Research and Assessment

Goal: We will invest in creating a more equitable American theater by examining our internal systems with industry professionals who will help us analyze, measure and track our goals with our action plan.

It is impossible to adjust our policies, realign our programming or crystalize our communications without digging deeper into how we have worked in the past, evaluating our unique place in the field and transparently tracking the progress towards our goals and ideals. This cornerstone: focuses on how we create, document and codify the knowledge we gain; examines the systems needed to aggregate and disseminate that information across the institution; and activates industry pipelines and pathways for skill development for all Goodman staff.

Action: Develop a simulcast programming study

Description: Research continues around ways to concurrently stream events and programming when we return to in-person producing in effort to make our work accessible to a broader audience and expand our offerings to Chicagoland schools.

Status: Efforts are ongoing; work to be continued by the Cornerstone Task Force (CTF)

Action: Develop relationships with the National Critics Institute at The Eugene O’Neill Center and the BIPOC Critics Lab.

Description: To help create a stronger pipeline for critics, we endeavor to explore how program participants, including those in the Criticism in America Bootcamp and Cindy Bandle Young Critics, progress into these additional training programs.

Status: Efforts are ongoing; work to be continued by the Cornerstone Task Force (CTF)

Action: Review and update our procurement practices with an eye towards increasing our purchasing from BIPOC and Black, Women and Minority Owned Enterprises (BWMOE).

Description: A cross-departmental “Procurement Team” will mobilize to: research our current vendors to confirm alignment between their Anti-Racist practices and our IDEAA Action Plan; set our annual purchasing goals with BIPOC/BWMOE businesses; assist in creating a method of annual assessment that ensures we achieve our short- and long-term goals.

Status: Efforts are ongoing; work to be continued by the Cornerstone Task Force (CTF)

Action: Review Audience Engagement and Education resources

Description: How do we best prepare our audiences for the work on our stages and increase their understanding of both theater and the Goodman? How do we use all institutional assets to engender deeper conversations and engagement with theatergoers?

Status: Efforts are ongoing; work to be continued by the Cornerstone Task Force (CTF)