May activation

Dance Basics for the Young Actor

Facilitators: Noelle Kayser
Thursday, May 2 | 4:30pm – 6:00pm
Goodman Theatre Lab 1

Warm up and cool down exercises to strengthen the body and protect against injury. Basic terminology and execution of movement commonly found in musical theater choreography. Improvisational exercises designed to increase your body awareness and confidence as a collaborator. A short movement phrase with discussion on how to better learn and retain choreography within an audition setting.

Recommended for middle school and high school students

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Puppetry with Nitsana

Facilitators: Nitsana Lazerus
May 7, 15, and 22 | 5:00pm – 6:30pm
Goodman Theatre Lab 2

Embark on an exciting three-part puppetry journey with master puppeteer Nitsana Lazerus! Craft your own advanced puppet and learn essential puppetry skills in this dynamic workshop. Under Nitsana’s expert guidance, explore puppet manipulation, character development, and how voice and pitch can bring a puppet to life. Participants will use puppetry to discover innovative teaching methods and explore how to engage and teach others when using a puppet. Whether you’re a teacher, therapist, parent, grandparent, student or puppet enthusiast, join us for a fun-filled adventure into the world of puppetry and storytelling!

Recommended for all ages

May 7

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May 15

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May 22

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Play on Words: A Conversation with the Poet Ireon Roach

Facilitators: Ireon Roach
Wednesday, May 8 | 5:30pm – 7:15pm
Goodman Rotunda

Join us in conversation with Ireon Roach, a multidisciplinary artist and former winner of the August Wilson Monologue Competition. She will be sharing her experience creating a poem based on August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. Gain insight into her creative process and learn more about her relationship with August Wilson’s work and her upcoming creative projects. Light refreshments will be provided, and we’ll raise a toast with wine provided by Doña Amalia. Learn more about our collaboration with the Poetry Foundation.

Recommended for all ages

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Make a Play

Facilitators: Julie Ganey and Chava Novogrodsky-Godt
Saturday, May 11 | 1:00pm – 2:30pm
Goodman Theatre Lab 2

Make A Play is an intergenerational workshop where kids and adults come together to create a play in just 90 minutes. We’ll start by pulling some prompts out of a hat, and then get to work! While youngsters create the story, the grownups will quickly create a series of prop and set pieces from found materials. Believe it or not, when we all come back together, we’ll have a play.

Recommended for ages 5+

All children should be accompanied by an adult.

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Movement for the Adult Actor

Facilitators: Noelle Kayser and Jack Seijo
Monday, May 13 | 3:30pm – 5:00pm
Goodman Theatre Lab 1

Warm up and cool down exercises to strengthen the body and protect against injury. Improvisation based exercises for increasing full body awareness and confidence as a physical collaborator inside creative processes. A short, collectively choreographed movement phrase with a focus on embodying emotion and narrative through dance.

Recommended for performance professionals and ages 18+

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Double-Feature Career Conversation

Facilitators: Danielle Roos and Jamal Howard
Thursday, May 16 | 5:45pm – 7:00pm
Goodman Theatre Rotunda

Discover insights and inspiration at this special event for emerging and early career BIPOC theatre directors and designers. Network with your peers and gain invaluable wisdom from industry professionals as they share their career trajectories, evolving passions, and reflect on the ever-changing landscape of theater. Don’t miss this opportunity to expand your community and learn about navigating the world of professional theatre in Chicago.

Recommended for early career BIPOC director and designers

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The Root of Storytelling (Theatre, Poetry, and You!)

Facilitators: Abhi Shrestha 
Friday, May 17 | 4:30pm – 6:30pm
Goodman Theatre Lab 1

Why do we tell stories, why do they matter to us, and specifically why do they matter to you? Through the lens of theatre and poetry, come explore the world of storytelling. Participants will explore a few different philosophies behind storytelling, articulate their own relationship to why stories matter, read and discuss different poems and theatre excerpts, and have space to generate and create their own material.

Recommended for high school students

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Introduction to Suzuki: Cultivating Energy (Part 1)

Facilitators: Jeremy Ohringer
Saturday, May 18 | 10:00am – 12:00pm
Goodman Theatre Lab 1

This two-part movement workshop will allow participants to tip their toes into the Suzuki physical training method, developed by internationally acclaimed director Tadashi Suzuki and the Suzuki Company of Toga. Suzuki combines rigor, repetition and stillness to help performers access performance energy. A physical discipline drawn from such diverse influences as ballet, traditional Japanese and Greek theater, and martial arts, Suzuki combines rigor, repetition and stillness to help performers access performance energy and heighten the performer’s emotional and physical power and commitment to each moment on the stage. Participants should come prepared to move and learn together! (Part one of a two part workshop, you are welcome to attend one, or both!)

Recommended for ages 16+

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Introduction to Suzuki: Cultivating Stillness (Part 2)

Facilitators: Jeremy Ohringer
Sunday, May 19 | 10:00am – 12:00pm
Goodman Theatre Lab 1

This two-part movement workshop will allow participants to tip their toes into the Suzuki physical training method, developed by internationally acclaimed director Tadashi Suzuki and the Suzuki Company of Toga. Suzuki combines rigor, repetition and stillness to help performers access performance energy. A physical discipline drawn from such diverse influences as ballet, traditional Japanese and Greek theater, and martial arts, Suzuki combines rigor, repetition and stillness to help performers access performance energy and heighten the performer’s emotional and physical power and commitment to each moment on the stage. Participants should come prepared to move and learn together! (Part two of a two part workshop, you are welcome to attend one, or both!)

Recommended for ages 16+

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Playwriting 101

Facilitators: Omer Abbas Salem
Tuesday, May 21 | 4:30pm – 6:00pm
Goodman Theatre Lab 1

Join Chicago Playwright Omer Abbas Salem in an exciting workshop where they take you into their writing process, give you tips and tricks, and guide you in generating some of your own material.

Recommended for high school students

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Artecito

Facilitators: OPEN Center for the Arts
Saturday, May 25 | 10:00am – 12:00pm
Goodman Theatre Lab 1

Artecito – a workshop, created by OPEN Center for the Arts and Lincoln Park Zoo, that explores the Environment, Wildlife and Conservation through the Arts. We will be exploring the world of Polar Bears through information, artifacts, and Art. Alejandro Alero (comic artist/muralist) and the Lincoln Park Zoo Team will take you on this Creative Journey. Learn more about Artecito.

Recommended for ages 5+

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Activarte

Facilitators: OPEN Center for the Arts
Saturday, May 25 | 10:00am – 12:00pm
Goodman Theatre Rotunda

Activarte – a workshop created by OPEN Center for the Arts that unites multiple art disciplines to create an interactive experience. We will be exploring the world of Creative Writing infused with Mask Making to present a Mini-Performance. Luis Crespo (writer/actor/director from Logan Square) and Alma Dominguez (painter/muralist from Little Village) will take you on this Creative Journey.

Recommended for ages 5+

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