Diane Paulus: Head of the American Repertory Theater at Harvard, she's a well-regarded director whose Broadway stagings of "Hair" and "Pippin" won Tonys.

Martha Lavey: Artistic director of Chicago's famed Steppenwolf Theatre Company, she is leaving that post at the end of this season.

Bill Rauch: Artistic director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He has been with the company only a few years, and it's a larger troupe than the Guthrie.

Kwame Kwei-Armah: Artistic director of Center Stage in Baltimore and an award-winning British director and playwright.

Lisa Peterson: She has directed several well-received Guthrie shows and is a favorite of Joe Dowling, but has never run a major organization.

Oskar Eustis: A native Minnesotan who runs the prestigious Public Theater in New York City, he was considered a front-runner but apparently withdrew after being offered a fat new contract.

Oskar Eustis

Mark Rylance: Tony Award-winning actor and director who has worked often at the Guthrie. Took himself out of the running because he's too busy as an actor right now.

Emily Mann: Artistic director at the McCarter Theatre at Princeton University, she pulled her name from consideration.