The stage lights at Ewing Theatre will soon shine brightly as the Illinois Shakespeare Festival (ISF) makes its annual appearance June 25-August 2.

Robert Quinlan, M.F.A. ’09, new artistic director of the ISF has chosen three of his personal favorites for the season: William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Hamlet, and The Importance of Being Earnest, the last one by Oscar Wilde.

“I consciously picked A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Hamlet to go together because they have plays within plays,” Quinlan said. “And Wilde is hilarious, smart, and set the play in an English garden, which feels a lot like Ewing.

“The two with plays within them have theatre at the heart of both. I was thinking of this season as a whole and thinking about a celebration of theatre and what that means.”

The festival also offers a variety of activities designed for youth participation. That includes the Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) production of Nancy Steele Brokaw’s Who’s There?!?

Quinlan is impressed by Steele Brokaw’s creativity with the TYA productions, which he sees a lot of value in.

“Nancy is amazing, and in some ways the TYA is the most important thing we do in building appreciation for theatre for future audiences,” he said. “To learn about the arts and have this fun experience and to be able to go out to that property. And everything is so thoughtfully curated by Nancy and John Stark, who still does the sets for TYA.

“It’s so unique and so valuable for families here in Central Illinois. Lori Adams is the TYA director, and she’s had a long affiliation with the festival as a previous actor. She does a great job.”

In addition, students grade 6-12 can participate in the 2025 Youth Camps program July 7-August 1. Scholarships are available based on need and enrollment.

As a boy, Quinlan knew early on that he liked theatre. His artist’s journey began in a small but important way at Franklin Junior High School in suburban Wheaton where he worked behind the scenes with the drama department.

“I was the drama department’s spotlight operator, shining the light on other people,” he said. “And now I’ve come back to directing and having that bird’s eye view again.”

An associate professor of directing in the School of Theatre, Dance, and Film at Illinois State University, Quinlan was named to succeed John C. Stark upon his retirement in 2024. He’s been in his new position since last fall, but he’s been a director at the festival since 2013. He is the festival’s eighth artistic director since its founding by Cal Pritner in 1978.

Quinlan has a B.F.A. in acting from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and an M.F.A. in directing from Illinois State. Previously, he was an actor for 10 years in Seattle and ran a Shakespeare festival in Milwaukee. He is a professional stage director and is head of the M.F.A. directing program at Illinois State.

“This has been my artistic home for 20 years,” Quinlan said. “I feel some sense of obligation to keep the festival healthy and vibrant as a great community gathering space. I started as an assistant director as a graduate student, so it means a lot to me. This is a dream job for sure, and I’m so proud that we have this festival here.”

Quinlan said there were some key people—all former ISF artistic directors—who helped him along the way. Alec Wild and Deb Alley are in that group and were both important mentors.

“I assisted them with the festival and directed the Theatre for Young Adults production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” he said. “It was a formative experience for me, and I fell in love with it.”

Another former artistic director, Kevin Rich, was influential by bringing Quinlan back to direct the main stage back when he was still working the freelance part of his career. And the six years he spent working as Stark’s associate director provided invaluable experience.

“John is a mentor and a good friend and an amazing designer,” Quinlan said. “He was the heart and soul of the fest for the last seven years and has done 47 productions as a designer. We’re very lucky he’s still active with the festival. He’s someone I trust and am relying on as I get my feet wet in this job.”

One of the best parts of the job for Quinlan is bringing all the actors, directors, technicians, musicians, and designers of sets, props, and costumes to town for the festival.

“I love getting to hire these artists who come from all over to be here,” he said. “To make work together with these people is such a cool job to have.”

Quinlan is excited to welcome back a couple of directors for a homecoming of sorts. Vanessa Stalling, M.F.A. ’14, is directing Hamlet. She is on faculty at the University of California San Diego, where she runs the directing program. Kim McKean, a Bloomington-Normal native, is directing A Midsummer Night’s Dream. McKean is an associate professor of acting at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

“Kim grew up coming to these shows, so she’s very excited to be directing,” Quinlan said.

Quinlan’s reminder for festival goers is to take in the courtyard musical series and stop in for post-show drinks at Falstaff’s Pub. He added that on select nights, there will pre-show talks that include background about each of the plays.

Quinlan also greatly appreciates Ewing Manor as a venue, calling it a treasure that adds to the quality of life here.

“It’s just a magical place to retreat to and be creative,” he said. “I hope people take advantage of it, if for no other reason but to have beauty in their lives.

“It’s also not a bad place to go to work. Just going to a rehearsal is an incredible thing.”

Illinois Shakespeare Festival schedule and tickets

IllinoisShakes.com has ticket and schedule information, or you can call the ISF Box Office at (309) 438-2535.