Goodman Theatre announces the Future Labs reading of Pueblo Revolt by Dillon Chitto, directed by Elizabeth Laidlaw. The fifth offering in a line-up of six anticipated readings, Chitto’s new comedic play takes us to 1680’s Nuevo México, where the Indigenous Pueblo population rebelled against the occupying Spanish colonial rule. Future Labs develops works authored and directed by Black, Indigenous, Latinx, AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander), SWANA (Southwest Asian/North African) and other artists of color; the series is curated by Associate Director of Education & Engagement Quenna L. Barrett, Director of New Works Jonathan L. Green, Video Producer Alberto Mendoza, Producer Malkia Stampley and a cross-departmental team of Goodman staff holding intersectional identities. The reading of Pueblo Revolt takes place on June 25 at 3pm at Goodman Theatre (170 N. Dearborn). Tickets are free, but registration is required; visit GoodmanTheatre.org/PuebloRevolt.
“I am excited to share this play with the Chicago theater community and am extremely grateful to the Future Labs program for showcasing the voices of underrepresented writers,” said Dillon Chitto. “It is my hope that my work will resonate with the audience and inspire them to seek out additional works by Indigenous playwrights.”
In Pueblo Revolt, the first and only successful Indigenous revolution in North America comes to life. In the weeks and months before, during, and after the revolt, two Indigenous brothers from Isleta Pueblo—one an inexperienced revolutionary, the other a gay idealist—discuss revolution, their own place within history and what they’re willing to do to live freely.
The Future Labs development series is the latest effort among the Goodman ’s programs that support living writers and develop new plays—including New Stages, Playwrights Unit and more than two dozen individual artist commissions. Designed primarily for Chicago-based writers who have not had a play produced at the Goodman, Future Labs projects receive rehearsal time, artistic, dramaturgical and casting support and an optional free public reading. In its inaugural season, Future Labs workshopped and developed seven plays. One of those plays, Martin Yousif Zebari’s Layalina, which received further cultivation in Goodman’s 17th annual New Stages Festival—an annual celebration of innovative new work by some of the country's most singular and ambitious playwrights— will appear in full production in the Owen as part of Goodman’s 2022-23 season. Max Yu’s Nightwatch, also from the first season of Future Labs, went on to debut as a developmental production in the New Stages Festival. Now in its second season, Future Labs welcomes project proposals on an ongoing basis, exclusively seeking bold, imaginative works from Black, Indigenous, Latinx, AAPI, SWANA and other playwrights of color for development and public presentation. Visit GoodmanTheatre.org/FutureLabs for submission details.
Goodman’s commitment to commissioning emerging artists and cultivating diverse voices and approaches to playwriting continues as applications for the season-long residency program, Playwrights Unit, remain open until June 14. Established in 2010, the program invites up to four playwrights each year to develop new works, meeting twice per month with Goodman’s literary staff and other cohort writers to discuss their plays-in-progress. In recent years, audiences have seen Playwrights Unit works in the Owen Theatre such as Andrew Hinderaker’s The Magic Play, Seth Bockley's Ask Aunt Susan, Kristiana Rae Colón's florissant & canfield, Martín Zimmerman's The Solid Sand Below, and Ricardo Gamboa’s The Wizards. Most recently in March, 2020/21 Playwright Unit cohort member Mallory Raven-Ellen Backstrom’s Cephianne’s Reflection was the featured play in a sold-out Future Labs staged reading. Visit GoodmanTheatre.org/PlaywrightsUnit for application details.
The Goodman is grateful for the generosity of its New Work sponsors, including: Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation and the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, Major Support of New Work; Ruth D. and Ken M. Davee New Works Fund, Major Support of New Play Development; The Glasser and Rosenthal Family, Mayer Brown LLP, and Shaw Family Supporting Organization, Support of New Work.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS OF PUEBLO REVOLT
Dillon Chitto is an Indigenous playwright of Mississippi Choctaw, Laguna and Isleta Pueblo descent from Santa Fe, New Mexico. There, he learned the importance of art, culture and traditions from his family and members of his community. In his playwriting, he connects these ideas using storytelling techniques learned throughout his life. He currently lives in Chicago, Illinois where he serves as Literary Manager for BoHo Theatre Company. In the past, Dillon has worked with Native Voices, AlterTheater Ensemble, Yale Indigenous Performing Arts Program, Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Arena Stage.
Elizabeth Laidlaw has worked professionally in theater and film/television for 29 years. She is the founding artistic director of Lakeside Shakespeare Theatre, producing every season from 2003 to 2018, directing Romeo and Juliet and The Taming of the Shrew and co-directing A Midsummer Night’s Dream (with Jeff Christian) and Henry VIII (with Christy Arington.) She helmed the critically acclaimed Girl in the Red Corner for Broken Nose Theatre for the 2018-2019 season. At Steppenwolf, she assisted director Terry Kinney with East of Eden and served as the intimacy consultant on The Doppelgänger. She was as the violence and intimacy designer for A Moon for the Misbegotten at Writers Theatre. On camera, she co-produced (with Mia McCullough) The Haven web series and directed the second episode. Most recently, she wrote, produced and directed the short film To Be Continued, currently in post-production. Elizabeth has taught acting and directing at Lakeside Shakespeare Theatre, Columbia College, Illinois Wesleyan University, the Chicago Academy of the Arts, Harold Ramis Film School and Flashpoint Chicago.
Please note: masks must be worn while inside the theater and children under 5 are not permitted. Visit GoodmanTheatre.org/Protocols for the most up-to-date information on our Health and Safety protocols.
ABOUT GOODMAN THEATRE
Chicago’s theater since 1925, Goodman Theatre is a not-for-profit arts and community organization in the heart of the Loop, distinguished by the excellence and scope of its artistic programming and community engagement.
Led by Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer, the theater’s artistic priorities include new play development (more than 150 world or American premieres), large scale musical theater works and reimagined classics. Artists and productions have earner two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards and more than 160 Jeff Awards, among other accolades. The Goodman is the first theater in the world to produce all 10 plays in August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle.” Its longtime annual holiday tradition A Christmas Carol, now in its fifth decade, has created a new generation of theatergoers in Chicago. The Goodman also frequently serves as a production and program partner with national and international companies and Chicago’s Off-Loop theaters.
Using the tools of the theatrical profession, the Goodman’s Education and Engagement programs aim to develop generations of citizens who understand the cultures and stories of diverse voices. The Goodman’s Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement is the home of these programs, which are offered free of charge for Chicago youth—85% of whom come from underserved communities—schools and life-long learners.
As a cultural and community organization invested in quality, diversity and community, Goodman Theatre is committed to using the art of theater for a better Chicago. Goodman Theatre’s Action Plan for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Anti-Racism and Access (IDEAA) was born out of the belief that progress means action, which includes building on the decades-long commitment to using art, assets and resources to contribute to a more just, equitable and anti-racist society.
Goodman Theatre was founded by William O. Goodman and his family in honor of their son Kenneth, an important figure in Chicago’s cultural renaissance in the early 1900s. The Goodman family’s legacy lives on through the continued work and dedication of Kenneth’s family, including Albert Ivar Goodman, who with his late mother, Edith-Marie Appleton, contributed the necessary funds for the creation on the new Goodman center in 2000.
Today, Goodman Theatre leadership also includes the distinguished members of the Artistic Collective: Rebecca Gilman, Dael Orlandersmith, Henry Godinez, Steve Scott, Kimberly Senior, Chuck Smith, Regina Taylor and Mary Zimmerman. Jeff Hesse is Chairman of Goodman Theatre’s Board of Trustees, Fran Del Boca is Women’s Board President and Craig McCaw is President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.