Paula Vogel to Appear as Guest Speaker at Goodman Theatre Luncheon

Goodman Theatre celebrates teaching, learning and transformation with its "Igniting Imagination: The Art of Great Teaching" Education and Engagement luncheon on Thursday, September 20. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and educator Paula Vogel will join Walter Director of Education and Engagement Willa J. Taylor in conversation about art of teaching and importance of mentorship in shaping young minds.

The event leadership includes Eric S. Smith, Goodman Theatre Trustee and Education and Engagement Corporate Chair; Kathleen Cowie, Goodman Theatre Trustee and Education and Engagement Committee Chair; Frances Del Boca and Nina Owen, Women's Board Education and Engagement Co-chairs. Lead Sponsors are Fifth Third Bank and Michael A. Sachs and Family.The event takes place at The Standard Club (320 S Plymouth Ct) beginning at 12noon (registration opens at 11:30am). Tickets start at $250; call 312.443.3811 ext. 539. All proceeds benefit Goodman Theatre's Education and Community Engagement programs.

Now in its 4th year, the Goodman's annual Education and Engagement luncheon offers attendees an overview of the theater's programming, which is provided year-round and free of charge (100% funded by individual contributions) for youth, schools and community members. Under the leadership of Walter Director of Education and Engagement Willa J. Taylor, along with a team of associates-Adrian Azevedo, Anna Gelman, Brandi Lee and Ian Martin-such programming takes place in the Goodman's Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement, which has expanded the theater's ability to touch the lives of Chicagoland citizens (with 85% of youth participants coming from underserved communities) since its 2016 opening.

Vogel's play How I Learned to Drive received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Lortel Prize, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle and New York Drama Critics Award for Best Play, as well as winning Vogel her second OBIE Award. Her most recent play, Indecent, was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play.

As previously announced, Vogel's latest work, Cressida on Top, will appear in the 15th annual New Stages Festival for a FREE one-time-only staged reading on October 6 at 2pm. Directed by Shana Cooper, the production follows Don Juan, a time-traveling narcissist with a healthy libido, who knows women love a man in uniform. Every time a war emerges-and a war is always emerging-he leaves a trail of lonely widows, housewives and young girls in his wake. When Captain Don Juan of the U.S. Marines meets Sgt. Cressida Morrison, U.S. Army, the calculus of who's on top begins to change. Cressida on Top appears in the New Stages Festival on October 6 at 2pm; free reserved tickets are now available; call 312.443.3800, visit GoodmanTheatre.org/NewStagesFestival or the box office (170 N. Dearborn). For more information about "Industry Professionals Weekend," visit GoodmanTheatre.org/Professionals.

About Goodman Theatre

AMERICA'S "BEST REGIONAL THEATRE" (Time magazine), Goodman Theatre is a premier not-for-profit organization distinguished by the excellence and scope of its artistic programming and civic engagement. Led by Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer, the theater's artistic priorities include new play development (more than 150 world or American premieres), large scale musical theater works and reimagined classics (celebrated revivals include Falls' productions of Death of a Salesman and The Iceman Cometh). Goodman Theatre artists and productions have earned two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards, over 160 Jeff Awards and many more accolades. In addition, the Goodman is the first theater in the world to produce all 10 plays in August Wilson's "American Century Cycle" and its annual holiday tradition A Christmas Carol, which celebrated its 40th anniversary this season, has created a new generation of theatergoers. The Goodman also frequently serves as a production partner with local off-Loop theaters and national and international companies by providing financial support or physical space for a variety of artistic endeavors.

Goodman Theatre was founded by William O. Goodman and his family in honor of their son Kenneth, an important figure in Chicago's cultural renaissance in the early 1900s. The Goodman family's legacy lives on through the continued work and dedication of Kenneth's family, including Albert Ivar Goodman, who with his late mother, Edith-Marie Appleton, contributed the necessary funds for the creation of the new Goodman center in 2000.

Today, Goodman Theatre leadership also includes the distinguished members of the Artistic Collective: Brian Dennehy, Rebecca Gilman, Henry Godinez, Dael Orlandersmith, Steve Scott, Chuck Smith, Regina Taylor, Henry Wishcamper and Mary Zimmerman. David W. Fox, Jr.is Chair of Goodman Theatre's Board of Trustees, Denise Stefan Ginascol is Women's Board President and Megan McCarthy Hayes is President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos

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