Frank Galati is Professor Emeritus of Performance Studies in the School of Communication at Northwestern University, where he served as a full-time faculty member from 1970 to 2005. A prominent figure in Arts and Culture, Galati earned his bachelor's degree in 1965, master's degree in 1967, and PhD in 1971, all from Northwestern University. He studied in the interpretation department under influential faculty such as Wallace Bacon, Robert Breen, Charlotte Lee, and Lilla Heston, and was directed by acting professor Alvina Krause in university productions. While pursuing his PhD, Galati served as an instructor of interpretation at Northwestern, and earlier taught in the speech department at the University of South Florida during his master's studies. He also held positions at the Goodman Theatre School and Roosevelt University before returning full-time to Northwestern. His teaching emphasized comprehensive actor training, intellectual rigor, writing, composition, and academic papers accompanying performances, drawing from history, science, and arts. Signature courses focused on adapting non-dramatic literature for the stage, influencing students like Mary Zimmerman—a Tony Award-winning director, MacArthur Fellow, and Northwestern performance studies professor—and Eric Rosen, fostering a new genre in American theatre through playful, collaborative rigor.

Galati's illustrious career as a director, adapter, playwright, and actor bridged academia and professional theatre. An ensemble member of Steppenwolf Theatre Company since 1986, he adapted John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath (1988), directing its Steppenwolf production to Broadway, where it won him two Tony Awards in 1990 for best play and best direction. He directed Broadway musicals Ragtime (1998, Tony nomination) and The Pirate Queen (2007), wrote and directed She Always Said, Pablo at Goodman Theatre, and adapted Loving Repeating, a musical from Gertrude Stein's writings, published by Northwestern University Press. Galati co-wrote the screenplay for The Accidental Tourist, earning an Academy Award nomination in 1988, and won ten Joseph Jefferson Awards for Chicago theatre work. He directed operas at Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Metropolitan Opera, and served as artistic associate at Asolo Repertory Theatre. Inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, recipient of the 1991 Phi Beta Kappa Distinguished Service Award, and 2004 Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame inductee, Galati's contributions transformed Chicago's theatre scene into a hub of experimental creativity, profoundly impacting the field through mentorship and innovative productions.

Professional Email: f-galati@northwestern.edu