Idris Goodwin News

Hip hop is the beating heart of Forum Theatre's tender coming-of-age story of three suburban teens honing their talents and searching for acceptance and authenticity. How We Got On brings us back to the late 80s hip hop scene when Yo! MTV Raps was the authority of what was cutting edge in music and a rap battle could settle a score. The teens balance their growing friendship and mutual respect with the threat each poses to the others' authority and skill.

B Street Theatre, Sacramento's Resident New Works Theatre, is pleased to present its 19th Mainstage world premiere for the holidays: Spinning Into Light, a musical, November 30 -January 4, 2015 Performances are: Tuesdays at 6:30pm; Wednesdays at 2 pm and 6:30 pm; Thursdays and Fridays at 8 pm; Saturdays at 5 pm and 9 pm; Sundays at 2 pm at B Street Theatre Mainstage, 2711 B St., Sacramento.

Cleveland Play House proudly introduces their production of How We Got On, the coming-of-age story of three teens whose passion for hip-hop and determination to succeed generates creativity, artistry and friendship. Playwright Idris Goodwin's How We Got On will delight Cleveland audiences with its uplifting message and great grooves. Directed by Jaime Castañeda, and featuring an eclectic cast of actors including Cleveland School of the Arts graduate Cyndii Johnson, How We Got On is sure to have audiences of all ages feeling the beat October 24 - November 16 in the Outcalt Theatre at PlayhouseSquare. This production of How We Got On is sponsored by Cleveland Clinic.

Haven Theatre Company and Executive Director Carol Cohen have announced Josh Sobel as the organization's newly appointed artistic director. Sobel is an established freelance director in the Chicago storefront theater scene, having worked with a variety of companies such as A Red Orchid Theatre, The Ruckus, Collaboraction, New Leaf Theatre and Strawdog Theatre Company, where he also serves as literary manager and ensemble member. In addition to assuming the role of artistic director for Haven Theatre Company, Sobel will be directing We Three at the side project this fall and The Pied Piper at Strawdog Theatre Company next summer. He is a graduate of Oberlin College.

The Playwrights' Center has announced the plays and playwrights to be featured in its 2014 PlayLabs festival and 2014-15 Ruth Easton New Play Series. This year, the Ruth Easton New Play Series will grow from one reading of each play to two.

In the spirit of Facing Our Truth, The New Black Fest will commission 6 black male playwrights to write monologues and/or performance essays entitled HANDS UP: 6 playwrights, 6 testaments. The playwrights include Dennis Allen II, Nathan James, Nathan Yungerberg, Eric Holmes, Idris Goodwin, and Glenn NSangou.

Today, American Theater Company (ATC) launches its 30th Anniversary season with the inaugural year of AracaWorks: Chicago, in partnership with New York's The Araca Group, Broadway producers of Urinetown, Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune, The Wedding Singer, Lend Me a Tenor, A View from the Bridge, and this season's Disgraced.

This week, American Theater Company (ATC) launches its 30th Anniversary season with the inaugural year of AracaWorks: Chicago, in partnership with New York's The Araca Group, Broadway producers of Urinetown, Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune, The Wedding Singer, Lend Me a Tenor, A View from the Bridge, and this season's Disgraced.

Continuing with its new 'incite change' mission, Collaboraction presents SKETCHBOOK: 2049, a rapid-fire, raucous festival of 17 world premiere theatre pieces ranging from under a minute to 20 minutes in length, all set in a positive post-apocalypse and reflective of contemporary society's current challenges. Scroll down for a sneak peek at the productions!

Steppenwolf for Young Adults (SYA) has announced its 2014/15 season: George Orwell's Animal Farm, adapted for the stage by Althos Low, directed by SYA Artistic and Educational Director Hallie Gordon; and the world premiere of This Is Modern Art by Kevin Coval and Idris Goodwin, directed by Lisa Portes.

Artistic Director Les Waters and Managing Director Jennifer Bielstein are delighted to announce the 38th Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theatre of Louisville, running tonight, February 26-April 6, 2014. This year's Festival program will feature (in order of opening):

InterAct Theatre Company recently announced its annual recipients of their new play commissions and development awards. Since 2008, InterAct has both monetarily and artistically supported the development of new plays with their 20/20 Commissions. The recipients of this year's 20/20 New Play Commissions are Rehana Lew Mirza (far left) for her play Neighborhood Watch, and Idris Goodwin (middle) for Sanctity. Along with the New Play Commission, InterAct awarded George Brant (far right) a Development Award for his play, Miracle: A Tragedy. Brant's play Grounded is currently being produced in New York. A full list of this year's finalists can be found by visiting www.interacttheatre.org/new-plays/2013-winners.

Artistic Director Les Waters and Managing Director Jennifer Bielstein are delighted to announce the 38th Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theatre of Louisville, running February 26-April 6, 2014.

Artistic Director Les Waters and Managing Director Jennifer Bielstein are delighted to announce the 38th Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theatre of Louisville, running February 26-April 6, 2014. This year's Festival program will feature (in order of opening):

Following fifteen-year-old Hank, the show addresses the growth of rap and hip hop in the 1980s, particularly in a suburban environment where it had not yet been accepted. Hank and his friends, Julian and Luann, struggle with stage fright, competition, unsupportive parental figures, friendship, acceptance and identity throughout the piece, all of which is masterfully DJed by the Selector, a current day disk jockey who narrates and soundtracks the entire show.

The B Street Theatre presents the West Coast premiere of How We Got On by Idris Goodwin as part of both its Mainstage Season and B3 Series, tonight, May 12-June 23, 2013.

The B Street Theatre presents the West Coast premiere of How We Got On by Idris Goodwin as part of both its Mainstage Season and B3 Series, May 12-June 23, 2013.

This June, as part of an extraordinary new laboratory for collaboration, some of the nation's most prominent and promising writers, directors, and composers converge on Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Today, the renowned nonprofit announced 18 selections for the second sizzling summer lab at The Ground Floor, Berkeley Rep's Center for the Creation and Development of New Work. During an intense four-week period, dozens of artists will live, dine, create, and collaborate at the Theatre's new campus in West Berkeley.

Today, November 27, a developmental staged reading of Idris Goodwin's new play 'HOW WE GOT ON' will be presented at Davenport Studios in midtown Manhattan. Directed by Wendy C. Goldberg and presented by Davenport Theatrical, the private reading is set to begin at 1 p.m.

On Tuesday, November 27, a developmental staged reading of Idris Goodwin's new play 'HOW WE GOT ON' will be presented at Davenport Studios in midtown Manhattan. Directed by Wendy C. Goldberg and presented by Davenport Theatrical, the private reading is set to begin at 1 p.m.