Goodman Theater Receives Joyce Award For The 2nd Time

Today Goodman Theatre becomes the first cultural institution to receive the Joyce Award for a second time, after receiving its first award in 2004. The Joyce Foundation announced this morning that the Goodman will receive a grant of $50,000 to support a new play by Latin American playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes. Tentatively titled The Jibaro Play, Hudes' new work draws on the cultural heritage of traditional Jibaro music and is due to premier at the Goodman during the 2011 season. The Joyce Foundation encourages cultural organizations to serve and represent the Great Lakes region's diverse population and fosters the development of new works in dance, music, theater and visual arts by artists of color. Goodman Theatre received the 2004 Joyce Award in theatre in support of Naomi Iizuka's play Ghostwritten which will have its world premiere April 4 - May 3, 2009, as part of the Goodman's "Strong Women, Strong Voices" Owen Theatre Series. Ghostwritten tells the story of Susan, an acclaimed chef specializing in Asian cuisine and the mother of an adopted Vietnamese-born daughter, whose life changes forever when a mysterious stranger from her past returns to collect on an old debt.

"We are honored and thrilled to receive this award to support a new work by visionary Latin American playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes," said Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Robert Falls. "Diversity has long been at the core of our mission, and we are proud to welcome Quiara to the Goodman."

Other 2009 Joyce Award winners include Chicago's Ravinia Festival (Dance), the Detroit International Jazz Festival (Music) and the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (Visual Arts).

Quiara Alegría Hudes grew up in West Philadelphia, playing piano by ear and writing songs, stories and plays. Today, she is a rising star and is widely recognized as a promising new voice in American theater. Hudes wrote the book for the 2008 Tony Award-winning musical In the Heights, and her play, Elliot, A Soldier's Fugue, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2007.

Hudes earned a bachelor's degree in music composition from Yale University and an MFA in playwriting from Brown University. She is a resident writer at New Dramatists, and a previous Page 73 Playwriting Fellow. The Joyce Award supports Hudes' The Jibaro Play (Working Title), which explores the intersection of music, culture, and political revolution in Puerto Rico during the 1930s. Jibaro music is traditional Puerto Rican folk music sung and played at weddings, communal gatherings, and traditional holidays. Hudes plans to develop The Jibaro Play out of interviews and conversations with local Latino musicians.

Since its inception in 2003, the Joyce Awards has supported cultural institutions in Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis/St. Paul. Award winners have not only presented their works to the institutions' traditional audiences; they have also worked with community groups, school children and public art projects. These commissions are intended to produce vivid new works of art that strengthen cultural venues and draw diverse audiences to the artistic work of minority artists.

This year's competition drew 50 entries from around the Great Lakes region. Entries are reviewed by independent arts advisors from outside the Midwest and reviewed and approved by the Foundation's board of directors. Joyce Awards of $50,000 are made directly to arts organizations and are awarded in dance, music, theater and visual arts. Each award supports the work of the individual artist as well as significant community engagement efforts. Organizations have up to three years to complete their proposed projects.

Based in Chicago, the Joyce Foundation supports efforts to strengthen public policies in ways that improve the quality of life in the Great Lakes region. Cultural funding supports projects that bring diverse audiences together to share common cultural experiences and encourage more people to see the arts as integral parts of their lives. The Foundation also makes grants in the areas of Education, Employment, Environment, Gun Violence Prevention, and Money and Politics.

Named the country's Best Regional Theatre by Time magazine (2003), Goodman Theatre is Chicago's largest not-for-profit theater and a leader in the American theater, internationally recognized for its artists, productions and educational programs since 1925. Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer's leadership has earned the Goodman unparalleled artistic distinction, garnered hundreds of awards-including the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre (1992)-and moved dozens of plays from Chicago to New York and abroad. The Goodman has hosted some of America's top talent-from Brian Dennehy to Carol Burnett and James Earl Jones, from Tennessee Williams to David Mamet, Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Miller-and became the first theater in the world to produce every work in August Wilson's 10-play chronicle of the 20th century African American experience. Central to its commitment to reinvestigate classics and develop new plays is the Goodman's Artistic Collective-Frank Galati, Henry Godinez, Steve Scott, Chuck Smith, ReGina Taylor and Mary Zimmerman. The Goodman moved in 2000 into a state-of-the-art complex with two theaters: the 856-seat Albert Ivar Goodman Theatre and the 400-seat flexible Owen Bruner Goodman Theatre. Board Chairman is Shawn M. Donnelley and Women's Board President is Karen Pigott.

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