Barbara Gaines (Artistic Director) is the founder of Chicago Shakespeare Theater, where she has directed more than thirty of Shakespeare’s plays. Honors include: the 2008 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre; the prestigious Honorary OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in recognition of her contributions strengthening British-American cultural relations; and Joseph Jefferson Awards for Best Production (Hamlet, Cymbeline, King Lear and The Comedy of Errors), and for Best Director (Cymbeline, King Lear and The Comedy of Errors). She received the Public Humanities Award from the Illinois Humanities Council, and is the recipient of the Spirit of Loyola Award. Ms. Gaines received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Dominican University and an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Lake Forest College. She serves on the Shakespearean Council of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London and is a Life Trustee of Northwestern University. She made her Lyric Opera debut directing Giuseppe Verdi’s Macbeth.