Nina Goodheart and Sophie McIntosh Launch Good Apples Collective

Nina Goodheart and Sophie McIntosh have launched GOOD APPLES COLLECTIVE.

Dedicated to nurturing and producing new theatrical works, Good Apples Collective is co-led by director Nina Goodheart (Walking with Ghosts (Broadway), Jagged Little Pill (Broadway)) and playwright Sophie McIntosh (macbitches (NYT Critic's Pick)).

Founded in response to the scarcity of opportunities for emerging theatermakers of marginalized genders to collaborate professionally, Good Apples Collective will empower artists to create work with trusted creative peers and revolt against oppressive hierarchies that undercut and isolate new voices.

Shortly after being introduced, Goodheart and McIntosh exchanged an enthusiastic flurry of emails and realized their personal artistic manifestos were nearly identical: both were energized by the theater's power to traverse complex emotional terrain, frustrated by the industry's shortcomings, and fiercely committed to creating more opportunities for emerging artists, especially those of marginalized genders.

Beyond the collective, Nina Goodheart has grounded her directing career in her passion for creating theater that builds community and demands an emotional response. In the fall of 2022, Nina served as the Resident Director for the Broadway Production of Gabriel Byrne's Walking with Ghosts. Also in 2022, Goodheart directed before the flood by Emily Bice (world premiere at the Chain Theatre), an eco-feminist riff on Noah's Ark, partnering with the Broadway Green Alliance to promote and enact sustainable theater practices. Goodheart has had the pleasure of working with directors such as Diane Paulus (Jagged Little Pill, Broadway), Lila Neugebauer (Mary Page Marlowe, Second Stage Theater), and Lonny Price (Scotland, PA, Roundabout Theatre Company).

A recent transplant from the Midwest, Sophie McIntosh writes plays that celebrate queer communities and lovingly riff on the cynical sincerity of young adults. In August 2022, McIntosh's play, macbitches, received a glowing review and Critics' Pick from The New York Times. Later, in November of 2022, McIntosh was prominently featured and highlighted by Diep Tran in The New York Times piece "How Female Playwrights Are Adapting, and Revamping, 'Macbeth'." Sophie's plays have also been developed by Pioneer Theatre Company, the 24 Hour Plays: Nationals, the Bechdel Group, and Breaking & Entering Theatre Collective.

Together, Nina Goodheart and Sophie McIntosh merge their passions for lifting up emerging artists of marginalized genders into Good Apples Collective as a new and exciting way to branch out from their past experiences and celebrate owning their own work and narratives.

"I quickly discovered that working with Nina makes my plays much richer and led us into a deeper interrogation of the work," says McIntosh of her creative partnership with Goodheart. "We were convinced that the authenticity and electricity of our collaboration was worth preserving, and so we decided that the only option was to take-or rather, make-our own chances, and create a platform where we could build a new professional community with other emerging artists."

Over the past few years, the theater community at large has finally begun to acknowledge that many longtime industry practices - from demanding weeks of unpaid labor to siloing artists of marginalized identities into "diversity slots" - are inequitable, insufficient, and unjust. Good Apples Collective is invested in moving the needle when it comes to such practices, which are too often ruinously unsustainable for working artists. As co-leaders of the Collective, Goodheart and McIntosh will strive to ensure equitable compensation and healthy workloads for all collaborators.

Furthermore, as part of its work to break down barriers to entry for emerging theatermakers, Good Apples Collective aims to build a repository of information and resources that will serve to demystify the indie theater landscape in New York City.

"I've long envied directors who speak of having an 'artistic home,' but it wasn't until I met Sophie that I realized my artistic home was one we could build together," says Goodheart. "Having worked at practically every level within the theatrical industry, from coffee grabber to director, I'm so excited to have the chance to build a space rooted in kindness, curiosity, and inclusion - and to prove that those qualities don't exist in opposition to high-level artistry, but rather are vital ingredients to the creative process."

Good Apples Collective will launch their inaugural season in May 2023 with a world premiere of a soon-to-be-announced play written by McIntosh and directed by Goodheart. This fall, Good Apples Collective will present a reading of a new play to be determined, with more information coming soon.

To learn more about Good Apples Collective, please visit www.goodapplescollective.com.

Nina Goodheart

(she/her) is a director and producer based in New York. She is passionate about creating theater that builds community, centers people of marginalized genders, and demands an emotional response. Most recently, she served as the Resident Director of Gabriel Byrne's Walking with Ghosts on Broadway. Other recent directing credits include before the flood (world premiere at the Chain Theatre), The Wolves, and Man of La Mancha, among others. While at Yale, she directed the first all-undergraduate production of Fun Home. She has had the pleasure of working with directors such as Diane Paulus (Jagged Little Pill, original Broadway production), Lila Neugebauer (Mary Page Marlowe, Second Stage Theater), and Lonny Price (Scotland, PA, Roundabout Theatre Company), as well as organizations including the American Repertory Theater, NYMF, New York Stage & Film, and Climan Producing. She currently serves as Creative Associate to director Whitney White.

Sophie McIntosh

(she/her) is a New York-based playwright and theatremaker. Her writing gives voice to women and queer folks, offers empathetic insight into living with mental illness, and lovingly riffs on the cynical sincerity of young adults. Recent productions of Sophie's work include the world premiere of macbitches (New York Times Critic's Pick) at the Chain Theatre, the college premiere of Eleven Months of Nuclear Summer at Notre Dame University, and Ipswich in the Boston Theater Marathon. Sophie's plays have also been developed by Pioneer Theatre Company, the 24 Hour Plays: Nationals, the Bechdel Group, and Breaking & Entering Theatre Collective. Sophie is a proud recipient of a BA in drama from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and is currently working toward an MFA in playwriting at Columbia University.

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