Goodman’s 98th Season

Susan V. Booth, the new artistic director of the Goodman Theatre, talks about her recently-announced 2023-2024 season, the first she’s programmed upon returning to Chicago. Susan reveals the challenges of not only selecting a season, but in finding the right language to talk about it; the value of diminishing “capital-I importance;” her obsession with how elastic the definition of ‘theatre’ can be; the wonderful durability of this art form; the excitement of non-traditional spaces and theatre that happens outside of theaters; how every season is a chapter in an epic theatre saga; an exclusive tip for how to avoid a reputational “sh1tshow;” and finally, the trick of curating a season while also getting out of its way. (Photo by Joe Mazza.) (Length 18:39)

Clyde’s In DC

Chicago-based actor Dee Dee Batteast (above) plays the title role in Lynn Nottage’s Clyde’s at the Studio Theatre in Washington DC and she discusses the wild tonal swing between this role and her previous role as Scrooge’s niece in the Goodman Theatre’s A Christmas Carol. Dee Dee shares how much she loves monsters (both watching them and playing them); how she’s doing the devil’s work; how she navigates dizzying extremes; the possibilities of redemption; how freedom looks different for different characters; some strange lobby encounters; insightful mob boss comparisons; the power of playing elemental forces and the fun of playing a badass; and the differences – and surprising similarities – between Clyde’s and A Christmas Carol. (Length 21:43)