The Illinois Shakespeare Festival (ISF) announced the appointment of Robert Quinlan as its next artistic director, following John C. Stark, who will retire after the 2024 season. Quinlan is the eighth person to hold the position since the festival’s founding by Cal Pritner in 1978. Quinlan will assume his responsibilities in the fall of 2024 but has been active with the festival as a director since 2013.
“Robert’s close study of Shakespeare, his breadth of knowledge of Shakespeare’s contemporaries, and perhaps most of all his great skill in both acting and directing Shakespeare’s works will all contribute to his success in this new role. I have seen many Shakespeare stagings around the country throughout my career, and Robert’s productions are among my favorites. His attentiveness to the story, his interest in carving out the intricacies and idiosyncrasies of the characters, and his skill in relating these 400-year-old texts to the 21st century are impressive and inspiring, and I genuinely look forward to working with him in the coming years,” said Ann Haugo, director of the School of Theatre, Dance, and Film.
Quinlan has directed several productions at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival: King Lear (2022), As You Like It (2019), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2017), Richard II (2015), and Macbeth (2013). He will direct Twelfth Night as part of this summer’s season. Quinlan is currently the associate artistic director of the Illinois Shakespeare Festival.
“Robert has been associated with the Illinois Shakespeare Festival for more than a decade. He is uniquely prepared to be a successful artistic director having had experience as an actor, assistant director, and directing five productions since 2013. He loves Shakespeare and relishes bringing these stories to life on stage,” said Stark.
Quinlan has been a member of the artistic collective at Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre and was associate director of Milwaukee Shakespeare. Quinlan’s recent directing project, Into the Woods at the New Jewish Theatre in St. Louis, won six awards at the Saint Louis Theater Circle Awards, including Outstanding Director of a Musical. Other directing projects have included The Amish Project at Taproot Theatre in Seattle; the world premiere of The Magic Bicycle at First Stage Milwaukee; Of Debt and the Maidens, #thisrocks, and #wink with Chicago’s Fifth House Music Ensemble; and The Maids and Proof at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore. As an actor, he appeared in the 2023 ISF company and recently performed the role of Rod in the premiere of The Men from the Polar Star at the Tennessee Williams Festival in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
“I am profoundly honored to serve as the next artistic director of the Illinois Shakespeare Festival. The festival has had a deep impact on my life both artistically and personally over the past 15 years, and I aspire to build upon its impressive legacy. I believe in the essential power and value of live theatre. Hamlet says of the traveling players who arrive at Elsinore, “Let them be well used, for they are the abstract and brief chronicles of the time.” I aim to lead ISF with thoughtfulness and care as we approach 50 years of producing professional theatre in Central Illinois.” —Robert Quinlan
Quinlan is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC) and is an associate professor of directing at the School of Theatre, Dance, and Film at Illinois State University. He holds a B.F.A. in acting from the University of Illinois, and an M.F.A. in directing from Illinois State University.
