Barbara A. Butts is an associate professor of instruction in the Department of Theatre at Northwestern University, where she leads the Theatre Management curriculum with a focus on stage management, production management, and arts leadership. A longtime educator and arts manager, she has taught at Northwestern since 2011 and is known for building accessible curriculum that emphasizes organization, collaboration, creative problem solving, innovation, and communication.
Professor Butts brings decades of professional experience to the classroom, including work as a production stage manager at Goodman Theatre, production manager and managing director at Northwestern’s Wirtz Center, and production manager for large-scale national and international projects. She has also designed internship pathways and professional networks that connect students to the field and support them beyond graduation.
In the classroom, Professor Butts emphasizes that great managers and leaders are developed—not born. Her pedagogy focuses on cultivating bravery, empathy, time management, listening skills, and the ability to balance competing artistic goals while keeping sight of a shared mission. She believes deeply in modeling professionalism, humor, and resilience, and approaches teaching as a reciprocal process in which students and faculty learn together.
A dedicated mentor, Professor Butts has created robust alumni and professional support networks for students and has participated in Northwestern’s Universal Design for Curriculum initiatives. Her teaching and leadership have been recognized with several awards, including the Charles Deering McCormick Distinguished Professor of Instruction, Galbut Outstanding Faculty Award, and multiple ASG Faculty Awards.
Education
- BA, Technical Theatre (stage management concentration), Mars Hill College
Courses
- 249-1: Introduction to Stage Management
- 249-2: Advanced Stage Management
- 350-0: Production Management
- 379-0: Topics in Stage Management and Leadership