After a national search conducted in partnership with Management Consultants for the Arts, Seattle Children’s Theatre (SCT) recently announced Idris Goodwin as its third Artistic Director. Goodwin, an award-winning playwright, breakbeat poet, director, and educator will start his tenure with the organization in July 2022 and serve as co-executive of one of the leading and most reproduced youth theatres in the United States.
“We are honored to have Idris join SCT and the Seattle community, “said Anh Nguyen, SCT Board President. “As demonstrated by his experiences, including Presidency of Theatre for Young Audiences, he brings a deep commitment to high quality, meaningful theatre productions and education, as well as expertise and passion for new works—a cornerstone of SCT’s mission. Idris is a collaborative ecosystem builder, who is unapologetic about the need to increase access, and this combined with his innovative and artistic mindset will help propel SCT as it builds upon its legacy and strives for expanded impact.”
Goodwin joins SCT following his tenure as Executive Director of The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, where he also taught for 6 years as a professor in the Department of Theater and Dance. Prior to Colorado College, Goodwin served as Producing Artistic Director of Stage One Family Theater in Louisville. His playwriting accomplishments encompass more than 60 stylistically diverse works, including his groundbreaking Break Beat Play Series (How We Got On, Hype Man); The Way The Mountain Moved, commissioned as part of Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s American Revolutions series; and Ghost, adapted from the novel by Jason Reynolds. His Muhammad Ali coming-of-age play And In This Corner: Cassius Clay, penned for Stage One Family Theater, was featured in SCT’s 18-19 Season. His 2019 collection of breakbeat poetry, “CAN I KICK IT?” was deemed “an ode to and embodiment of black lyric excellence” by the American Library Association, and his COVID breakbeat poem, “Your House is Not Just A House,” will be his first picture book, scheduled to be published by Harper Collins in 2024.
Goodwin is the recipient of multiple awards from the Mellon Foundation, the Ford Foundation, The National Endowment for The Arts, and was named a 2021 United States Artist Fellow. He currently serves on the board of the Children’s Theatre Foundation Association and as Board President of TYA/USA.
“The stars have aligned my friends! He is a multi-generational storyteller of the stage and page, they are a thriving institution committed to new work, arts education, and civic engagement in a city of art, tech, and activism! Oh the possibilities,” says Goodwin.
“Seattle Children’s Theater will be a transformative venue for this next chapter of my career,” he added. “I am so grateful for the trust bestowed upon me to serve as Artistic Director. I look forward to joining a team of innovative staff and committed board members to spark joy with this art form we love.”
“Idris is a phenomenal addition to SCT at an incredibly important time. His experiences on both the creative and administrative sides of theatre are unprecedented. As an artist, we’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with Idris via his playwriting, and as we look forward to our 48th Season and soon our 50th Anniversary, I can’t imagine a better visionary for the artistic future of Seattle Children’s Theatre,” said Managing Director, Kevin Malgesini.
SCT will launch the 2022-23 Season with the World Premiere of Goodwin’s new play, The Boy Who Kissed the Sky, inspired by the boyhood of Seattle rock icon, Jimi Hendrix. First commissioned in 2017, this new play featuring music by Divinity Roxx and Eugene Russell IV, is a co-production with Alliance Theatre and will be directed by Tim Bond. SCT’s entire 22-23 Season will be announced in July.
