Matt Martin News

The season will feature three mainstage productions: Queen of the Night by travis tate, the World Premiere of In Every Generation by Ali Viterbi, and the Regional Premiere of cullud wattah by Erika Dickerson-Despenza.

Victory Gardens Theater announces their 2021/2022 Season, which will be presented in-person at the Biograph Theater in Lincoln Park.

Pyramid Theatre Company's production of 'The Gospel at Colonus' has been delayed to next year due to COVID-19.

Victory Gardens Theater will hold a series of Town Halls to introduce Ken-Matt to the VG community and share news about Victory Gardens’ future. The first event, “Ask Me Anything with Ken-Matt Martin” will be held on Zoom on August 2, 2021, from 6:00-7:15pm Central.

Victory Gardens Theater will welcome Marisa Carr, Keelay Gipson, Isaac Gómez and Stacey Rose as the new members of the Victory Gardens Playwrights Ensemble. The Ensemble will be members for a three-year term, through 2024.

National New Play Network will host its second fully virtual Annual Conference this Friday June 11 and Saturday June 12. The event - free and open to the public - is hosted on the Hopin event platform.

Victory Gardens Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director Ken-Matt Martin and Acting Managing Director Roxanna Conner, joins with Victory Gardens Resident Director Jess McLeod and the Chicago-based Blu Rhythm Collective to present a series of events this spring on The Redline Project, continuing Victory Gardens' Online Public Program Series.

One thing is certain: the performing arts will be a changed industry as we come out of the other side of the pandemic. From changes in business model, to new budget priorities to deal with potential shortfalls, to a deeper understanding of the ways the industry has failed in DEI efforts in the past, there will be few, if any, institutions that come back as the same institution they were before. That isn't a guarantee that this change is going to be all for the positive, and no matter what, there will continue to be growing pains as groups across the industry grapple with the way things were, the way they want things to be, and the way things are. This week, we have stories of the new generation of leaders coming to the fore in the midst of this upheaval, stories of cities starting to get their performing arts industries open again, and a look at how the industry has shifted over the past year, and where it can go from here.

Over the past year, more than 150,000 people consumed Goodman's 12 online streaming productions, beginning with Jocelyn Bioh’s School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play directed by Lili-Anne Brown.

Goodman Theatre announces the cast for the FREE live reading of its third Future Labs' play, Tokens of Promise by Ada A. directed by Sydney Chatman. In addition, Christina Anderson's How To Catch Creation, directed by Niegel Smith, launches the Encore series—four plays from the theater's “video vault” curated by the Goodman's Artistic team.

Victory Gardens Theater has announced Ken-Matt Martin as the next Artistic Director in the company's 46-year history, following a nationwide search that began last fall in partnership with Arts Consulting Group.

Goodman Theatre announces two Future Labs FREE virtual readings for February and March—The Secretaries by Omer Abbas Salem, directed by Audrey Francis and Tokens of Promise by Ada A., directed by Sydney Chatman.

Goodman Theatre announces the full cast for the FREE live reading of Layalina, January 30 at 7pm, continuing work on the first project of the new Future Labs program. The full SWANA (South West Asian, North African) cast all make their Goodman debuts with this reading; find the full cast list below.

Underscore Theatre Company is offering UNDERSCORE DEVELOPS, a new initiative as part of its readings and workshop development series. While in-person productions are not possible, Underscore continues its mission to support writers by offering new musicals in progress the opportunity to explore the development process virtually.

Layalina by Martin Yousif Zebari, the first play of Goodman Theatre's Future Labs, makes its virtual debut, launching the theater's newest effort to develop new plays. Directed by Azar Kazemi, Layalina examines how families maintain their love in the midst of turbulent global and social change.

Goodman Theatre will participate in the Digital Premiere of seven winning 10-minute plays of #ENOUGH: Plays to End Gun Violence—a national short play competition for middle and high school students.

Calling all bold, imaginative new plays authored by artists of color for Future Labs—Goodman Theatre's newest artistic program to develop works authored and directed by Black, Indigenous, Latinx, AAPI and other artists of color.

Playdate Theatre is an online theatre company exploring the space between theatre and film that was founded by Talia Light Rake. Playdate is currently hosting Find A Way Or Make One: A Virtual Play Festival with actors Mark Fuerstein, Michaela Watkins, Marcus Scribner, and more!

Free programming for participants a?oeaged eight to 80a?? is underway online, as Goodman Theatre's popular Education and Engagement summer offerings for multigenerational learners go virtual. Nearly 150 studentsa?"35% of whom are new to the Goodmana?"participate in summer programs, which gather online each week on varying days and times.

As the negative financial impact of COVID-19 continues to impact arts, entertainment, and sports personalities, Starsona provides Stars with their own storefront that makes it safe, easy, and fun for them to monetize their brand. Starsona recently released its v2, which expands the creative personalized ways Stars can interact with their fans, making it the leading platform in number of experiences, brand enhancement, and revenue potential.