Goodman producer/director Steve Scott retires after 37 years

In Northlight Theatre's production of “Black Pearl Sings!” five years ago, E. Faye Butler did for director Steve Scott something she would not have done for anyone else: She wore a ball and chain.

That willingness testified to the confidence the six-time Joseph Jefferson Award winner had in Scott, her longtime friend and colleague who retired last month from Goodman Theatre after 37 years. Butler describes Scott - who produced more than 200 Goodman shows - as an astute director and humanitarian who challenges actors.

“There's nobody better than Mr. Scott. I would do anything for him,” Butler said.

“He's very easygoing and calm,” she said. “He doesn't give you direction. He asks you smart questions and you have to come up with the answer.”

Except for a two-year stint with The Chicago International Film Festival and the Latin School of Chicago in the mid-'80s, Scott has been an integral part of the Goodman since he became education and outreach director in 1980.

“It never occurred to me I'd work as an artist. That was a huge thrill,” said Scott, who directed his first Goodman show, “A Christmas Carol,” in 1989. “I didn't think I'd get to work so closely with Bob (artistic director Robert Falls) and Roche (executive director Roche Schulfer) and have a voice in how the theater was evolving. That's been amazing.”

Reminiscing about his tenure, Scott, 67, talked mostly about his colleagues. Describing his relationship with Falls as the most important of his professional career, Scott also singled out stage managers Joe Drummond, Kim Osgood and Alden Vasquez who “saved me from myself” by being advocates, friends and occasionally traffic cops.

He recalled fondly fellow artistic associates Brian Dennehy and director Mary Zimmerman. Happiest in a rehearsal room, Scott's favorite Goodman directing projects include 1991's “Wit” and 2015's “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” by favorite writer Christopher Durang.

He also directed Horton Foote's “Blind Date” during Goodman's 2008 salute to the playwright. Foote, Scott said, left a lasting impression.

“I never met a man more gracious, more decent,” said Scott. “He left our theater a better place. His humanity infused his work and everyone around him.”

Characteristically, Scott's proudest accomplishment is a collective one: Goodman's emergence over the last three decades as one of the country's foremost theatrical institutions, evidenced by Goodman's 1990 production of “The Gospel at Colonus,” which combined Greek tragedy with gospel music.

“For the first time I understood how powerful theater could be for people who haven't experienced it,” Scott said. “That kind of transcendence is an amazing part of our art form. It rededicated me.”

A Kansas City native, Scott majored in theater education at the University of Kansas. During college, he spent summers in Colorado, eventually earning a masters from the University of Denver. An educator at heart, he returned to Kansas in 1978 to teach at Baker University. Two years later, on the recommendation of friends, he relocated to Chicago. Within a month, he accepted Goodman's offer.

“Steve was essential to establishing a viable arts education department here and making that as important a priority as the work we do on stage,” Schulfer said. “Connecting our work to the community was always important to Steve.”

Scott took over as associate producer in 1986. A champion of inclusive casting, Scott - who joined the artistic collective in 2007 - helped make that a reality at Goodman, Schulfer said.

A member of Eclipse Theatre, Scott has directed at Eclipse, Northlight, redtwist, Shattered Globe and Silk Road Rising among other theaters and has a directing project scheduled for later this year. A Roosevelt University faculty member, he also plans on teaching a few classes.

Years ago, Falls offered him the following advice: “If a project comes up and you're terrified of it, that's the project you should do,” Scott recalls.

“I'm hunting for the next daunting thing,” he said.

At his retirement party, Butler recalled, Scott told those in attendance “all I ever wanted to do was matter.”

“Steve Scott matters,” she said. “He matters a 1,000 times over and over again.”