Raymond Bobgan, CPT Executive Artistic Director, Selected Join TCG Board of Directors

Cleveland Public Theatre (CPT) is proud to announce that Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, welcomes Raymond Bobgan, CPT Executive Artistic Director to its prestigious board of directors. Raymond joins five other new members from around the country including Will Davis, artistic director, American Theatre Company, Chicago, IL; Jamie Herlich, director of development, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Seattle, WA; Benita Hofstetter Koman, executive director, The Roy Cockrum Foundation, Reedville, VA; Johamy Morales, education director, Creede Repertory Theatre, Creede, CO; and Randy Reyes, artistic director, Mu Performing Arts, St. Paul, MN.

"I have a deep respect for the individuals on the TCG Board. They have a keen sense of mission and understand the possibilities within theatre, and they're also smart business people who are true leaders in the field. I was immensely honored to be selected to serve alongside them-leaders who are stewarding the strategy for tomorrow's theatre. But it's also about CPT and the recognition of what this organization has accomplished in the last decade," says Raymond Bobgan.

"Each new class of TCG board members brings a wealth of personal and professional perspective to help manifest our vision of a better world for theatre, and a better world because of theatre," said Teresa Eyring, executive director, TCG. "We are committed to building a diverse board, considering a range of factors, including geography, organization size, personal identity, expertise, and job function within the field."

"Now more than ever TCG is essential for the American theatre," said Kevin Moriarty, board chair, TCG. "With TCG's support and inspiration, theatre-makers are coming together to create a culture of greater equity, diversity, and inclusion, advocate for the centrality of theatre in our national dialogue, and cultivate resources to secure a sustainable future for theatres throughout our country and beyond. I'm proud to join with the staff and board of TCG to fulfill its ambitious plans for the future."

Kevin Moriarty , artistic director of Dallas Theater Center, Dallas, TX, returns for his second term as board chair, joining a slate of officers that includes: vice chair Kathryn M. Lipuma, executive director, Writers Theatre, Glencoe, IL; secretary Larissa Fasthorse , playwright and choreographer, Santa Monica, CA; and treasurer Tim Jennings, executive director; The Shaw Festival, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON, Canada. Rebecca Hopkins, managing director of Florida Studio Theatre, returns as the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) liaison.

Returning board members include: Christopher Acebo, associate artistic director, Oregon Shakespeare

Festival, Ashland, OR; Sarah Bellamy, co-artistic director, Penumbra Theatre Company, St Paul, MN; Joseph P. Benincasa, president and CEO, The Actors Fund, New York, NY; Kristen Coury, founder and producing artistic director, Gulfshore Playhouse, Naples, FL; Joshua Dachs, president, Fisher Dachs Associates Theatre Planning and Design, New York, NY; Teresa Eyring, executive director, Theatre Communications Group, New York, NY; Derek Goldman, co-founding director, Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics; Director, Playwright/Adapter, Professor, Georgetown University, Washington, DC; Susan Hilferty, costume and set designer, New York, NY; Marshall Jones III , producing artistic director, Crossroads Theatre Company, New Brunswick, NJ; Max Leventhal , owner's representative, The Woodruff Arts Center, Atlanta, GA; Eileen J. Morris , artistic director, The Ensemble Theatre, Houston, TX; Lisa Portes, director and educator, Chicago, IL; Meghan Pressman, managing director, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Washington, DC; Heather Randall, actor, producer, trustee at New York Theatre Workshop, New York, NY and Los Angeles, CA; Francine T. Reynolds, artistic director; New Stage Theatre, Jackson, MS; Ellen Richard, executive director, Laguna Playhouse, Laguna Beach, CA; Blake Robison, artistic director; Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cincinnati, OH; Eric Rosen, artistic director, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Kansas City, MO; Michael S. Rosenberg, managing director, La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego, CA; Nikkole Salter, actress, playwright, educator, and arts advocate, Bloomfield, NJ; Tim Sanford, artistic director, Playwrights Horizons, New York, NY; John Douglas Thompson, actor, New York, NY; Robert P. Warren, president, The William & Eva Fox Foundation, Bethesda, MD; and Shana C. Waterman, head of television, Universal based, One Race TV, Los Angeles, CA.

Members of TCG's board serve three two-year terms. Board officers serve terms of one-year, concurrent with the fiscal year of July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018. Learn more about the TCG Board here: http://www.tcg.org/about/board.cfm.

ABOUT THEATRE COMMUNICATIONS GROUP

For over 50 years, Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for U.S. theatre, has existed to strengthen, nurture and promote the professional not-for-profit theatre. TCG's constituency has grown from a handful of groundbreaking theatres to nearly 700 member theatres and affiliate organizations and more than 12,000 individuals nationwide. TCG offers its members networking and knowledge-building opportunities through conferences, events, research and communications; awards grants, approximately $2 million per year, to theatre companies and individual artists; advocates on the federal level; and serves as the U.S. Center of the International Theatre Institute, connecting its constituents to the global theatre community. TCG is North America's largest independent publisher of dramatic literature, with 15 Pulitzer Prizes for Best Play on the TCG booklist. It also publishes the award-winning AMERICAN THEATRE magazine and ARTSEARCH, the essential source for a career in the arts. In all of its endeavors, TCG seeks to increase the organizational efficiency of its member theatres, cultivate and celebrate the artistic talent and achievements of the field and promote a larger public understanding of, and appreciation for, the theatre. www.tcg.org.

ABOUT Raymond Bobgan, CPT EXECUTIVE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Raymond Bobgan specializes in working through an ensemble process to create new performances that are bold, multilayered and highly physicaL. Raymond's work has been seen in Romania, Brazil, Denmark, Serbia, Turkey, The United Kingdom and Canada. Under his leadership, CPT has eliminated significant debt, run consistent operating surpluses and completed a $7 million capital campaign. This financial advancement was a result of mission-focused programming including a strong emphasis on supporting new works and local artists, a bold aesthetic vision and CPT's educational and engagement programs. For CPT, Raymond initiated the STEP program, a job training theatre program for low-income teens, Y-Haven Theatre Project which engages homeless men in writing and performing theatre, and Teatro Publico de ClevelanD. Raymond was the first theatre artist to receive a Cleveland Arts Prize in 2014. In 2015 Raymond received Equality Ohio's Ally Award and more recently received the 2017 Governor's Award for the Arts in Ohio. He currently serves on the National New Play Network Executive Committee and The Gordon Square Arts District Cleveland Improvement Corporation Board.