Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Tony Award-winning Chicago theatre company founded in 1974 by Gary Sinise, Terry Kinney, and Jeff Perry in the Unitarian church on Half Day Road in Deerfield. It has since relocated to Chicago's Halsted Street, in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Its name comes from the Hermann Hesse novel. Martha Lavey, long-time ensemble member, has been artistic director since 1995. David Hawkanson, executive director since 2003, retired in January of 2015 and Managing Director David Schmitz has taken the administrative reins.