Goodman Holds GTS Free Intensive Intro Program Open To Chicago Youth 6/22-7/30

For the fifth consecutive summer, Goodman Theatre welcomes young people from the Chicagoland area as participants in its General Theater Studies program (GTS), a free, six week intensive introduction to the theater arts. GTS provides students the hands-on opportunity to learn from mentors who are local theater professionals and alumni of the program to focus on writing, acting/performance, theater history and production. Morning (9:30 - 12:30pm) and afternoon (1:30 - 5:00pm) sessions begin June 22 - July 30, Monday - Thursday. The program culminates with a showcase of work created by GTS students that is free and open to the public; for more information or to make a reservation, call 312.443.3800 ext. 1432. Major support for GTS is generously provided by the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, UBS, Field Foundation of Illinois, Anonymous and Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust.

"This program is special because these students aren't necessarily the stars of the high school drama club; some have never even seen a play. They come to the Goodman to learn to claim the agency of their own voices, and work together to use art to affect social change," said Willa J. Taylor, Goodman Theatre's Education and Community Programs Director. "The fact that GTS alumni come back to teach is a testament to the incredible artists and this process, and the inherent enduring power of theater to change lives."

This summer a record number of 86 students, who were selected to participate through an audition process, explore the 2009 program theme of peace and violence in everyday living. Using techniques from oral history and personal storytelling, students work closely with GTS Teaching Artist mentors to draw from their own life experiences with these issues, and work together to create a short performance piece. GTS participants also have the opportunity to interact with and learn from the Goodman's artists and staff-including resident designers, directors and artists in the esteemed Artistic Collective.

Khanisha Foster (Lead Teaching Artist) is an actor, writer, director and teacher in Chicago. Formerly a teaching artist in the Goodman's Yollocalli program at the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum, this is Foster's third year as lead teaching artist for GTS. Kevin Douglas is in his sixth year as a teaching artist at the Goodman. An actor, sketch comedian and writer, Douglas performed in Steppenwolf's Traffic Series with his sketch group kevINda, and Lookingglass Theatre Company's production of Lookingglass Alice. Megan Carney, director, playwright and educator, served as the Associate Artistic Director for About Face Theatre until 2005. She was a founding director of the About Face Youth Theatre (AFYT), an arts and leadership development program in Chicago for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer youth and their allies. This is her second year with GTS. Amanda Delheimer is the Artistic Director of Serendipity Theater Collective where she runs their flagship project, 2nd Story. She is a teaching artist for both Pegasus Players and Adventure Stage. Tony Sancho is an ensemble member of Teatro Vista, and taught for six years in Goodman's Yollocalli summer program at the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum.

Currently playing in Goodman Theatre's 2008/2009 season is Rock 'n' Roll by Tom Stoppard, directed by Charles Newell (through June 7 in the Albert Theatre) and The Crowd You're In With by Rebecca Gilman, directed by Wendy C. Goldberg (through June 21 in the Owen Theatre). The final play of the season is Boleros for the Disenchanted by José Rivera, directed by Henry Godinez (June 20 - July 26, 2009 in the Albert).

The upcoming 2009/2010 season includes Animal Crackers, book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind, music and lyrics by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, directed by Henry Wishcamper (September 18 - October 25); Brian Dennehy in the Broadway-bound double-bill of Hughie by Eugene O'Neill, directed by Robert Falls and Krapp's Last Tape by Samuel Beckett, directed by Jennifer Tarver (January 16 - February 21, 2010); the world premiere of A True History of the Johnstown Flood by Rebecca Gilman, directed by Robert Falls (March 13 - April 18, 2010); The Good Negro by Tracey Scott Wilson, directed by Chuck Smith (May 1 - June 6, 2010); The Sins of Sor Juana by Karen Zacarías, directed by Henry Godinez (June 19 - July 25, 2010) which launches the Goodman's 5th Latino Theater Festival (offerings TBA). World premiere offerings in the Owen Theatre include Joan D'Arc created by Tanya Palmer and Aida Karic, directed by Aida Karic, adapted from Friedrich Schiller's Die Jungfrau Von Orléans, a co-production with the Linz 2009 European Capital of Culture (September 11 - October 11); High Holidays, by Alan Gross, directed by Steven Robman (October 31 - November 29); and The Long Red Road by Brett C. Leonard, directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman (February 13 - March 14, 2010).

Named the country's Best Regional Theatre by Time magazine (2003), Goodman Theatre is a leader in the American theater, internationally recognized for its artists, productions and educational programs since its founding in 1925. Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer's forward-thinking leadership has earned the Goodman unparalleled artistic distinction, garnered hundreds of awards-including the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre (1992) and Pulitzer Prizes for Ruined by Lynn Nottage and Glengarry GLen Ross by David Mamet-and moved dozens of plays from Chicago to stages in New York and abroad. Central to its commitment to the reinvestigation of classics and development of new plays and artists is the Goodman's Artistic Collective, including Brian Dennehy, Frank Galati, Henry Godinez, Chuck Smith, ReGina Taylor and Mary Zimmerman. The largest not-for-profit theater in Chicago, the Goodman moved in 2000 into a brand new state-of-the-art complex which houses two principal theaters: the 856-seat Albert Ivar Goodman Theatre and the 400-seat flexible Owen Bruner Goodman Theatre. Board Chairman is Shawn M. Donnelley and Karen Pigott is president of the Women's Board. American Airlines is the Exclusive Airline of Goodman Theatre. Kraft Foods is the Principal Sponsor of the Goodman's free Student Subscription Series.

 

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