With two major revivals on stage helmed by Artistic Collective members—August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean directed by Resident Director Chuck Smith (through February 27) and Manilow Resident Director Mary Zimmerman’s The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (February 11 – March 20)—the Goodman announces several artistic updates as its 2021/2022 “Homecoming” Season continues.
Future Labs kicks off its second season in 2022 with an in-person reading of When Given a Choice, Bleed by Kimberly Dixon-Mays, directed by Mignon McPherson Stewart. In this one-person play, four Black women of different ages and eras encounter a trace of blood in an ordinary moment, and each must decide who or what to leave behind to live the lives they choose. As the women's times and spaces seep into each other, the force that connects them unwittingly stains the others with unforeseen consequences. Bold, imaginative new plays authored by artists of color take center stage in the Future Labs series—Goodman Theatre’s newest artistic effort to develop works authored and directed by Black, Indigenous, Latinx, AAPI, SWANA and other artists of color. Established in January 2021, Future Labs is designed primarily for Chicago-based writers who have not had a play produced at the Goodman. The workshop/reading of When Given a Choice, Bleed appears on Saturday, February 26 at 7pm; FREE tickets are now available at GoodmanTheatre.org/Bleed. To learn more about Future Labs, including how to submit a project for consideration, visit GoodmanTheatre.org/FutureLabs.
In addition, the Goodman congratulates Georgette Verdin, who has been named the 2022 Michael Maggio Directing Fellow—a season-long opportunity for an early-career director to assist on a Goodman production and become involved in the ongoing artistic life of the theater. A Cuban-American director and arts educator, Verdin is the Managing Artistic Director of Interrobang Theatre Project, an award-winning storefront theater known for its gutsy productions that tackle socially-relevant topics. She is currently in rehearsals for the world premiere of SPAY by Madison Fiedler at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble. Recent directing credits include This Wide Night (Shattered Globe Theatre/Interrobang Theatre Project), Tribes (Western Michigan University), the U.S. Premiere of Out of Love, as well as the 2016 Yale Drama Series winner, Utility (Interrobang Theatre Project). Verdin has also worked with Lookingglass Theatre, Facility Theatre and Chicago Dramatists, among others, and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Performance from McNeese State University in Lake Charles, LA and a Master in Directing from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. She is a 2021 recipient of a 3 Arts Make-A-Wave grant and an associate member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. Established in 2002, the Maggio Fellowship honors the memory and artistry of Goodman Associate Artistic Director Michael Maggio (1951 – 2000) who directed a total of 22 productions at the Goodman and more than 60 productions around the country. Previous Fellows include: Spenser Davis (2020-2021), Sydney Chatman (2019), Jo Cattell (2017), Jess McLeod (2016), Vanessa Stalling (2015), Marti Lyons (2014), Erica Weiss (2013), Jimmy McDermott (2012), Anna Bahow (2011), Joanie Schultz (2009), Anthony Moseley (2007), Dado (2006), Ann Filmer (2005), Mignon McPherson Stewart (2003) and Lynn Ann Bernatowicz (2002).
On April 20, the Goodman proudly joins a growing national roster of theaters who will simultaneously present #ENOUGH: Plays to End Gun Violence—eight 10-minute plays authored by teenage playwrights including McKennzie Boyd’s Southside Summer, Arianna Brumfield’s Allegiance, Willa Colleary’s Rehearsal, Anya Jiménez’s It’s Okay, Taylor Lafayette’s Salted Lemonade, Tain Leonard-Peck’s In My Sights, Cameron Thiesing’s Undo, Redo and Wyn Alyse Thomas’ Write Their Wrongs.
In Fall 2021, #ENOUGH issued a call for teen writers to submit 10-minute plays confronting the issue of gun violence. Manuel Oliver, activist and father of Parkland victim Joaquin Oliver, and acclaimed playwrights Lydia Diamond, Naomi Iizuka, Rajiv Joseph, Mary Kathryn Nagle and Don Zolidis, selected a handful of plays to be performed together in simultaneously staged readings across the country on the same night—the 23-year remembrance of Columbine. Different directors helm these works at each participating presenting theater across the country—including Lincoln Center’s David Rubenstein Atrium in partnership with the Roundabout Youth Ensemble, Alliance Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse and Orlando Repertory Theatre. At the Goodman, Maggio Felllow Georgette Verdin and Quenna Barrett, Associate Director of Education and Engagement, will direct. #ENOUGH appears on April 20; tickets and more information will be available at a later date. More details on the playwrights and their plays can be found at EnoughPlays.com/Plays; images are available for download here.
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.