Good Apples Collective Launches Apple Corps Advisory Committee

GOOD APPLES COLLECTIVE is launching Apple Corps, an advisory committee consisting of handpicked artists who have been extensively involved in previous Good Apples productions.

Dedicated to nurturing and producing new works by gender marginalized emerging artists, Good Apples Collective is co-led by director Nina Goodheart (Walking with Ghosts and Jagged Little Pill on Broadway) and playwright Sophie McIntosh (New York Times Critic's Pick macbitches and New York Magazine recommendation cunnicularii).

Joining the newly-formed Apple Corps are Paige Seber (Titanique, Jersey Boys at Paper Mill Playhouse), Mia Fowler (Dumb Money), Saawan Tiwari (The Gospel According to Heather, Bruise and Thorn), and Willow Funkhouser (¡Americano!, The Song of Bernadette). In their capacity as members of the Apple Corps, these four will guide the artistic and managerial decisions of Good Apples Collective as the company continues to expand and make its mark on the indie theater community.

"I am so excited to be part of what I think GAC does best: build a strong community and a sense of abundance among creators in a city that often pushes competition and scarcity," said Fowler about her new role. "GAC is an organization that embodies the transformative power of a sustainable and joyful artistic process. I am thrilled to contribute to the vital cultural shift toward creating art with integrity and care," Funkhouser agreed.

In the years since its formation, Good Apples Collective has provided support and opportunities for emerging artists through their events, productions, and shared resources. The company produced the world premieres of cityscrape in 2023 and cunnicularii in 2024, alongside presenting staged readings of three new plays through their inaugural Rootstock Reading Series. They have also created community through events such as director-playwright speed dating, and released free online resources that include sample budgets, sample contracts, and a widely-shared database of rehearsal spaces in New York City.

"GAC is picking up the pieces that larger scale commercial theaters are dropping, focusing their efforts on story over spectacle," shared Seber. "As a lighting designer, I've taken great joy in collaborating with GAC and I'm thrilled to be joining the Apple Corps to continue supporting this powerfully distilled theatre making." Tiwari added, "I have been designing with GAC since the beginning, and am excited to not only continue the work we have been doing, but to grow! More shows, more theatre makers, more outreach, more accessibility!"

Outside her work in the collective, Paige Seber is a lighting designer based in New York City whose work in the visual medium is deeply intertwined with music and narrative rhythm. In 2022, Seber was lighting designer for the original off-Broadway production of Titanique, and she will serve in the same capacity during the show's upcoming West End production at the Criterion Theatre. Seber recently worked as lighting designer for Jersey Boys at Paper Mill Playhouse, and has previously enjoyed a longstanding creative relationship with Rec Room Arts in Houston, Texas.

Mia Fowler is a New York-based actor and writer who is passionate about new work that allows folks to bring their full divinity to the room. Fowler previously collaborated with Goodheart on before the flood at the Chain Theatre, and her other credits include You Are What You Eat with Westerly Theatre Group and Much Ado About Nothing at Utah Shakespeare Festival, as well as the films Dumb Money with Sony Pictures and Philosophy of Dress with Fair Form LLC.

Saawan Tiwari is a Costume Designer based in New York City and a proud member of the LGBTQ+ and AAPI communities. Alongside their work on for before the flood, they have designed costumes for Amas Musical Theatre's The Gospel According to Heather, The Sitayana at The Tank, and Pipeline Theatre Company's Bruise and Thorn. They are passionate about theatre education and mentorship and currently serve as a teaching artist at Roundabout Theatre Company.

Willow Funkhouser is a Brooklyn-based director and intimacy/movement choreographer drawn to work about women, the human body, and messy relationships. She served as movement director for Good Apple Collective's most recent production, cunnicularii, fight director for Annie Brown's 5th Grade Science Presentation at SoHo Playhouse, and is currently directing a new production of gutbelly with Twenty Somethings Productions. Funkhouser also serves as a script reader for Primary Stages.

Good Apples Collective's third season will include a world premiere of a soon-to-be-announced play written by McIntosh and directed by Goodheart in Fall 2025. Prior to that, Good Apples Collective will host its second annual director-playwright speed dating event for emerging artists this spring, with details to be announced soon.