2018 TCG National Conference VideosTheatre Communications Group (TCG)—the national organization for the American theatre—presented the TCG National Conference 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at HowlRound TV. Wednesday 13 June to Saturday 16 June 2018.
Wednesday, June 13: Education Staff Pre-Conference
TCG invites you to join with education colleagues across the country to investigate and share observations and learnings along two major themes: 1) Pedagogy and cultural competencies -- how we do our work; and 2) How we collaborate with other departments within our organizations.
Opening
7 a.m. - 7:15 a.m. PDT (San Francisco) 9 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. CDT (St. Louis) / 10 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. EDT (New York)
Welcome from Teresa Eyring, Executive Director, Theatre Communications Group; Matthew Neufeld, Managing Director and Julia Flood, Artistic Director, Metro Theater Company
Keynote introduction by Jennifer Wintzer, Interim Producing Director/Director of Community Engagement and Education, Shakespeare Festival St. Louis
Keynote
7:15 a.m. - 7:45 a.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 9:15 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. CDT (St. Louis) / 10:15 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. EDT (New York)
Karen Hall, Superintendent, Maplewood Richmond Heights School District
The Maplewood Richmond Heights High School, tracing its beginnings to 1840, is part of the oldest school district in St. Louis County. The district covers an approximate area of two square miles and is located southwest of, and adjacent to, the city of St. Louis.
Conscientious Theatre Training (CTT) – From Classroom to Talk Backs: Implementing Seven Principles for Good Practice Through the Lens of Intercultural Communication
7:45 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 9:45 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. CDT (St. Louis) / 10:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. EDT (New York)
Nicole Brewer, Adjunct Professor of Theatre Arts, Howard University
In this session, we will cover the seven guiding principles for good education practices as adapted for cross-cultural theatre educational programs. We’ll unpack process flows, cultural competency in practice, what theatre education programs are currently stimulating in targeted audiences, discerning which tools will be most impactful for various theatre communities, and lastly assessing “how do you know if what you implemented is useful/successful in supporting mission with targeted communities?”
Case Studies – Theatres Building Trust and Understanding in Their Communities
9:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. CDT (St. Louis) / 12:30 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. EDT (New York)
Marsha Coplon, Education Director, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis; Evelyn Francis, Acting Artistic Director, The Theater Offensive; Joanne Seelig Lamparter, Director of Education, Imagination Stage
Moderated by Jenny Toutant, Education Director, Milwaukee Repertory Theater
Connecting Community through the Arts, a project of The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, is an effort to document and celebrate the vibrant, living history of the Meacham Park area of Kirkwood, Missouri, a historically black community.
The Theater Offensive’s True Colors: Out Youth Theater program is the country’s largest and longest-running lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth theatre program and received the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award from First Lady Michelle Obama.
Imagination Stage teamed up with the Montgomery County Police Department and the Montgomery County Recreation Department to develop a theatre arts and mentorship program with middle school youth and police officers.
Plenary Panel – Internal Interactions and Collaborations (Leadership Skills) Within Theatres
11:45 a.m. - 1 p.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 1:45 p.m. - 3 p.m. CDT (St. Louis) / 2:45 p.m. - 4 p.m. EDT (New York)
Susan Booth, Jennings Hertz Artistic Director and Christopher Moses, Director of Education & Associate Artistic Director, Alliance Theatre; Jessica Jackson, Artistic Director and Johamy Morales, Education Director, Creede Repertory Theatre; Raymond Bobgan, Executive Artistic Director and Faye Hargate, Director of Community Ensembles, Cleveland Public Theatre
Moderated by Kati Koerner, Hiltz Director of Education, Lincoln Center Theater
How can theatres better leverage the expertise of their education departments? This session will focus on the capacity of education staff to serve as leaders within their institutions. How can engagement and education initiatives complement and amplify each other? How can development, marketing, and education departments collaborate and work better together to increase the value of their work?
Report-outs and Closing Remarks
2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. PDT (San Francisco) - 4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. CDT (St. Louis) - 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. EDT (New York)
Thursday 14 June:
11:45 a.m. - 1 p.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 1:45 p.m. - 3 p.m. CDT (St. Louis) / 2:45 p.m. - 4 p.m. EDT (New York)
Our all-attendee session on Thursday, called “How We Show Up,” will not only lay the groundwork for the At the Intersections sessions, but share best practices for all Conference attendees for making the most of our time together.
Opening Plenary Session
4:15 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 6:15 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. CDT (St. Louis) / 7:15 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. EDT (New York)
With speakers Teresa Eyring of TCG, Ron Himes of St. Louis Black Repertory Company, Jennifer Wintzer of Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, and Steve Woolf of The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.
Friday 15 June:
Morning Plenary Session
7:30 a.m. - 8:45 a.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 9:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. CDT (St. Louis) / 10:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. EDT (New York)
With speakers Adrian Budhu of TCG and Kevin Moriarty of Dallas Theater Center.
From Accommodation to Transformation: Neurodiversity on Our Stages
9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. CDT (St. Louis) / 12 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. EDT (New York)
This past season, Mickey Rowe became the first actor with autism spectrum disorder to play the lead in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime in a co-production by Indiana Repertory Theatre and Syracuse Stage, making inroads toward demystifying autism. In the nonprofit theatre and its service organizations, many sensory-friendly performances are created to serve neurodiverse audiences, but what about the performers on those stages, and the theatres with whom they collaborate?
Be the Unicorn: Make Your Theatre the Place Where People Want to Work
11:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 1:30 p.m. - 3 p.m. CDT (St. Louis) / 2:30 p.m. - 4 p.m. EDT (New York)
Policies that promote work-life balance. Leader-led practices of self-care. Commitment to staff development. Organizations that prioritize these concepts are much like unicorns – beautiful and full of magic, but rarely seen in action. As theatremakers whose personal lives and work are intimately intertwined, and sometimes at odds with each other, how do we take stock of the needs of our colleagues and incorporate attention to those needs into our organizational practice?
TCG Exclusive Performance: The Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics' I Pledge Allegiance
5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 7:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. CDT (St. Louis) / 8:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. EDT (New York)
On Friday night, in conjunction with the Global Theatre Initiative, TCG attendees will have special access to The Lab's rousing and deeply moving play, I Pledge Allegiance. Performed by a diverse group of Georgetown students and alumni who created this work from their personal insights into the experience of immigrant and first-generation Americans, I Pledge Allegiancewas a was a recent sensation in Segovia, Spain at the UNESCO International Theatre Festival and World Congress, and the students have since been invited to perform at festivals around the world. A discussion between the audience, performers, and creative team will follow.
Saturday 16 June:
Not In Our House and the Chicago Theatre Standards: a procedural approach to preventing and responding to sexual harassment
7:30 a.m. - 8:45 a.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 9:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. CDT (St. Louis) / 10:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. EDT (New York)
Breakout sessions.
Global Theatre Initiative: Collaboration and Exchange in Polarizing Times
9:15 a.m. - 10:40 a.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 11:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. CDT (St. Louis) / 12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. EDT (New York)
Join the Global Theatre Initiative (GTI), a partnership between TCG and The Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, for a free-flowing roundtable discussion highlighting a wide range of current global theatre projects, practices and exchanges, including reports on initiatives from TCG, International Theatre Institute, the Network for Higher Education in the Performing Arts, and others. Come share the work you are doing, and/or learn how to get involved.
About HowlRound TV:
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Chandra Stephens-Albright, Managing Director, Kenny Leon's True Colors Theatre Company, Elisbeth Challener, Managing Director, and Mindy Ellmer, Immediate Past Board President, ZACH Theatre; Jamie Clements, Director of Development, Alliance Theatre
Preserving Legacies, Preserving Culturally Specific Theater from Theatre Communications Group on Vimeo.
The People Crisis in the Arts from Theatre Communications Group on Vimeo.
Looking Back to Look Forward: Building and Sustaining a Quality Arts Assessment System from Theatre Communications Group on Vimeo.
Leading in a Complex World: The Case for Adaptive Leadership from Theatre Communications Group on Vimeo.
TOC Gathering: Highlight Video from Theatre Communications Group on Vimeo.
Ryan_ Why I Love St. Louis from Theatre Communications Group on Vimeo.