Congratulations to the Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department alumni and faculty members highlighted in Newcity‘s “Players 2018: The Fifty People Who Really Perform for Chicago.” Published January 4, 2018, the Newcity Stage feature by Kevin Greene saluted 50 influential leaders in Chicago’s performing arts scene. Among the honorees:

* Columbia College alum Anna D. Shapiro ’90, HDR ’15, artistic director of Chicago’s internationally acclaimed Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Shapiro, who received an honorary Doctorate of Arts from Columbia College when she spoke at the college’s commencement for Theatre Department graduates in May 2015, was saluted by Newcity for making “significant changes to her company’s programming and its physical spaces,” including an increased “focus on diverse programming from music and podcasts to dance and improv.”

* Theatre Department faculty member Vanessa Stalling, praised by Newcity for “stunning audiences with her artistic vision.”

* Former Theatre Department student Gus Menary, artistic director of Jackalope Theatre, a company founded by Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department alumni. “In his third year as Jackalope’s artistic director, Gus Menary has made his company’s name synonymous with a brand of new work that never fails to excite,” Newcity said.

* Former Theatre Department faculty members Chuck Smith, now resident director at the Goodman Theatre; Jim Corti, now artistic director of the Paramount Theatre in Aurora; Jonathan Berry, now artistic producer at Steppenwolf; and freelance director Kimberly Senior.