Staged Readings Goodman Theater 14th ANNUAL NEW STAGES FESTIVAL

Goodman Theatre announces the casts for its one-time-only staged readings as part of its free 14th annual New Stages Festival, October 5-8. The four staged readings include: How to Catch Creation by Christina Anderson; Eden Prairie, 1971 by Mat Smart; The Untranslatable Secrets of Nikki Corona written and directed by José Rivera; We're Only Alive for A Short Amount of Time by David Cale, music by Matthew Dean Marsh. Plus, a sneak peek at an immersive work-in-progress-POSTNATION conceived by Mikhael Tara Garver, an exploration of immigrants' roles in the creation of the U.S. Postal Service. Audiences also have the final opportunity to experience the three developmental productions (staged in repertory) during the weekend: Lottery Day by Ike Holter, directed by Lili-Anne Brown; Continuity by Bess Wohl, directed by Annie Tippe; and Twilight Bowl by Rebecca Gilman, directed by Erica Weiss. To reserve FREE tickets, call 312.443.3800, visit GoodmanTheatre.org/NewStagesFestival or the box office (170 N. Dearborn); For more information about "Industry Professionals Weekend," visit GoodmanTheatre.org/Professionals

The Goodman is grateful for the generosity of its New Work sponsors, including: the Time Warner Foundation, Lead Support of New Play Development; The Pritzker-Pucker Foundation, Major Support of New Play Development; The Glasser and Rosenthal Family and the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, Support of New Work Development; and The Joyce Foundation, Principal Support for Diverse Artistic and Professional Development.

How to Catch Creation

By Christina Anderson, directed by Jess McLeod | Friday, October 6 at 10:30am

In the mid-1960s, a black, queer, feminist writer's life is changed when her girlfriend tells her some unexpected news. Fifty years later, the reverberations of that moment still echo in the lives of four individuals in the rapidly changing city of San Francisco. Christina Anderson's stunning and complex examination of the universal act of creation-creation of life, of family, of art-spans space and time to inspire a new generation of makers and lovers.

CAST:

Nicole Michelle Haskins.........G.K. Marche

Aneisa Hicks............................Natalie

Anthony Irons...........................Griffin

Krystel McNeil..........................Stage Directions Reader

Lily Mojekwu.............................Tami

Julian Parker.............................Stokes

Maya PRentiss...........................Riley

Eden Prairie, 1971

By Mat Smart, directed by Henry Wishcamper | Friday, October 6 at 2pm

On the night Apollo 15 lands on the moon, a draft dodger steals home to Eden Prairie, Minnesota from Canada. He risks arrest to deliver a message to a young woman from his high school class. This beautifully etched play challenges notions of our own bravery and the true cost of freedom.

CAST:

Angelica Herndon...................Stage Directions Reader

Curtis Edward Jackson...........Pete

Tiffany Scott............................MrS. Thompson

Grace Smith............................Rachel

POSTNATION

Conceived and created by Mikhael Tara Garver | Friday, October 6 at 4:30pm

Immersive theater artist Mikhael Tara Garver will present sections from her work-in-progress, POSTNATION. This community engaged site-specific commission explores the U.S. postal system-which was built prior to the creation of the federal government, and grew in response to immigration and migration movements-to explore the intersecting languages and cultures of Chicago. POSTNATION asks the question: How do we continue to take leaps of faith in a system we see as broken?

ENSEMBLE MEMBERS:

Angela Alise

Michael Gomez

Arti Ishak

Wendy Mateo

Eric Slater

Wai Yim

The Untranslatable Secrets of Nikki Corona

Written and Directed by José Rivera | Saturday, October 7 at 10am

When Nikki's twin sister Abril commits suicide, Nikki wishes she could tell Abril just one more thing. She seeks guidance from an organization that arranges for dying people to carry messages to the already dead-satisfaction not guaranteed. Nikki's messenger, Orlando, promises to try to find Abril, but he has no idea what awaits him once he succumbs to cancer. Whimsical and grotesque, The Untranslatable Secrets of Nikki Corona examines grief, regret and our unflagging hope for meaning in our lifetimes-and beyond.

CAST:

Sara Koviak............................Maren/Lisandra

Sophia Mac?as.......................Stage Directions Reader

Joe Minoso.............................Orlando

Paloma Nozicka.....................Noelle/Women in Act II

Marvin Quijada......................Manny/Men in Act II

Monica Raymund...................Nikki/Abril

We're Only Alive for A Short Amount of Time

Written and Performed by David Cale

Songs by David Cale

Arranged by Matthew Dean Marsh | Saturday, October 7 at 2pm

Growing up in an ugly English industrial town, writer and performer David Cale escaped the volatility of his parents' marriage by singing Petula Clark songs and tending to the tropical birds in the bird and animal hospital he built in a garden shed - until a violent act changed everything. Weaving together original songs and achingly beautiful writing, Cale embodies this vivid tale about learning to live when death is suddenly everywhere.

CAST:

Dave Belden.......................Musician 1

David Cale...........................Actor

David Keller........................Musician 2

Jered Montgomery.............Musician 3

About Goodman Theatre

AMERICA'S "BEST REGIONAL THEATRE" (Time magazine), Goodman Theatre is a premier not-for-profit organization distinguished by the excellence and scope of its artistic programming and civic 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 in the past three decades), large scale musical theater works and reimagined classics (celebrated revivals include Falls' productions of Death of a Salesman and The Iceman Cometh). Goodman Theatre artists and productions have earned two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards, over 160 Jeff Awards and many more accolades. In addition, the Goodman is the first theater in the world to produce all 10 plays in August Wilson's "American Century Cycle" and its annual holiday tradition A Christmas Carol, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this season, has created a new generation of theatergoers. The Goodman also frequently serves as a production partner with local off-Loop theaters and national and international companies by providing financial support or physical space for a variety of artistic endeavors.

Committed to three core values of Quality, Diversity and Community, the Goodman proactively makes inclusion the fabric of the institution and develops education and community engagement programs that support arts as education. This practice uses the process of artistic creation to inspire and empower youth, lifelong learners and audiences to find and/or enhance their voices, stories and abilities. The Goodman's Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement is the home of such programming, most offered free of charge, and has vastly expanded the theater's ability to touch the lives of Chicagoland citizens (with 85% of youth participants coming from underserved communities) since its 2016 opening.

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 of the new Goodman center in 2000.

Today, Goodman Theatre leadership also includes the distinguished members of the Artistic Collective: Brian Dennehy, Rebecca Gilman, Henry Godinez, Dael Orlandersmith, Steve Scott, Chuck Smith, ReGina Taylor, Henry Wishcamper and Mary Zimmerman. David W. Fox, Jr.is Chair of Goodman Theatre's Board of Trustees, Cynthia K. Scholl is Women's Board President and Justin A. Kulovsek is President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.