John Morris brought an extensive understanding of stagecraft and a keen eye for audiences to his long career as a Chicago-based theater architect who designed performance spaces like the Steppenwolf Theatre’s mainstage, the Lookingglass Theatre, the Athenaeum Center, the Black Ensemble Theater and the Old Town School of Folk Music, among others.

“John could just walk into a space and know exactly whether it worked or not — where the stage would be and where the dressing room block would be, and how you wanted to get into the space,” said Patrick Danaher, a longtime managing architect at Morris’ firm, Morris Architects Planners. “We’d go back to the office, he’d do a quick sketch and we’d lay it out and get it to work, and then on my own, I’d go test it to see if it could be done a differe

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