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Chuck
Smith
Age:
64
Title: Resident Director, Goodman Theatre
University/Training: AA, Loop City College; BA, Governors State University.
Recent/Current Projects: Send Me No Flowers at the Timberlake Playhouse in Mt. Carroll, Ill. (opened June 21). Recently directed Congo Square Theatre Company’s production of Playboy of the West Indies.
How has your training/college education helped prepare you for a career in theatre?: More than anything, it familiarized me with the basic production process, which is used by most professional theatres. Also, as a director, I structure my rehearsals using the exact same methods as my Loop City College professor, Sydney Daniels.
Why did you choose to ply your craft in Chicago?: I am a product of Chicago’s Black Theatre community and I am here to testify that there is more Black Theatre activity here in Chicago than anywhere else in the country. We have five black professional companies producing full seasons: eta, Black Ensemble Theater, Congo Square, MPAACT and Chicago Theatre Company, where I am a founder. Added to that is the commitment of other major professional theatres–like the Goodman, Victory Gardens, Northlight and, recently, Steppenwolf–to feature the old and new works of African Americans on their stages. The rich Chicago college theatre environment provides us with a refreshing look at new talent each year. At Columbia College, I am the facilitator of the Theodore Ward Prize for African-American Playwrights where, for 16 years, we have annually processed and produced a new black play. All of this makes a very delicious theatre buffet for a born and bred South Side director.