Director MĀRA ĶIMELE has been creating striking stage works in Latvian and foreign theatres for more than fifty years. The director received her theatre education oriented towards psychological research while studying with the master of psychological theatre, Anatoly Efros, at the Moscow Institute of Theatre Arts (GITIS). Ķimele has mostly worked with two Latvian theatres - until 1989, she worked at the Valmiera Drama Theatre (VDT)( and later made a significant contribution with productions at the New Riga Theatre (JRT). She has also directed productions at the Latvian National Theatre, Daile Theatre, the independent Kabata Theatre, M. Chekhov Riga Russian Theatre, Radio Theatre, and elsewhere. The visual language of her productions has been enhanced by creative collaboration with the most outstanding Latvian artists and set designers - Andris Freibergs, Ilmārs Blumbergs, Aija Zariņa, and others. To date, Verdi’s Aida is Ķimele’s only staging work at the Latvian National Opera.
Ķimele has also made a significant contribution as a teacher. Many talented Latvian stage artists have studied acting and directing with her at the Latvian State Conservatoire and the Latvian Academy of Culture.
She has received many awards for her creative achievements. She has been a three-time recipient of the Spēlmaņu nakts award in the Best Director category - for the performances of Kaislību spēle and Rutes grāmata at JRT (1994), Pazudušais dēls and Tumšie brieži at VDT (2002), and Mēnesis uz laukiem at JRT (2005). In 2003, Māra Ķimele was awarded the Order of the Three Stars, and in 2020 she received the Spēlmaņu nakts award for lifetime achievement.