Steppenwolf's Lavey Named New TCG Board President

Theatre Communications Group (TCG) is pleased to announce its new board of directors' leadership team and new members. Martha Lavey, artistic director of Steppenwolf Theatre Company, will assume the position of board president. She will be joined by James Bundy, artistic director, Yale Repertory Theatre, as co-vice president; Dawn Chiang, designer, as co-vice president; Paul Nicholson, executive director, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, as treasurer; Olga Sanchez, artistic director, Miracle Theatre Group, as secretary; and Rosalba Rolón, artistic director, Pregones Theater, as InterNational Theatre Institute (ITI) president.

"TCG's board represents a wide range of theatre professionals from across the United States," said Teresa Eyring, TCG's executive director. "It's an extraordinary and visionary group that is helping us keep our finger on the pulse of the field and provide clear and timely decisions."

Theatre Communications Group's mission is to strengthen, nurture and promote the professional, not-for-profit American theatre. Its membership includes nearly 700 member theatres and affiliate organizations, and over 14,000 individuals nationwide. Founded in 1961, TCG offers industry-leading initiatives in artistic and management programs, as well as international exchange and advocacy. Its many publications offer a national resource for reference, opinion and debate on theatre and the performing arts today.

"It's an honor to serve on the board of TCG," said incoming board president Martha Lavey. "Under the astute leadership of Teresa Eyring, along with the knowledgeable and passionate staff, TCG is committed to providing dynamic leadership to the field. I know I speak for all of us serving on the TCG board when I say it is a privilege to be a part of this conversation."

New to the TCG board are Sean San Jose, program director, Intersection for the Arts, San Francisco, CA; Roche Schulfer, executive director, Goodman Theatre, Chicago, IL; Megan Wanlass Szalla, executive director, Siti Company, New York, NY; Mark Valdez, national coordinator, Network of Ensemble Theatres, Los Angeles, CA; and Morgan Jenness, creative consultant, Abrams Artists Agency, New York, NY.

Returning board of directors members are Susan V. Booth, artistic director, ALLIANCE THEATRE Company, Atlanta; Peter C. Brosius, artistic director, The Children's Theatre Company, Minneapolis; Carlyle Brown, artistic director, Carlyle Brown & Company, Minneapolis; Doug Brown, trustee, Steppenwolf Theatre Company; Mark Cuddy, artistic director, Geva Theatre Center, Rochester, NY; Lydia Diamond, playwright; Teresa Eyring, executive director, Theatre Communications Group; Andrew Hamingson, executive director, The Public Theater, NY; Philip Himberg, producing artistic director, Sundance Institute Theatre Program; Robert Hupp, producing artistic director, Arkansas Repertory Theatre; Rachel Kraft, executive director,Lookingglass Theatre Company, Chicago; Marc Masterson, artistic director, Actors Theatre of Louisville; Jennifer L. Nelson, director; Diane Rodriguez, director of new play development, Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles; Michael Ross, managing director, Westport Country Playhouse; Bartlett Sher, Artistic Director, Intiman Theatre, Seattle; Mark Shugoll, CEO, Shugoll Research, Washington, D.C.; Molly Smith, artistic director, Arena Stage; Susan Trapnell, senior consultant, Arts Consulting Group, Seattle; Shay Wafer, vice president of programs, August Wilson Center for African American Culture, Pittsburgh; Kate Warner, artistic director, New Repertory Theatre, Watertown, MA; Jeffrey Woodward, managing director, Syracuse Stage; Angel Ysaguirre, The Boeing Company.

TCG is dedicated to creating a board of directors that represents aesthetic, cultural and geographic diversity. TCG's four areas of focus are networking and knowledge building; resources for leadership development; advocacy, international impact and audience development; and publishing.

TCG's 2009 Board of Directors Leadership Bios

Martha Lavey (president) has been the artistic director and ensemble member of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company since 1993. While leading one of the most acclaimed theatre companies in the world, Lavey turns in heartbreakingly honest work in such Steppenwolf productions as Lost Land, The Memory of Water and I Never Sang for My Father. She holds a doctorate in Performance Studies from Northwestern University.

James Bundy (vice-president) is in his seventh year as Dean of Yale School of Drama and Artistic Director of Yale Repertory Theatre. In his first six seasons, Yale Rep has produced more than twenty world, American, and regional premieres, three of which have been honored by the Connecticut Critics Circle with the award for Best Production of the year, and two of which have been Pulitzer Prize finalists. He was a recipient of the Connecticut Critics Circle's Tom Killen Award for extraordinary contributions to Connecticut professional theatre in 2007. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Yale School of Drama.

Dawn Chiang (vice-president) has designed the lighting for numerous regional theatres, Off-Broadway and Broadway, including the original production of La Cage Aux Folles . Chiang was resident lighting designer for New York City Opera and for the award winning FDNY Fire Zone at Rockefeller Center in New York. At the Whitney Museum of American Art, she created a lighting performance piece, delights: Art on 5 Outlets . She authored the operation manual for one of the first major computer lighting control consoles, the Strand Light Palette 1. Awards include two Dramalogue awards, an American Theatre Wing nomination, a Los Angeles Drama Critics' nomination and a THEA Award (Themed Entertainment Association).

Paul Nicholson (treasurer) has been executive director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival since 1995, having spent the prior 16 years as the Festival's general manager. A native New Zealander, Mr. Nicholson served for six years as the administrative director of Downstage Theatre, New Zealand's largest and longest-established professional theatre. He was a founding faculty member of the Western Arts Management Institute and since 1984 has been an adjunct professor at Southern Oregon University. He has also served on a number of panels for TCG and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Olga Sanchez (secretary) serves as artistic director for the Miracle Theatre Group's Miracle MainStage and Bellas Artes companies in Portland, OR. Sanchez is an actor, director, writer and artist-educator, originally from New York City, where received her BA in Theatre from Hunter College and served as a co-artistic director of the People's Playhouse. In Seattle, she served as a founder and the artistic director of Seattle Teatro Latino. Olga holds an M.A. in Human Development from Pacific Oaks College NW, with specialization in Bicultural Development.

Rosalba Rolón (ITI President) is artistic director of Pregones Theater in Bronx, NY. A seasoned performer, dramaturg, and stage director, she is known for nurturing the development of a distinctly Latino musical theater. Recent credits include El Apagón/The Blackout, El último rosario de Medea (starring Lupita Ferrer), Betsy (with Roadside Theater), and The Beep. She is recipient of a 2006 Ford Visionaries Fellowship and is now working on an international arts project that links seven countries.

For more information, visit www.tcg.org.