William H. Lord, director, teacher, playwright, Emeritus Professor of Theatre, University of Illinois, began his teaching career at Heidelberg College, a liberal arts school in Ohio, where he served as director of theatre and head of the Department of Speech.

At the University of Illinois, he supervised the graduate directors’ workshop and later headed the MFA directing program for much of his 32-year tenure, directing a wide range of major works at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.

His original production, Head of State, was performed at the Kennedy Center as part of the ACTF festival and led to the creation of a new theatre company which the press came to call “ … a national treasure.” He was founding and artistic director of that company, The Great American People Show, performing at New Salem, Illinois, for 20 years beginning in the Bicentennial year, 1976. Under his direction, GAPS was the first theatre to win the Illinois Governor’s Arts Award, presenting more than 1,000 performances of original works drawn from American history. It became Illinois’ Official Theatre of Lincoln and the American Experience and was a model for projects developed by the Illinois Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Ahart holds a B.A. Marietta College, M.A. University of Illinois, and Ph.D. University of Minnesota. His work as playwright and director received numerous citations from the Illinois Legislature and the Governor of Illinois for its contribution to the people of Illinois. In 1995, he was the subject of the PBS television documentary, Passion for Lincoln.