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27-748: Founded in 2008, the Greenhouse Theater Center was the original home for the Body Politic Theater and Victory Gardens Theater . The Wendy and William Spatz Charitable Foundation purchased the theater building from Victory Gardens Theater with a promise to maintain the current function of the building as a multi-stage theater space. The Greenhouse Theater Center is as an "incubator" for small to mid-size theater companies, hence its name. This multi-stage artists' space provides five stages, dressing and staging areas, as well as, office space for resident companies to grow. The Greenhouse Theater Center

54-523: A Change.org petition started by the Chicago Inclusion Project staff. Signatories vow to not accept work at Victory Gardens unless artistic director Ken-Matt Martin is reinstated and the current Board of Directors resigns by July 18, 2022. On March 21, 2023, Victory Gardens’ Board of Directors responded to the criticism from artists for the first time, stating that the criticisms of its actions reflected meaningfully uninformed judgments regarding

81-679: A company outside the Chicago Loop and Gordon donated the light board of his Organic Theater Company . The theater's first production, The Velvet Rose , by Stacy Myatt, premiered on October 9, 1974. The company's initial home was the Northside Auditorium Building, 3730 N. Clark Street in Chicago, originally a Swedish social club. Its second production—a country-western musical co-produced with commercial producers called The Magnolia Club by Jeff Berkson, John Karraker and David Karraker —

108-506: A diverse group of playwrights under a producing organization, virtually unheard of in American resident theaters. Founding members Steve Carter and James Sherman were joined by Claudia Allen , Dean Corrin, Lonnie Carter, Gloria Bond Clunie, John Logan , Nicholas Patricca, Douglas Post, Charles Smith , Jeffrey Sweet and Kristine Thatcher as the founding members of the company's Playwrights Ensemble. On June 3, 2001, Victory Gardens received

135-430: A new artistic director. On June 8, in response to the resulting community backlash and the ongoing George Floyd protests , Daniels stepped down from her positions as executive director and Executive Artistic Director. The board of directors' chairman Steve Miller also stepped down from his position, but remained on the board. The current acting managing director of Victory Gardens is Roxanna Conner; Charles E. Harris, II

162-454: A statement of solidarity, calling for the resignation of the Board, on the official Victory Gardens social media pages. Those accounts were hijacked and posts subsequently removed while the staff were locked out of their social media accounts. VGT staff created an alternative Instagram account - The VGT Nine. All resident artists departed the company and playwright Erika Dickerson-Despenza pulled

189-560: Is a professional theater company located in Chicago 's Loop . A major part of the Chicago theatre scene, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization. Part of its present theater complex occupies the landmark Harris and Selwyn Theaters property. The Goodman was founded in 1925 as a tribute to the Chicago playwright Kenneth Sawyer Goodman, who died in the Great Influenza Pandemic in 1918. The theater

216-638: Is bestowed alongside the Michael Merritt Award for Excellence in Design and Collaboration . In 1992, the theatre company received the Regional Theatre Tony Award , joining Steppenwolf Theatre as Chicago-based recipients of the award. Four other Chicago-based companies, Victory Gardens Theater (in 2001), Chicago Shakespeare Theater (in 2008), Lookingglass Theatre Company (in 2011), and Court Theatre (Chicago) (in 2022) have also received

243-635: Is home to Lil' Buds Theatre Company as well as Marsha's Music. Both organizations provide various arts education to children through classes and summer camps. The Greenhouse Theater Center is also home to the Institute for Arts Entrepreneurship and their partner with the Norway-based Ensemble Free Theater. This international endeavour will kick off with Chicago playing host to the Norwegian students enrolled in this new program and taking classes in

270-404: Is married to Začek, subsequently became managing director and Shinner later became associate artistic director. In 1981, the success of Sweet's third play with the company, Ties , led to it being transferred to an extended run in the larger space downstairs at the Body Politic Theater at 2257 N. Lincoln. When Ties closed, the downstairs space became Victory Gardens’ new home. Upon the closure of

297-478: Is the board president. On July 6, 2022, Former Ensemble Playwright isaac gómez posted a letter to his Medium account entitled "We Resign." The letter called for the immediate resignation of the Victory Gardens' Board of Directors after their refusal to fill the role of executive director for over two years and plan to acquire additional property. The nine remaining full-time non-leadership staff members posted

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324-557: The Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre . Winning the award made them one of five Chicago companies to be so honored, the other four being the Steppenwolf Theatre Company , Goodman Theatre , Chicago Shakespeare Theater , and Lookingglass Theatre Company . In 2006, Victory Gardens underwent a $ 11.8 million renovation and opened a re-designed Biograph Theater at 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue as its new home. The Biograph,

351-541: The Body Politic in 1995, Victory Gardens acquired the whole building. In 1989, Začek's staging of James Sherman's Beau Jest moved off-Broadway and was subsequently staged in hundreds of productions around the world. In 2008, Sherman released a film version of the play starring Lainie Kazan and Seymour Cassel. In 1996, the Victory Gardens Playwrights Ensemble was created, a coming together of

378-763: The Victory Gardens Greenhouse was sold to the Wendy and William Spatz Charitable Foundation. It is now the Greenhouse Theater Center . In 2010, Victory Gardens named the studio space at the Biograph Theater the Richard Christiansen Theatre in honor of longtime Chicago Tribune theatre critic Richard Christiansen , author of the book A Theatre of Our Own . Chay Yew was named artistic director in 2011. In February 2012, Yew granted

405-520: The Yards , The Green Scarf , and The Game of Chess . Two nights later the theater presented its first public performance, John Galsworthy 's The Forest . In 1969 under artistic director, John Reich, it finally became a fully professional company. In 1978, the drama school became part of DePaul University . In 2000, the company moved into its new facility at 170 North Dearborn in Chicago 's theater district. The 171,000 square feet (15,900 m ) project

432-757: The award, making Chicago the most recognized city in the country by this prestigious live theater award. The Goodman has also won many Joseph Jefferson awards . Notable productions at Goodman Theatre include: Inherit the Wind (2024, directed by Henry Godinez), The Nacirema Society (2023, directed by Lili-Anne Brown), Lucha Teotl (2023, directed by Christopher Llewyn and Jeff Colangelo), Highway Patrol (2024, directed by Mike Donahue), The Matchbox Magic Flute (2024, directed by Mary Zimmerman), The Penelopiad (2024, directed by Susan V. Booth), Joe Turner's Come and Gone (2024, directed by Chuck Smith), English (2024, directed by Hamid Dehghani ), and Midnight in

459-425: The board’s priorities and misinformation. For example, the media widely reported that the Board of Directors had yet to make an offer to a putative executive director. The board stated that it accepted its search committee’s recommendations and made an offer to one of the recommended candidates who declined the role. It then negotiated and finalized an employment agreement with the second recommended choice, only to have

486-416: The candidate delay acceptance for months, causing a significant delay in the hiring process. The board learned that the reason behind the delay was the second candidate and Victory Gardens’ then-artistic director, Ken-Matt Martin, jointly hired a lawyer to rewrite their contracts to leverage Victory Gardens’ dire need to fill the executive director role to their benefit. The board stated that Ken-Matt Martin and

513-685: The candidate redrafted the contracts in a way that both contracts would be tied together and force Victory Gardens to offer both of them financial incentives that were detrimental to the organization. Victory Gardens Playwrights Ensemble Alumni: Victory Gardens has assembled several national theater artists who serve as artistic advisors and ambassadors. This board includes Luis Alfaro , Nilo Cruz , Eve Ensler , David Henry Hwang , Tony Kushner , John Logan , Craig Lucas , Sandra Oh , Suzan-Lori Parks , Jose Rivera , Anika Noni Rose , Sarah Ruhl , Jeanine Tesori , Paula Vogel , George C. Wolfe , and B.D. Wong . Goodman Theatre Goodman Theatre

540-509: The four Greenhouse Theater Center spaces with performances at both Greenhouse and Gorilla Tango Theatre. Victory Gardens Theater Victory Gardens Theater is a theater company in Chicago, Illinois dedicated to the development and production of new plays and playwrights. The theater company was founded in 1974 when eight Chicago artists, Cecil O'Neal, Warren Casey , Stuart Gordon , Cordis Heard, Roberta Maguire, Mac McGuinnes, June Pyskaček, and David Rasche each fronted $ 1,000 to start

567-399: The notorious location of the ambush of gangster John Dillinger , opened with a party hosted by William L. Petersen , who played Dillinger at Victory Gardens at the beginning of his career. The space at 2257 N. Lincoln has been redubbed the Victory Gardens Greenhouse and is mostly rented to a variety of non-profit companies including Shattered Globe and Remy Bumppo Theatre Company . In 2008

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594-476: The original Playwrights Ensemble 'alumni' status and introduced a new ensemble of playwrights. Yew announced his departure from Victory Gardens in December 2019. On May 5, 2020, then-executive director Erica Daniels was named Victory Gardens' executive artistic director. The Playwrights Ensemble announced their collective resignation in protest on May 22, citing a lack of transparency in Victory Gardens' search for

621-493: The originally scheduled run dates. On July 8, 2022, Actors' Equity Association issued a statement in support of the resigning artists, stating “Actors’ Equity Association stands fully in support of our members, and their right to a safe work environment — as well as the right of all workers to work in a safe environment free from harassment, discrimination and bullying. As of July 12, 2022, over 1,600 signatures from theater artists and administrators nationwide have been added to

648-403: The theatre's rights to perform her play cullud wattah through July 17, 2022. Dickerson-Despenza wrote in a public statement - "As a result of the white supremacist capitalist patriarchal values espoused by the board of directors at Victory Gardens Theater, I have pulled the production of my show, cullud wattah , effective immediately." The majority of the artists will still receive pay through

675-702: Was designed by KPMB Architects , DLK Architecture Inc., and architects associated with the McClier Corporation. It has two fully modern auditoriums, named the Albert and the Owen, after two members of the Goodman family who continue to be major donors. In August 2000, associate artistic director Michael Maggio died and the company established the Michael Maggio Emerging Designer Award in his honor ; it

702-717: Was funded by Goodman's parents, Mr. and Mrs. William O. Goodman , who donated $ 250,000 to the Art Institute of Chicago to establish a professional repertory company and a school of drama at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago . The first theater was designed by architect Howard Van Doren Shaw (in the location now occupied by the museum's Modern Wing), although its design was severely hampered by location restrictions resulting in poor acoustics and lack of space for scenery and effects. The opening ceremony on October 20, 1925, featured three of Kenneth Sawyer Goodman's plays: Back of

729-531: Was the company's first hit. Marcelle McVay was the first managing director. In 1975, director Dennis Začek staged The Caretaker by Harold Pinter , beginning a relationship that led to Začek being named artistic director in 1977. Key on-going collaborators worked with the company for the first time in the Clark Street space, including actor William L. Petersen , Marcelle McVay, director Sandy Shinner, and playwrights Steve Carter and Jeffrey Sweet . McVay, who

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