COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.: The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center (FAC) at Colorado College has announced that playwright and director Idris Goodwin will step into the role of director, effective May 1. Beginning this month, Goodwin will work on a leadership transition plan with current FAC director Erin Hannan, who announced her departure in November 2019.
“We are incredibly fortunate to have Idris return to Colorado Springs and focus his considerable talents on the Fine Arts Center,” Hannan said in a statement. “I’m honored to pass the proverbial torch into his capable hands, as his literary and theatrical accolades, understanding of the creative and artistic process, background as an educator, scholar, and practitioner, and involvement in the Colorado arts community can serve the mission in countless ways.”
Goodwin has roots in the Colorado Springs and Denver arts communities, having taught for six years in the department of Theatre and Dance at Colorado College. He’s also directed and performed at the FAC, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Denver Center Theatre Company, Curious Theatre Company, and MCA Denver. He serves on the national advisory boards of Theatre for Young Audiences USA and the Children’s Theatre Foundation of America. In addition he is the recipient of multiple awards from the Mellon Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Most recently, he worked as producing artistic director of Stage One Family Theater in Louisville, Ky.
“During my time as a professor at Colorado College, I engaged with the Fine Arts Center in so many different ways, from co-planning a hip-hop festival, to teaching classes, to wandering its galleries lost in inspiration,” Goodwin said in a statement. “And what a time to return! This alliance between two fixtures of the community brings together centuries of impact in the Front Range. In an age of innovation and creativity, we can become the defining multi-disciplinary art space of the 21st-century West. I am humbled, honored, and energized by this tremendous opportunity, and I can’t wait to join the team and help shape the next chapter. See you soon, 719!”
Colorado College provost Alan Townsend echoed Hannan’s enthusiasm for Goodwin’s return. “I’m thrilled to welcome Idris back to the college and the Springs,” Townsend said in a statement. “Not only is he an internationally known artist with extraordinary vision, but he brings unique knowledge of the Colorado Springs, Denver, and CC communities that will be invaluable to the FAC in the coming years.”
Founded in 1919, the FAC is a performing arts theatre, museum, and community arts school providing innovative, educational, and multidisciplinary arts experiences to the Rocky Mountain West community.
