A year after its announcement, the Goodman Theatre cut the ribbon this evening on the new Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement, nicknamed “The Alice.” Also announced at the opening ceremony were a pair of artist residencies. Solo performer Dael Orlandersmith, who’s appeared regularly at the theater in recent years, becomes a Goodman artistic associate and Alice Artist in Residence. The Center for Performance and Civic Practice, a consulting agency focused on partnering artists with non-arts organizations to effect community change, and its executive director Michael Rohd will begin a three-year residency at the Alice.
With 10,000 square feet of classrooms, labs and community spaces, the Alice becomes home to the Goodman’s various lectures, discussions and education endeavors. Thursday, May 19, the center’s first full day of operation, has been proclaimed “Lorraine Hansberry Day,” honoring the late playwright of the Goodman's current mainstage show, The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window; programming will include a screening of the film version of Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun. Saturday, May 21 is an all-day open house beginning at 9am, with hands-on activities for all ages.