1993
1995 
Production and Director
The Best Production award for 1994 goes to the modernized Richard II at the Goodman Theatre. Foregoing political consequence for insightful personal tragedy, the production emphasizes poetic character study in a tightly focused and intelligently realized drama.
The Best Director award for 1994 goes to Barbara Gaines for Shakespeare Repertory's Measure for Measure. Cleverly modernizing to 1894 Vienna with late 19th-century artwork, Gaines explores a powerful central conflict between a young nun and a germophobic politician with richly imaginative design.
Performance
The Best Actress award for 1994 goes to Lia Mortensen as the eloquent Isabella in Shakespeare Repertory's Measure for Measure. Mortensen's Isabella convincingly displays keen intelligence as well as the passionate sincerity of her conviction, running a gamut from the helplessness of victimization, to fury at being defiled, to the unselfishness of her final plea for mercy.
The Best Actor award for 1994 goes to Jeffrey Hutchinson in the title role as Richard II at the Goodman Theatre. Hutchinson's lanky Richard is isolated within a cold and expansive court, displaying distanced intelligence with a few sudden bursts of emotion, before being dethroned and humbled in a torrent of anguished poetry.
The Best Supporting Actor award for 1994 goes to Steve Young as the flamboyant Falstaff in Henry IV Part One at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival. A fun-loving knight with genuine fondness for the prince, Young's boisterous Falstaff is full of joie de vivre, stealing scenes with rolling eyes, smacking lips, wiggling fingers, waving arms, bouncing hips, and affected voices.
The Best Supporting Actress award for 1994 goes to Gina Lo Verde as the teenaged Queen Isabel in Goodman Theatre's Richard II. Animated and vigorous, Lo Verde's vivacious queen - albeit deaf - signs almost her entire role, then displays genuine tenderness for her husband as well as heartbreaking vulnerability with her few spoken words: "must we be parted?"
Technicals
The Best Scenic Design award for 1994 goes to Michael Philippi for Shakespeare Repertory's Measure for Measure. Turn of the century European artists such as Schiele, Degas and Toulouse-Latrec influence a stage framed in darkly blotched red, flanked by long translucent orange drapes and a spiral staircase leading to a murky purple landing.
The Best Costume Design award for 1994 goes to Nancy Pope for the Illinois Shakespeare Festival's Henry IV Part One. Colorful and distinctive designs, from the patchwork outfit for Falstaff to the gaiety of the tavern denizens, against a background of darkly clad rebels and the muted earth tones of the court.
The Best Lighting Design award for 1994 goes to Michael Philippi for Shakespeare Repertory's Measure for Measure. Evocative effects range from foot lit can-can dancers to the cascading blackout that follows the abdicating Duke to a glowing white spotlight that casts a glare into a dungeon with murky shadows against the stone walls.
The Best Sound and Music Design award for 1994 goes to Robert Neuhaus and Kevin Gudahl for Shakespeare Repertory's The Winter's Tale. The Godspell-like second act of the difficult romance features a pick-pocketing minstrel who plays a guitar, a harmonica, and a mandolin as a bravura one-man band.