Goodman Theatre, under Artistic Director Susan V. Booth and Executive Director John Collins, congratulates the seven early-career artists who join Chicago’s flagship not-for-profit producing theater for its 99th season as directing fellows and playwrights-in-residence. Tor Campbell and Raquel Torre—the Northwestern University Directing Fellow and Michael Maggio Directing Fellow, respectively—are the two newly named emerging directors who will assist Goodman directors on Albert and Owen Theatre productions, read and respond to script submissions, curate and produce civic engagement events, readings and festivals and participate in play selection. Five Chicago-based playwrights—Satya Chávez, NJ Draine, Terry Guest, Krystal Ortiz and Omer Abbas Salem—join the year-long New Stages Residency (formerly the Playwrights Unit), which commissions up to four theatrical projects per season with its artists-in-residence meeting bi-monthly with the Goodman’s artistic staff to develop their new works. The Goodman’s 20th annual New Stages Festival will take place in December 2024; dates and details, including the featured artists and events, will be announced next month. Goodman Theatre is grateful for the support of the Ruth D. and Ken M. Davee New Works Fund, Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation, Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, The Glasser Family, and Shaw Family Supporting Organization.
“We are excited for these seven incredible artists, a formidable collection of talent, energy and drive, to join our company this season,” said Artistic Director Susan V. Booth. “The creative vision and fresh perspectives kindled through these in-residence collaborations add a thrilling, unique dimension to our work—both on stage and off. I’m excited to experience the work they develop, shape and dream into existence.”
Director of New Works Kat Zukaitis (she/her) oversees Goodman Theatre’s New Stages efforts—including the New Stages Residency cohort, annual New Stages Festival of new plays and more. Zukaitis joined the Goodman last season, following work as Victory Gardens Theater’s New Play Development Manager and co-curator of the Ignite Chicago series, and as the Literary Associate at South Coast Repertory, where she line produced the Pacific Playwrights Festival.
Said Zukaitis, "Our city is brimming with talented playwrights and composers. We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to work with these distinctive and compelling Chicago writers over the course of the 2024/2025 season. Abbas, Krystal, and Satya are diving into exciting new projects, and we are welcoming Terry and NJ back for a second year of development in the New Stages Residency for their musical-in-progress, Nightbirds. I'm looking forward to a year of bold ideas, intense discussion, experimentation, and the chance to see and hear each of these works take shape."
As Northwestern University Directing Fellow, Tor Campbell joins the Goodman’s newest fellowship, recently established in collaboration with the university to give a Northwestern MFA graduate within the last five years hands-on experience as part of the Goodman’s artistic staff. The Goodman’s first Northwestern University Fellow, Danielle Roos (2023), engaged in a range of projects, including serving as Assistant Director for two mainstage productions—Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad, Booth’s Goodman directorial debut as Artistic Director, and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil—to sitting on the producing team for the New Stages Festival, Pearl Cleage Festival, The Sweetest Season: A Gathering of Indigenous Creativity, to script reading, event planning and audience discussion facilitation.
Michael Maggio Directing Fellow Raquel Torre engages in a comprehensive professional theater mentorship experience by the Goodman’s Artistic leadership. The Maggio Fellowship honors the memory and artistry of Goodman Associate Artistic Director Michael Maggio (1951 – 2000), who directed 22 productions at the Goodman and more than 60 productions around the country. Jamal Howard, the Goodman’s 2023/2024 Season Maggio Fellow and the first to take part in the expanded program with a salaried full-time position, assistant directed A Christmas Carol, Highway Patrol , assisted on Antonio's Song, English, In My Granny’s Garden, and co-directed (with Torre) this summer’s production of The Lizard y el Sol. Previous Maggio Fellows include: Georgette Verdin (2022), Spenser Davis (2020 and 2021), Sydney Chatman (2019), Jo Cattell (2017), Jess McLeod (2016), Vanessa Stalling (2015), Marti Lyons (2014), Erica Weiss (2013), Jimmy McDermott (2012), Anna Bahow (2011), Joanie Schultz (2009), Anthony Moseley (2007), Dado (2006), Ann Filmer (2005), Mignon McPherson-Nance (2003) and Lynn Ann Bernatowicz (2002).
The 2024 New Stages Residency cohort—Satya Chávez, NJ Draine, Terry Guest, Krystal Ortiz and Omer Abbas Salem—includes five Chicago-based playwrights who are commissioned to create single- and multiple-authored works, non-musical and musical alike. Cohort members meet bi-monthly with the Goodman’s artistic staff to develop their new works towards mid-point and final readings. Former playwrights in residence at Goodman Theatre include Rammel Chan, Dolores Diaz, NJ Draine, Brynne Frauenhoffer, Terry Guest and Matthew Yee (2023/2024); Lena Barnard, Dillon Chitto, Hanna Kime, Jarrett King (2022/2023); Monty Cole, Nancy García Loza, Alex Lubischer Steve Pickering (2019/2020); Georgette Kelly, Dianne Nora, Marisela Treviño Orta Stacey Rose, (2018/2019); Sam Collier, Ricardo Gamboa, Isaac Gomez, Kristin Idaszak and Nigel O’Hearn (2017/2018); Lucas Baisch, Dawn Renee Jones, Evan Linder and Emma Stanton (2016/2017 Season); Kristiana Rae Colón, Sandra Delgado, Jenni Lamb and Calamity West (2015/2016 Season); Scott T. Barsotti, Mia McCullough, Bonnie Metzgar and Carlos Murillo (2014/2015 Season); Anne García Romero, Andrew Hinderaker, Mickle Maher and Laura Schellhardt (2013/2014 Season); Greg Allen, Alice Austen, Ike Holter and Christopher Oscar Peña (2012/2013 Season); Philip Dawkins, Nambi E. Kelley, Elaine Romero and Martín Zimmerman (2011/2012 Season); and Seth Bockley, Lisa Dillman, Laura Jacqmin and Rohina Malik (2010/2011 Season).
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Tor Campbell’s credits include A Christmas Carol 2022 (Assistant Director, Goodman Theatre). Chicago: The Full Monty (Choreographer, Paramount Theatre); A Hero Within (Director/Choreographer, Chicago Shakespeare Theater); Hot Wing King (Assistant Director, Writer’s Theatre); Birthday Candles, Dial M for Murder (Assistant Director, Northlight Theatre); Right to be Forgotten (Assistant Director, Raven Theatre). Los Angeles: Dreamgirls, Mamma Mia, Beauty and the Beast (Director/Choreographer, Cupcake Theater); Still Standing (Director, The Broadwater).
Raquel Torre, she/her/ella is a theater-maker from Puerto Rico with a background in devised theater, physical performance and community-grounded spectacle. She is the 2024/25 Goodman Theatre Michael Maggio Directing Fellow, and since 2013 has co-led the minority-led La Vuelta Ensemble. Select Chicago directing credits include The Lizard y El Sol (Goodman); Book Up!, Memorabilia (La Vuelta Ensemble); No One Cares (about you) (Inicios 2024, CLATA); POTUS, assistant direction (Steppenwolf Theatre); Back in the Day (UrbanTheater Company). She holds a BA from the Universidad de Sagrado Corazón, a certificate from Cabuia Teatro and an MFA from LISPA/Columbia College Chicago. raqueltorre.com
Satya Chávez, they/she/he is a Chicago-based, queer, Latiné and multidisciplinary artist. At the Goodman, their work includes Romance Depot and LUCHA TEOTL. As a composer, their work includes their border play Refuge, co-created with Andrew Rosendorf, which received an NNPN Rolling World Premiere, Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award, a Venturous Theater Fund Grant and a MAP Fund Grant, which has been produced at Curious Theatre (True West Award), Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre (Non-Equity Jeff Awards for Best Original Music in a Play, Best Ensemble, and Artistic Specialization), Unicorn Theatre and Theatre Lab FAU. Other composer work includes their TYA musicals Brighter Futures created with Gabe Ruiz and J Godwin (Paramount Theatre) and Seattle History Remix with Idris Goodwin (Seattle Children’s Theater); original scores for ¡Bernarda! (Teatro Vista); Corduroy (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); Where Did We Sit On The Bus? (Actors Theatre of Louisville, Cleveland Playhouse, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Marin Theatre Company and The Denver Center for Performing Arts); and Empanada (The Public San Antonio). As an actor, they’ve worked with American Repertory Theatre, The Denver Center for Performing Arts, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Dallas Theater Center, Cleveland Playhouse, John F. Kennedy Center, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Marin Theatre Company, South Coast Repertory, Arizona Theatre Company, Arvada Center, Curious Theatre, Unicorn Theatre, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Colorado Shakespeare Festival and more. Commissioning institutions include: Paramount Theatre, TheatreSquared, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Seattle Children’s Theater, Curious Theatre. Chávez is the inaugural recipient of the Jeff Impact Fellowship. @escuchala.satya. satyachavez.org.
NJ Draine they/them is a Chicago-based educator, playwright and singer-songwriter, who worked previously at the Goodman for a Future Labs workshop of The Housing Situation on Neptune. Through their music and writing practice, they are most interested in exploring the bitingly absurd, the poetic and the surreality of experiences yet to be realized.
Terry Guest, he/him is a three time Jeff Award-winning playwright, actor and director. His plays include The Magnolia Ballet, Marie Antionette and the Magical Negros, At The Wake of a Dead Drag Queen and OAK. As an actor, Terry has worked at regional theaters including Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf, Alliance Theatre, About Face Theatre and Actors Express. He is a Governing Ensemble member at The Story Theatre and a teaching artist at Goodman Theatre, Jackalope and Chicago Children’s Theatre.
Krystal Ortiz, they/she is a Cuban-American playwright and performer. Previous acting credits include La Havana Madrid (Teatro Vista/Goodman Theatre); The Writer (Steep Theatre); Anna in the Tropics (Remy Bumppo Theatre Company); Verböten (The House Theatre); X (Sideshow Theatre Company); For Services Rendered (Griffin Theatre Company); Lettie (Victory Gardens); The Fly Honey Show (The Inconvenience); Quixote Nuevo (Denver Center for the Performing Arts); Kid Prince and Pablo (New York Stage & Film Powerhouse, Ars Nova). She is represented by Stewart Talent Chicago. www.krystalortiz.com. Instagram: @lin.unwell.miranda
Omer Abbas Salem, he/they is an actor and playwright. As an actor, they've worked at Goodman Theatre, Roundabout Theatre, Atlantic Theatre, St. Louis Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Steep Theatre, Jackalope Theatre, Silk Road Rising, First Floor Theatre, The New Coordinates, About Face Theatre, Griffin Theatre and The Second City. As a playwright, their work has been produced at The Goodman, Steppenwolf Theatre, About Face Theatre, Steep Theatre, First Floor Theatre, Jackalope Theatre, The New Coordinates, The Story Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, National Queer Theatre, Definition Theatre and The Theatre School of DePaul. They are a member of the 21/22 Goodman Theatre Playwrights Unit and was developed in the Goodman’s New Stages Festival in 2022 (Modern Women). Abbas Salem is also the winner of the 2022 Blueprint Commission from First Floor Theater (One Party Consent, World Premiere in 2025) and the Cunningham Commission from DePaul University (Chronicles of the Kaleidoscope Visitors, World Premiere 2025). They are an Emerging Playwright Commission from Audible Theater (Paris, Illinois, World Premiere 2026) and also the most recent recipient of the Edgerton Commission from Steppenwolf Theater. They also won the 2022 3Arts Award in Theater. They are an ensemble member of Steep Theatre, First Floor Theater and The New Coordinates. They graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign and the University of Chicago. They are represented by Gray Talent and the Gersh Agency. Find out more at www.omerabbassalem.com
ABOUT GOODMAN THEATRE
Chicago’s theater since 1925, Goodman Theatre is a not-for-profit arts and community organization in the heart of the Loop, distinguished by the excellence and scope of its artistic programming and community engagement. Led by Artistic Director Susan V. Booth and Executive Director John Collins, the theater’s artistic priorities include new play development (more than 150 world or American premieres), large scale musical theater works and reimagined classics. Artists and productions have earner two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards and nearly 200 Joseph Jefferson Awards, among other accolades.
The Goodman is the first theater in the world to produce all 10 plays in August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle.” Its longtime annual holiday tradition A Christmas Carol, now in its fifth decade, has created a new generation of theatergoers in Chicago. The Goodman also frequently serves as a production and program partner with national and international companies and Chicago’s Off-Loop theaters.
Using the tools of theatrical practice, the Goodman’s Education and Engagement programs aim to develop generations of citizens who understand and empathize with cultures and stories of diverse voices. The Goodman’s Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement is the home of these programs, which are offered for Chicago youth—85% of whom come from underserved communities—schools and life-long learners.
Goodman Theatre was built on the traditional homelands of the Council of the Three Fires: the Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi Nations. We recognize that many other Nations consider the area we now call Chicago as their traditional homeland—including the Myaamia, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac and Fox, Peoria, Kaskaskia, Wea, Kickapoo and Mascouten—and remains home to many Native peoples today. While we believe that our city’s vast diversity should be reflected on the stages of its largest theater, we acknowledge that our efforts have largely overlooked the voices of our Native peoples. This omission has added to the isolation, erasure and harm that Indigenous communities have faced for hundreds of years. We have begun a more deliberate journey towards celebrating Native American stories and welcoming Indigenous communities.
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 on the new Goodman center in 2000.
Julie Danis is Chair of Goodman Theatre’s Board of Trustees, Lorrayne Weiss is Women’s Board President and Kelli Garcia is President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.