TCG Announces New Officers For Board Of Directors

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, has announced new trustees and an updated list of officers for its board of directors. Joining the board are: Jennifer Bielstein (she/her), executive director, American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco, CA; Qween Jean (she/her), costume designer and founder, Black Trans Liberation, New York, NY; and Clint Ramos (he/him), designer and producing creative director, Encores!, New York, NY. Additionally, TCG has evolved its governance ecology as part of its new strategic plan to model new ways of sharing power at the board level. In the place of a single board structure, TCG will be governed by a Viability Board, working alongside Task Forces in four priority areas: Next Generation, Breaking Barriers, Global Connectivity, and Capitalization.

Nikkole Salter (she/her), actress, playwright, educator, and arts advocate, Bloomfield, NJ, will remain as chair of the Viability Board through FY22023 on a slate that includes two returning vice-chairs: Eileen J. Morris (she/her), artistic director;The Ensemble Theatre, Houston, TX, and John Fontillas (he/him), planner, architect, partner; H3, New York, NY. They are joined by new vice-chair Hana S. Sharif (she/her), artistic director; Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, St. Louis, MO. Remaining as treasurer and secretary respectively are Angela Lee Gieras (she/her), executive director; Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Kansas City, MO and Lisa Portes (she/her), head of directing; The Theatre School at DePaul University, Chicago, IL.

"We're thrilled to welcome Jennifer, Qween, and Clint to the TCG board at this critical moment of reopening and reimagining our field," said Teresa Eyring, executive director, TCG. "They join a dynamic group of trustees, led by Nikkole Salter as chair, who are working with TCG's staff and the field to advance our renewed mission: to lead for a just and thriving theatre ecology. They'll work alongside TCG's new governance Task Forces, modeling a more expansive and inclusive approach to governance."

Returning Viability Board members include: May Adrales (she/her), theatre director, New York, NY; Raymond Bobgan (he/they), executive artistic director, Cleveland Public Theatre, Cleveland, OH; Ralph Bryan (he/him), managing director-Investments, Bryan-Billauer-Kozo Wealth Management Group of Wells Fargo Advisors, La Jolla, CA; Jeremy B. Cohen (he/him), producing artistic director, Playwrights' Center, Minneapolis, MN; Will Davis (he/him), associate professor of directing, Carnegie Mellon School of Drama, Pittsburgh, PA; Kelvin Dinkins Jr. (he/him), executive director, American Repertory Theater, Cambridge, MA; Teresa Eyring (she/her), executive director, Theatre Communications Group, New York, NY; John Fontillas (he/him), planner, architect, partner, H3, New York, NY; Cynthia Fuhrman (she/her), vice president, executive search, Tom O'Connor, Consulting Group, Portland, OR; Nataki Garrett (she/her), artistic director, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland, OR; Hanay Geiogamah (he/him), professor of theater/professor of American Indian Studies, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, UCLA American Indian Studies University of California at Los Angeles and artistic director, The American Indian Dance Theater, Los Angeles, CA; Angela Lee Gieras (she/her), executive director, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Kansas City, MO; Jamie Herlich McIalwain (she/her), managing director, ZACH Theater, Austin, TX; Merrique Jenson (she/her), director of SocialScope Productions, Director of Transformations Youth Organization, Kansas City, MO; Laurie McCants (she/her), co-founder, Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble, Bloomsburg, PA; Eileen J. Morris (she/her), artistic director, The Ensemble Theatre, Houston, TX; Lisa Portes (she/her), head of directing, The Theatre School at DePaul University, Chicago, IL; Ellen Richard (she/her), independent artist, Laguna Beach, CA; Anthony Rodriguez (he/him), co-founder, Aurora Theatre, Lawrenceville, GA; Nikkole Salter (she/her), Chair of the Department of Theatre Arts within Howard University's Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts, Washington, D.C.; Hana S. Sharif (she/her), artistic director, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, St. Louis, MO; and Harold Steward (they/he), executive director and cultural strategist, The Theater Offensive, Boston, MA.

TCG's Task Forces include:

The Capitalization Task Force identifies sources, develops strategies, leverage relationships, and individually and collectively advocates in securing funding for TCG in diverse corporate, government, and high-net individual investments. The Capitalization Task Force is co-chaired by Harold Steward and Jamie Herlich Mclalwain, is supported by TCG staff Lisa Patterson and LaTeshia Ellerson, and will be adding additional members in the near future.

The Global Connectivity Task Force identifies, leverages personal, and bridges new relationships with theatre ecology influencers and supporters beyond the United States to expand and deepen TCG's leadership and impact towards a just and thriving global theatre ecology. The Global Connectivity Task Force includes Anthony Rodriguez, Laurie McCants, Raymond Bobgan, Derek Goldman, Mara Isaacs, Monica Risi, Lloyd Nyikadzino, Joanne Seelig Lamparter, Dr. Nabil Bahgat Ahmed, and Howard Shalwitz, and is supported by TCG staff Big Kongseng and Omar Mardini.

The Breaking Barriers Task Force seeks to identify systemic, structural, cultural, or narrative barriers to creating a just and thriving theatre ecology; aggregate learnings, case studies, oppositional positions, and a mapping of the key positions, practices, or beliefs that either advance or recede a just and thriving environment; develop strategic recommendations to TCG as to how it can enhance its leadership; and serve as an accountability partner to the staff in measuring progress towards mission objectives. The Breaking Barriers Task Force is co-chaired by Hana Sharif and Reggie White; is supported by TCG staff Elena Chang, Devon Berkshire, and Omar Mardini; and includes Nikkole Salter, Rhonda Wilson, Meredith Suttles, Marya Sea Kaminski, and Marcela Lorca.

The Next Generation Task Force develops and recommends communications, engagement, and retention strategies directed at next generation theatre makers, practitioners, administrators, and lovers, with a specific focus on young makers in the university theatre community and community-based creativity programs and mid-career individuals. The Next Generation Task Force includes Hanay Geiogamah, Nataki Garrett, John Fontillas, Merrique Jenson, Will Davis, Jackson Cooper, Deonte Griffin-Quick, Abigail Vega, Justin Lucero, Mackenzie Duan, Brandall Jones, Evan Aanerud, and Annaleise Loxton; and is supported by TCG Staff Omar Mardini, Emilya Cachapero, and Lisa Purrone.

Members of TCG's board serve up to three two-year terms. Board officers serve terms of one-year, renewable, and concurrent with the fiscal year of July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023. The current board will focus efforts on enacting TCG's recently approved strategic plan, which includes a transformational new vision for a governance ecology to support TCG's mission "to lead for a just and thriving theatre ecology." Learn more about the TCG Board here: https://circle.tcg.org/about/tcg-board.

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, leads for a just and thriving theatre ecology. Since its founding in 1961, TCG's constituency has grown from a handful of groundbreaking theatres to over 700 Member Theatres and affiliate organizations and over 7,000 Individual Members. Through its programs and services, TCG reaches over one million students, audience members, and theatre professionals each year. TCG offers networking and knowledge-building opportunities through research, communications, and events, including the annual TCG National Conference, one of the largest nationwide gatherings of theatre people; awards grants and scholarships to theatre companies and individual artists; advocates on the federal level; and through the Global Theater Initiative, TCG's partnership with the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, serves as the U.S. Center of the International Theatre Institute. TCG is North America's largest independent trade publisher of dramatic literature, with 19 Pulitzer Prizes for Drama on the TCG booklist. It also publishes the award-winning American Theatre magazine and ARTSEARCH, the essential source for a career in the arts. TCG believes its vision of "a better world for theatre, and a better world because of theatre" can be achieved through individual and collective action, adaptive and responsive leadership, and equitable representation in all areas of practice. TCG is led by executive director and CEO Teresa Eyring. tcg.org

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