The Jeff Awards Reveals Jeff Impact Fellowships

Nearly 90 applications were submitted and reviewed for consideration for this year's Jeff Impact Fellowship intended for the professional, academic, and/or personal development of candidates in the theater community. Eligible recipients included Chicago area early to mid-career artists of color, at least 18 years of age, who have been involved in Chicago theater for at least one year as actors, directors, stage managers, designers, theater technicians, cabaret artists, playwrights, music directors, theater composers, theater musicians, choreographers and/or improvisational performers.

“We encouraged applicants to step away from conventional ideas for how they might best pursue their artistic vision, and did they ever!” said John Glover, Jeff Awards Chair about the candidate review process. “It was truly moving and a privilege to see how each and everyone of them are striving to change the status quo of under-representation of artists of color and the stories they want to tell on stage.”
 
Given the strength of the applications, the selection committee also recognized three finalists including Mikael Burke, Dillon Chitto, and Jared Gooding. These artists each received $250.
 
The Jeff Impact Fellowship has been made possible by a generous anonymous donation gifted to the Jeff Awards for a minimum of the next five years. Details on applications for 2024 Fellowships will be announced in March 2024.
 

More on the Inaugural Jeff Impact Fellowship Recipients

Satya Chávez is a Jeff Award-winning Chicago-based queer, Latine multi-disciplinary artist with a passion for social justice and writing music. Their work as a composer, actor, musician, director and music director has been produced across the country. While Chávez is inspired by those who have overcome hardship and non-acceptance with stories of resilience and triumph, they cite their greatest influence was their father with his invincible spirit and unwavering determination that helped shape the person they are today. According to their proposal, Chávez envisions an environment with access to a recording studio, creating a space for artistic collaboration, connecting musicians to performers and creators, helping artists record and produce their own music. Their vision extends beyond technical expertise, as they want to create a space where theater artists not only record their work but build meaningful connections with each other. In their own words, Chávez wants to be a resource that bridges the gap between developing artists lacking access and realizing their dreams.

Terry Guest is a Jeff Award-winning Chicago-based playwright, actor, director and teaching artist. He is a Governing Ensemble member at the Story Theatre and a teaching artist at Jackalope Theatre Company, Writers Theatre and Chicago Children's Theatre. Reimagining and expanding the way we remember American history has become the driving force of his work. He wants to seek out projects that tell Black and LGBTQ stories in unexpected and whimsical ways and place these stories where they belong – at the core of American culture and history. With the fellowship monies, Guest plans to bring to life a realized Black gay musical called “Nightbirds” inspired by the story of a former slave who became known as Ms. Swann, the Mother of Drag, 150 years before RuPaul hit today's television screens. In his musical, he will explore how Black queer ancestors used art to envision a future for themselves post-emancipation. In his career, Guest has worked with over 100 people of color and LGBTQ+ artists who gifted their time and talents because they believed in him. With this award, Guest hopes to give back to the ecosystem of Black Queer artists who have given so much to him. For more information on Guest, visit www.terrycguest.com.

 

Mikael Burke is a Jeff-nominated full-time freelance director who has worked with theaters both regionally and throughout Chicagoland. He holds an MFA in Directing from the Theatre School at DePaul University where he is now an adjunct faculty member. A practitioner of Feelism – stagecraft which feels real and truthful – Burke uses imagination as the great equalizer, inviting audiences to find themselves. This act of belief proves that beyond unignorable differences, everyone is simply human, and becomes a story he believes will make our world less fearful and so much more loving. For more information on Burke, visit https://mklburke.com.

Dillon Chitto is a queer indigenous playwright of Mississippi Choctaw, Laguna and Isleta Pueblo descent who is committed to telling indigenous stories and supporting the work of other Native writers. With the few Native plays produced being typically tragedies, Chitto writes primarily comedies to show audiences that there is Native joy which is both healing and unifying. He has been in residence at The Goodman Theatre as part of the Playwrights Unit. For more on Chitto, visit https://newplayexchange.org/users/16634/dillon-chitto.

Jared Gooding is a Jeff-nominated lighting designer with extensive local, regional and national credits. He is a recent winner of the Michael Merritt Emerging Designer Award and has been recognized by the African American Arts Alliance of Chicago and the Black Theatre Alliance Awards. In a new phase of his career to pay it forward, Gooding has found real joy in making spaces for and mentoring younger black and brown theater artists.  For more on Gooding, visit www.goodingdesigns.com.

 

ABOUT THE JEFF AWARDS

The Jeff Awards is one of the most active and engaged theater awards organizations in the country evaluating hundreds of theatrical productions annually and holding two awards ceremonies highlighting work over the past Equity and Non-Equity seasons. Through our recommendations, awards, and honors we help foster the growth of companies, encourage artists, bring new appreciation for diverse storytelling, and cultivate civic pride in the achievements of the Chicago theater community. Originally chartered in 1968 to recognize Equity productions, the Jeff Awards Non-Equity Wing was established in 1973 to celebrate outstanding achievement in non-union theatre. For more information, visit www.jeffawards.org.

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