The Goodman Theatre has named Vanessa Stalling as the recipient of its 2016 Michael Maggio Directing Fellowship. As the Maggio Fellow, Stalling will assist on an upcoming Goodman production and work as part of the theater's artistic decision-making team.
Stalling recently directed Mutt, a co-production of Stage Left Theatre and Red Tape Theatre, and she is the adapter and director of the House Theatre of Chicago's upcoming United Flight 232, based on Laurence Gonzales's book about the passengers and crew aboard an airliner crippled in mid-air in 1989. She was associate artistic director at Redmoon, where she directed shows and spectacles including Last of My Species, The Cabinet and Princess Club. Stalling's husband is the Hypocrites artistic director Sean Graney.
The Maggio fellowship, named for the Goodman's late associate artistic director, was established in 2002 for rising Chicago-based theater directors. Previous Maggio Fellows have included Marti Lyons, Erica Weiss, Jimmy McDermott, Anna Bahow, Joanie Schultz, Anthony Moseley, Dado, Ann Filmer, Mignon McPherson-Nance and Lynn Ann Bernatowicz.