As part of our continuing effort to make our professional development programming available to as many theatre people as possible, TCG offers a number of Webinars, both standalone and in series form. Our webinars feature expert speakers from within the field and beyond, and cover a broad range of topics of urgent interest to many in the theatre field. Please see the Events Calendar to Register for any of the below Webinars. If you'd like to receive the recording of any webinar but cannot attend please register and you will be sent the recording after it is complete.
If you're interested in receiving a copy of a webinar that has already passed, please email us at conference@tcg.org.
These webinar opportunities have passed. Please scroll down for recordings of select webinars. Please click here to see upcoming opportunities.
Virtual Toasts: Online Galas & Donor Engagement
Thursday, April 30, 5-6pm ET
With shuttered stages and social distancing, theatres have drawn on their trademark creativity to move their galas online. But how can you successfully engage donors without the magic of being in the room together? This webinar will feature theatres sharing what worked in their successful pivots to online galas, some of which were featured in the American Theatre article, "Galas Open Their Virtual Doors in Hopes of Opening Checkbooks." Speakers included Emika Abe, managing director, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company; and Lynn Eve Komaromi, director of development, Berkeley Repertory Theatre.
Virtual Toasts: Online Galas & Donor Engagement from Theatre Communications Group on Vimeo.
CARES and Community Care: A What Now Webinar
Tuesday, April 21, 4-5:30pm ET
While many theatres have applied for SBA loans from the Paycheck Protection Program in the CARES Act, there is still a great deal of uncertainty on what happens now. What other opportunities exist within the CARES Act and Families First Coronavirus Response Act? What labor laws should you be tracking amid rapid shifts in the employer/employee landscape? How do you care for your company and community during a time of furloughs and social distancing? And how can we as a field prepare for--and influence--future federal relief efforts? This ‘what now’ webinar will help us manage this crisis strategically, leading with care for our colleagues and communities.
Speakers include: Laurie Baskin, director of research, policy & collective action, TCG; Adrian Budhu, deputy director & COO, TCG; Alec Duffy, founder and co-director, JACK; Andrew Kaplan, Member of the Firm, Epstein Becker Green; Michael McGahan, Member of the Firm, Epstein Becker Green; Greg Reiner, director of theatre & musical theater, National Endowment for the Arts; Jeffrey H. Ruzal, Member of the Firm, Epstein Becker Green; and Stephanie Ybarra, artistic director, Baltimore Center Stage.
CARES and Community Care Webinar from Theatre Communications Group on Vimeo.
Coronavirus Preparedness for Theatres Friday, March 6, 2020
The Coronavirus Preparedness Webinar provided a holistic take on preparedness for theatres, including: a deeper understanding of the virus from an epidemiologist's perspective; general preparedness strategies; how to forecast budget shifts should productions be cancelled; how to navigate insurance; and how the theatre field might take collective action to weather this potential crisis. We also committed to solidarity and sensitivity toward those most impacted by the outbreak. Learn more about the webinar here.
From Taste to Appetite: Audience-Building Strategies from Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis’ (OTSL) newer audiences weren’t spending enough on tickets to replace the losses of those departing. OTSL used market research and analysis to test the impact of innovative new programs like Opera Tastings in order to develop a new audience with an appetite for opera. The results? More than three-quarters of the Tastings attendees were new, with an average of 42 percent later buying tickets to their mainstage productions. The question they now face: how to not only maintain, but financially sustain, this audience growth?
What did they do and how might their experience inform your theatre's audience-building efforts? What other questions is OTSL asking itself now? On this webinar, participants will engage with OTSL staff on these questions and more. This webinar is made possible through a partnership with the Wallace Foundation. To access the Foundation’s resources on audience building in the arts, please visit: www.wallacefoundation.org/buildingaudiences.
Art-Driven Audience-Building: Continuous Learning from Denver Center for the Performing Arts’ Off-Center
Thursday June 27, 2019
If you leave the show thinking ‘I’ve never seen anything like it,’ then Off-Center has done its job.”
Denver Center Theatre Company’s Off-Center was created to engage new and younger audiences through artistic experimentation, including immersive theatre. Through support from the Wallace Foundation’s Building Audiences for Sustainability initiative, Off-Center used market research and continuous learning to better understand how audiences, new and returning, were engaging with adventurous work. Rather than limiting bold choices, a close alignment between artistic and marketing teams allowed Off-Center to craft deeply responsive programming--and market it more effectively. Art-Driven Audience-Building will feature: Emily Kent, director of marketing; Charlie Miller, associate artistic director/Off-Center curator; and Charles Varin, managing director.
This webinar is made possible through a partnership with the Wallace Foundation. To access the Foundation’s resources on audience building in the arts, please visit: www.wallacefoundation.org/buildingaudiences.
Untapped Potential: Revitalizing Patron Loyalty
Wednesday, July 17 2019
Presented in partnership with Spektrix
Only 25% of patrons make return visits to the theatre year over year, but studies show that it costs five times more to bring in new customers than to keep existing ones. In this webinar we'll explore how theatres can better tap into their greatest commodity: engaged, loyal patrons who are already coming in their doors. From targeted offers and segmented, timely email programs to brainstorming creative ways to compel patrons to re-attend, we'll pair benchmarking stats with real-life success strategies to equip listeners with new tools for growing loyalty at their own organizations.
Practices of Inclusion: All-Gender Restrooms
Thursday, January 31, 2-3:30pm ET
All-gender restrooms play an essential role in creating safe and welcoming spaces for trans and non-binary people. In this webinar, TCG's Elena Chang and Gus Schulenburg will share lessons learned from our implementation of all-gender restrooms at our offices and events. They'll be joined by theatre leaders who've done the same, exploring different approaches to questions like: how do you make the case for all-gender restrooms to your staff, board, and audience? How do the logistics work? How do you center those most impacted each step of the way? Be on the lookout for additional webinars in this series, which will be announced shortly!
Practices of Inclusion (Pt 1- All Gender Restrooms) from Theatre Communications Group on Vimeo.
Are You Leaving Money on the Table? Case Studies for Increasing Revenue at Your Organization
Thursday, December 6, 1-2pm
The world of marketing is always full of new ideas and tools, but almost all arts organizations have limited budgets and staffing resources when making plans for the year. So, how can you prioritize strategies that can maximize the impact of your valuable time and budget? In this session we'll explore case studies from Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and Two River Theater Company on how they were all able to significantly grow their organizations' revenue by implementing low effort, high impact strategies. Prepare to learn how to evaluate your current strategies, learn new best practices and walk away with tangible takeaways that you can quickly implement at your own organization.
Featuring: Courtney Schroeder, Director of Marketing, Two River Theater and Jeanna Vella, Director of Marketing & Sales, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company
Spektrix Webinar December '18 from Theatre Communications Group on Vimeo.
Register Here
Adventure or Uncertainty: How Arts Organizations are Using Market Research to Build Audiences with an Appetite for Risk
Thursday, September 20, 2018, 2:00-3:00pm ET
While performances of The Nutcracker and A Christmas Carol perennially sell-out, arts organizations aren’t always able to bring those audiences back for riskier work. Yet audience-building efforts don’t often challenge the assumptions driving that attendance gap. Adventure or Uncertainty reassembles a panel of cross-disciplinary Wallace Foundation grantees to discuss how market research transformed their ideas about adventurous audiences, risky programming, and the barriers of uncertainty. Featuring speakers from Ballet Austin, Goodman Theatre, and University Musical Society,
Register Here
From Awareness to Action: TCG’s Webinar Series on Sexual Abuse & Misconduct in Theatre
This three-part webinar series from TCG’s Conferences and Fieldwide Learning team will address strategies to disrupt and dismantle systems of inequity in our field that allow sexual violence and misconduct to flourish, and will inspire action toward improving organizational cultures and creating a “new normal” for the theatre field.
The First Step: Disrupting Sexual Misconduct through Guidelines, Policy, and Reporting
Thursday, April 5, 2018, 2:00-3:30pm ET
When it comes to creating safe and healthy workplaces, preparedness and transparency are key. This session will dive into creating (and improving) organizational sexual harassment policies; knowing your rights and options as an individual artist or theatre staffer, and your responsibilities and liabilities as a manager; and exploring new models of redress and accountability, like community-wide agreements that encourage appropriate behavior in the rehearsal room and the office. Creating the field we envision in the “post-Weinstein era” starts with making clear what will and won’t be accepted in a professional theatre setting, and giving your colleagues the resources to report transgressions when they arise -- free from retribution or consequence. Whether you are a managing leader at a regional theatre, or an individual artist who spends time in theatres around the nation, we encourage you to join us for this vibrant and essential discussion.
This session will feature brief presentations from Laura T. Fisher (co-founder of the Chicago Theatre Standards), Tammy Cho (co-founder of Better Brave), and Burton J. Fishman (Senior Counsel, Fortney & Scott, LLC), each followed by a Q&A.
Register Here
It's On Us: Dismantling Systems of Discrimination and Misconduct through Consistent and Effective Training
Thursday, April 26, 2:00-3:30pm ET
Your theatre has a clear and up-to-date sexual harassment policy -- now what? Upholding your values with respect to sexual misconduct means addressing these issues with staff and artists on a regular basis. In December 2017, the New York Times reported that in many cases, typical sexual harassment training just wasn’t enough: “Training is essential but not enough, researchers say. To actually prevent harassment, companies need to create a culture in which women are treated as equals and employees treat one another with respect.”Other options like Bystander Intevention Training; Corporate Civility Training; and Compliance Training have gained more traction; in this discussion, we’ll offer examples of a few culture-focused trainings that go beyond the basics. Representatives specializing in various training methods will explain their process, and will respond to questions about the pros and cons of each.
Featuring representatives from various Sexual Harassment, Compliance, and Civility Training organizations including Akia Squitieri of Creating Safe Spaces. Speaker names will be announced as they are confirmed.
Register Here
The Big Picture: Creating and Fostering Organizational Cultures that are Safe, Equitable, and Productive
Thursday, May 17, 2:00-3:30pm ET
As we become more attuned to the urgent need to disrupt and dismantle systemic sexual abuse and misconduct, how can we take advantage of this moment of transition to create a lasting culture shift at the organizational and field-wide levels? This session will explore the deeper organizational assessment that needs to happen to sustain change.
This session will be led by Stephanie Ybarra of New York’s The Public Theater, and will include other speakers to be announced.
Register Here
Learning from our UK Peers: Earned revenue case studies in pricing, retention, and efficiency
Thursday, April 12, 2018 2:00-3:00pm ET
Presented by 
With declining public support for the arts and little history of individual philanthropy, UK theatres have turned to earned revenue strategies to sustain their organizations. So, what can TCG members learn from our peer organizations in the UK? Join us for a panel discussion with UK theatre leaders who will share case studies on how they built resilience and earned revenue through smart pricing, digital strategy, and, most importantly, great customer retention. This session will continue the conversation begun at Spektrix’s popular Fall Forum session ‘Towards a Sustainable Theatre Model’ (featuring representatives from TCG Member Theatres, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival and Actor’s Express).
Register Here