"The steady expansion of the performing arts in Chicago continues its marvelous pace, with more and better theater, dance, comedy and opera gracing more and better stages each passing year. The upward progression is so steady that epic undertakings - a new campus at Steppenwolf, a bigger chunk of Navy Pier for Chicago Shakes - seem almost business as usual these days. And that is a marvelous thing. This year we again celebrate the lesser-sung heroes offstage who deal with the less glamorous things like building those new stages, and paying those expanding payrolls without which the stars would have nowhere to shine."

"48. Venetia Stifler
Executive and Artistic Director, Ruth Page Center for the Arts
More than forty years ago, dance icon Ruth Page built one of our city's great gems for artistic production and incubation, providing pre-professional training for young dancers and rehearsal and presentation space for small to mid-sized dance and theater companies. When Page passed away in 1991, the direction of the Center was uncertain.  Enter Venetia Stifler who, since 2000, has  kept Page's vision strong and growing; under Stifler's guidance, the Center currently houses seven Artists In-Residence organizations, including River North Dance, ShawChicago Theater Company, American Blues Theater, and Stifler's own CDI/Concert Dance, and trains the next generation of dance via the Ruth Page Civic Ballet."