Hi, I’m Beki Baker.  

I’m an educator, director, and producer. This fall, I will begin a new position as Chair of Theatre at Texas Christian University (TCU) in Fort Worth, Texas. My previous work includes Chair of Theatre at Lipscomb University and Education Director at the Nashville Shakespeare Festival.

My husband and I met at our alma mater, Baylor University, where I received my M.F.A. in Directing. Since 2009, we’ve been working in both academia and freelance work. We have three beautiful children and a pocketful of dreams.

My professional directing credits at Nashville Repertory Theatre include 9 to 5 the Musical, A Christmas Carol, and BloodSuckingLeech. I’ve also directed The Revolutionists for their RepALOUD series, and Together We are Making a Poem in Honor of Life, Showing, Pattern Seeking Animals, The Very Last Wishes of Grandpa Joe, The Second Avenue Subway, and BloodSuckingLeech for their Ingram New Works Festival.

I also directed Steel Magnolias and Driving Miss Daisy at Studio Tenn Theatre Company, and Julius Caesar (starring Eddie George), Shakespeare’s Case, and The Merry Wives of Windsor at the Nashville Shakespeare Festival. My Blackbird Theater Company directing credits include Man & Superman and The Crucible. I directed Broadway star Eden Espinosa in a staged concert of Tarzan for Disney Theatricals/National Association of Music Education as well as Tony Award Nominee Elizabeth A. Davis in Tomorrow at Tablerock Repertory Theatre.

At Lipscomb University, I directed The Pajama Game, Pride’s Crossing, The Glass Menagerie, Much Ado about Nothing, Dancing at Lughnasa, She Loves Me, Silent Sky, Bright Star, Mamma Mia, Pride & Prejudice, Ada and the Engine, Little Women and Matilda. Reviews for all shows mentioned above can be found on my “reviews” page.

I’ve received the First Night Star Award, First Night Outstanding Director of a Musical Award (three times), and several BroadwayWorld Best Director nominations. I have received two Excellence in Directing awards from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, and have been nominated for the Outstanding Professor Award at Lipscomb University three times. In 2021, I received the Dean’s Award of Excellence, and in 2022, I was awarded tenure. I’m also a cancer survivor (boo-yah!).

I love theatre for what it offers in community, empathy, and immediacy. Theatre can be a transformative experience for both those creating it and for those with whom it is shared. My directing philosophy is that excellent process drives excellent product. I believe that people thrive in an environment that fosters the opportunity to explore and take risks. When trust is present, creativity blooms. Oh, and it’s gotta be fun, too. We certainly ain’t doing it for the money.

Photo by Shelby Mick