Stephen Schellhardt (he/him) is thrilled to be working at Barter Theatre with this incredibly talented group of artists. Stephen is a Joseph Jefferson Award-winning director and actor, as well as an educator, artistic director, choreographer, producer, and casting director in Chicago. His most recent directing credits include A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder at Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago (Jeff Nomination – Best Director), Queer Eye: The Musical Parody (Second City Chicago), Big Fish (Jeff Award – Best Director), Urinetown (Jeff Nomination – Best Director) Dogfight (Jeff Nomination - Best Choreography) at BoHo Theatre where he served as a company member and Artistic Director for six years, and You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (Northwestern University). Stephen served as Associate Producer and Casting Director at the prestigious Writers Theatre in Glencoe, IL. for four years, before becoming a Visiting Professor at Northwestern University and then moving to The Chicago College of Performing Arts, where he held the title of Head of Musical Theatre until 2022. Stephen is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama and a proud member of the Actors Equity Association. His favorite role to date is father to his four-year-old daughter, Abigail. Extreme gratitude to Katy, Ashley, Dishon, and everyone at the Barter Theatre for this wonderful experience!