Theatre Communications Group Has Announced the Co-Chairs of 2020 GALA: OUR STORIES

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, has shared the co-chair and host committee list of the 2020 TCG Gala: Our Stories, which will be held on Monday, February 3, 2020 at The Edison Ballroom, 240 W 47th St, New York, NY 10036. The Gala will honor the National Black Theatre Festival, David Henry Hwang, and TCG's arts advocacy at the federal level.

The list of co-chairs and host committee members, most of whom will be in attendance, includes: Stephen C. Byrd, Chair; Oskar Eustis, Chair; Alia Jones-Harvey, Chair; Rick Miramontez, Chair; May Adrales; Jackie Alexander; Asian American Arts Alliance; André De Shields; Snehal Desai; Michael Dinwiddie and Vincent Parham; Kamilah Forbes; GFP Real Estate; Nambi E. Kelley; James Lapine; Sade Lythcott, Jonathan McCrory, Brian Stokes Mitchell; Dominique Morisseau; Lynn Nottage; Disney Theatrical Productions; Leigh Silverman; Sylvia Sprinkle-Hamlin; Julie Taymor; and Jeanine Tesori.

A 6:00pm cocktail reception will be followed by a 7:00pm seated dinner, with entertainment beginning at 7:20pm. Additional speakers and programming will be announced soon. To learn more about the 2020 TCG Gala, and the programming it supports, visit TCG.org/Events/Gala or email Gala@tcg.org. Please email Corinna Schulenburg at cschulenburg@tcg.org for press reservations. To purchase tickets, go to www.TCGgala.org.

"We're grateful that so many luminaries from the commercial and not-for-profit theatre have lent their support to TCG's Gala" said Teresa Eyring, executive director, TCG. "It's a reminder that when we advocate at the federal level on critical issues such as protecting wireless technology and visas for International Artists, we impact not just not-for-profit theatres, but the sector as a whole."

"I am so grateful to TCG for its commitment to instilling a passion for advocacy among its members, and specifically how it has nurtured that passion in me," said Jonathan Moscone, chief producer, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. "As cultural workers, we have a responsibility to advocate not only for our field, but to use our creative power to advocate for a better world."

TCG is the primary advocate for the not-for-profit professional theatre in the United States. TCG represents the theatre field both in Washington, D.C., and nationally, to provide timely information for theatres and theatre artists on federal legislation, regulations, and other significant government opportunities and issues. TCG focuses its advocacy in five major areas: 1) increased funding for the National Endowment for the Arts; 2) increased funding for arts education within the U.S. Department of Education; 3) favorable tax treatment of not-for-profit arts organizations and charitable contributions; 4) working toward improved cultural exchange by improving visa processing for artists from abroad and increasing funding and 5) White Space - protecting wireless microphones from interference.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL BLACK THEATRE FESTIVAL

The National Black Theatre Festival® (NBTF) is a program of the North Carolina Black Repertory Company (NC Black Rep). Presented every odd numbered year, the festival hosts upwards of 120 performances, attracts upwards of 65,000 visitors to Winston-Salem, and has contributed over $230 million dollars to the Winston-Salem economy since its inception in 1989. Founded in 1979 by Larry Leon Hamlin, NC Black Rep was the first professional Black theatre company in North Carolina. NC Black Rep's mission is to engage, enrich, and entertain with innovative programming that resonates across the community and challenges social perceptions. The Company is universally recognized for its artistic and administrative achievements and its international outreach program, the NBTF.

ABOUT David Henry Hwang

David Henry Hwang's stage work includes the plays M. Butterfly, Chinglish, Yellow Face, Kung Fu, Golden Child, The Dance and the Railroad, and FOB, as well as the Broadway musicals Elton John & Tim Rice's Aida (co-author), Flower Drum Song (2002 revival) and Disney's Tarzan. Hwang is a Tony Award winner and three-time nominee, a three-time Obie Award winner, and a two-time Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He is also the most-produced living American opera librettist, whose works have been honored with two Grammy Awards. He co-wrote the Gold Record Solo with the late pop icon Prince, and worked for four seasons as a Writer/Consulting Producer for the Golden Globe-winning television series "The Affair." Hwang serves on the Board of the Lark Play Development Center, as Head of Playwriting at Columbia University School of the Arts, and as Chair of the American Theatre Wing. M. Butterfly recently returned to Broadway in a revival directed by Julie Taymor, which marked his eighth Broadway production. East West Players has named its mainstage the David Henry Hwang Theatre and recent honors include his 2018 induction into the Theatre Hall of Fame. Hwang was a Residency One playwright from 2012-14 at New York's Signature Theatre. His newest work, Soft Power, a collaboration with composer Jeanine Tesori, premiered in May 2018 at Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles where it won 6 Ovation Awards, including Best New Production, and enjoyed a successful run in Fall 2019 at The Public Theater.

ABOUT TCG'S "OUR STORIES" GALA

TCG's annual Our Stories Gala supports vital programs and services for the theatre community. The 2019 Gala honored arts philanthropist and Chairman Emerita, Ingram Industries Inc. Martha R. Ingram; Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner; and Broadway press agent and President of DKC/O&M Rick Miramontez. The evening's programming, directed by Tony Award-winner Michael Mayer, included special performances from Eva Maria Noblezada and Patrick Page (Hadestown), Ali Stroker (Oklahoma!), Beth Malone, and Nico Muhly. Past honorees at the TCG annual gala-now in its eighth year- include actor Brian Dennehy, director Kenny Leon, playwright Lynn Nottage, actress and playwright Danai Gurira, theatrical producers Stephen C. Byrd and Alia Jones-Harvey, set designer Ming Cho Lee, lighting designer Jules Fisher, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, The Vilcek Foundation, producers Ruth and Stephen Hendel, Judith O. Rubin, and the creators of War Paint (Scott Frankel, Michael Greif, Michael Korie, and Doug Wright).