Every year, the TCG National Conference brings us together for three joyful, action-packed days of camaraderie and peer learning. We draw inspiration from each other and from our host community, strengthening old relationships and forging new connections, while we share best practices and useful tools to take back to our work. At the same time, we pull back our field of vision to more deeply understand the trends impacting our field and culture, and imagine how we might reshape them with our collective action.

From June 14-16, 2018 the TCG National Conference will take place in St. Louis, MO, a city whose political and cultural narratives have in recent years been amplified on the national stage. In an era of media saturation, sound bites, and “fake news,” theatre makers continue to reflect the many nuances and complexities of the human experience in the stories we tell. In a widely watched TED talk, author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said: “I’ve always felt that it is impossible to engage properly with a place or a person without engaging with all of the stories of that place and that person.” How do we use our art form to uncover the deep (and often, messy) truth of people, places, and identity? How do we go beyond the single story?

With St. Louis as our inspiration and our gathering place, we will engage in discussions about authenticity in our artmaking, examining and improving the ways we prepare and support a generation of new leaders, developing organizational cultures that are ever more inclusive and forward-looking, and elevating the cultural legacy of those that came before us. Over 800 theatre makers will also benefit from professional development about the persistent challenges that threaten the vitality of our field, and engage with thought leaders from within and beyond the performing arts.

TCG is grateful to the following supporters of the 2018 TCG National Conference in St. Louis, MO. If you are interested in joining TCG as a sponsor, please contact Kevin Bitterman, director of Institutional Advancement & Partnerships.