By Leah Veldhuisen ’19
The accolades continue to roll in for Idris Goodwin, assistant professor of theater and dance, with one of his most recent plays, “Bars and Measures” nominated for the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for writing. A scene from the play is pictured.
The musical score by Noah Argus has also been nominated. The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, started in 1969, is dedicated to critiquing, encouraging, and improving theatre in the Los Angeles area, and provides awards in many categories.
Goodwin’s play is inspired by a true story and focuses on two brothers who connect through jazz while one is in prison. Goodwin says that the play was part of a “’rolling world premiere” supported by the National New Play Network, which allowed the performance to develop progressively in four theatres around the country, ending in Los Angeles. He says receiving recognition on the final production stop is tremendously encouraging.
Goodwin’s other recent success is closer to home. His play “#matter,” which he directed and presented at CC with students Alec Sarche ’17 and Alex Farr ’17, will be produced at the Bush Theatre in London. This is a big step for Goodwin, as it will be the first time one of his works will be produced outside the United States. The production is part of a series of six short plays titled “Black Lives, Black Words,” and was one of two American works selected.
The short play focuses on the friendship of two young adults, one black and one white, when the Black Lives Matter movement causes conflict between them. Goodwin’s inspiration for the story came from his conversations about race on social media. He says that his identity and heritage have always been essential to who he is, and his conversations caused him to question old friendships, and this theme is central to “#matter.”
Beyond these two successes, Goodwin has plenty of other projects in the works. “I just released a new chapbook called ‘Inauguration’ that I co-wrote with a former student, Nico Wilkinson ’16,” he says. He also has a play currently touring Washington, D.C. schools called “From the Mouth of Monsters,” that was commissioned by the Kennedy Center and is a spinoff of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein.” It will be performed at the Kennedy Center March 10-12. His play “Hype Man” just won the Blue Ink playwriting award, and will have a staged reading in Chicago on May 22 at the American Blues Theater. Finally, he will be directing “Yellow Face” by David Henry Hwang during Block 8, and is working on plays with the Public Theater in New York, Seattle Children’s Theatre, and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He invites any students wanting to learn about writing plays to enroll in one of his courses on writing
