo, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, A Clockwork Orange, The Libertine, Time to Burn, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Time of Your Life, The Berlin Circle (Steppenwolf Theatre Company); Richard II, All the Rage, Griller (Goodman Theatre); Life’s a Dream and Fair Ladies at a Game of Poem Cards (Court Theatre). Other credits include: work on Broadway and projects with the Old Globe Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre, American Players Theatre, South Coast Repertory, the Idaho, Illinois, Utah and Virginia Shakespeare Festivals, international tours to England, Japan, Cyprus and Hungary, and the national tour of The Color Purple.

Phyllis Griffin (Vocal Coach) returns to Chicago Shakespeare Theater, where she previously coached for Henry IV Parts 1 and 2. She is an Associate Professor, Head of Voice and Speech at The Theatre School at DePaul University, and serves as a professional vocal coach for theaters in Chicago. She has had years of collaborations as a vocal coach with The Goodman Theatre for various productions, including work with Tennessee Williams on A House Not Meant to Stand and with August Wilson on King Hedley II and Gem of the Ocean. She coached the cast for Regina Taylor’s play Drowning Crow and was enlisted by director Chuck Smith for I am A Man, written by Professor Charles Oyamo. Professor Griffin also directs for DePaul University.

Joel G. Fink (Physical Coach) returns to Chicago Shakespeare Theater, where he previously coached for Troilus and Cressida. He was the casting director/artistic associate at Colorado Shakespeare Festival for 14 years, where his credits included: Titus Andronicus, Much Ado About Nothing, The Rivals, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Cymbeline, Pericles, Twelfth Night, The Importance of Being Earnest, Edward III and The Comedy of Errors. He has directed Twelfth Night (Illinois Shakespeare Festival). Chicago performance credits include Racing Demon (Organic Touchstone Company) and Dear Liar (Chicago Humanities Festival). Chicago directing credits include: Damne Manon/Sacre Sandra (Bailiwick Repertory Theatre); Dear Liar, The Cradle Will Rock and The Zoo Story (Chicago Humanities Festival). He has held faculty positions at New York University, The New School for Social Research, Purdue University, California State University, Circle in the Square Theatre School, and University of Colorado-Boulder. He has his massage therapist certification from The Swedish Institute, New York City and has served as Associate Dean and Director of the Theatre Conservatory at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University for the past 11 years.

Bob Mason (Casting Director) is in his seventh season as casting director at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, where his classical credits cover more than half of the canon, including 11 productions with Artistic Director Barbara Gaines. Other CST productions of note include a trio of Stephen Sondheim musicals (Pacific Overtures, Sunday in the Park with George, and A Little Night Music) directed by Gary Griffin, as well as Rose Rage: Henry VI Parts 1, 2 & 3 (director Edward Hall) and The Molière Comedies (director Brian Bedford). Additional Chicago casting credits include: the Sondheim/ Hal Prince premiere of Bounce (Goodman Theatre and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts); The Good War, The Immigrant (Northlight Theatre); The Boys Are Comin’ Home, Asphalt Beach (Northwestern University’s American Music Theatre Project); and I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (Royal George Cabaret). Prior to casting, Bob enjoyed a 15–year career as a Jeff Award-winning Chicago actor and singer and has been a visiting educator for the School at Steppenwolf and Northwestern University.