WASHINGTON, D.C.: Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) has announced that artistic director Michael Kahn will retire at the end of the 2019 season. A national search for a new artistic director will begin this year, and the successor will be announced in July of 2018. Then, the selected leader will work with Kahn to plan the 2020 season.

Kahn joined STC in 1986 and received a Helen Hayes Award nomination for best director for his inaugural production of Romeo and Juliet. Under his leadership, STC made tickets accessible with free ticket initiatives and educational programs for students and residents of D.C. During his 30-year tenure, he oversaw the move of STC from the Folger Shakespeare Library to the Lansburgh building in Penn Quarter to its now home in Sidney Harman Hall at the Harman Center for the Arts. In 2012, STC was the recipient of the Regional Theatre Tony Award. Kahn’s adaptations of Shakespeare have been performed around the globe. His production of The Oedipus Plays were presented at the Athens Festival in Greece, Love’s Labor’s Lost  was performed in Stratford-upon-Avon in England, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream traveled to Macao, China. Kahn is also the founder of the Academy of Classical Acting at George Washington University. He served as the Richard Rodgers Director of the Drama Division at Juilliard, and still teaches at the school. He was honored by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to the arts and was recognized as a Commander of the British Empire in 2013. He is also in the Theater Hall of Fame recognizing his work as STC artistic director, his tenure at Juilliard, and his work as a director on Broadway.