TCG Kicks Off 50th Anniversary Celebration At Nat'l Conference In LA

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, will kick off its 50th Anniversary at its National Conference in Los Angeles, June 16-18, 2011. The TCG National Conference offers the largest forum for the National Theatre community to assemble and engage in artistic and intellectual exchange. Not-for-profit professional theatres in the U.S. employ 130,000 people annually, have more than 30 million attendees and contribute nearly $2 billion directly to the U.S. economy.

The primary conference host is the LA Stage Alliance, which won a competitive bid to hold the convening in L.A. for the first time. The multi-day event will draw 1,000 theater professionals from around the world, including artistic and managing leaders from non-profit theatres, directors, designers, actors, playwrights, presenters, teaching artists, university faculty, students and theatre funders.

"Since TCG's founding in 1961, the theatre community has grown from a handful of resident theatres to become vast in both numbers and diversity," said Teresa Eyring, executive director of TCG. "Theatre is a force in America. Increasingly, our National Theatre movement is expanding globally. Thus, we are even more thrilled to cast the national spotlight on the dynamic theatre community in Los Angeles and celebrate all we have achieved together."

At this historic conference and throughout the 50th anniversary year, TCG along with the theatre community will explore past achievements, current challenges - and imagine the field of the next 50 years by making visible progress today.

"Together, we will begin to chart the future of the theatre field by asking the question, ‘What if...?'," said Eyring. "This simple question has been a fundamental catalyst for the human investigation of new ideas, stories, models and constructs-from the zany to the conventional. We hope it will inspire our community to imagine an exciting and energized Theatre World for the next 50 years."

Conference events will be concentrated in facilities centrally located in Downtown Los Angeles, along the Grand Avenue corridor, from the historic Millennium Biltmore Hotel to the Visual and Performing Arts High School (CLAHS #9)-representing TCG's commitment to education and future generations of theatre practitioners.

In conjunction with the conference, TCG has collaborated with the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, Center Theatre Group, LA Stage Alliance, REDCAT, The Under the Radar Office at New York's Public Theater and the Los Angeles Theatre Center, to present the international festival of Contemporary Theatre - RADAR LA from June 14 to 26. TCG conference attendees have the opportunity to participate in a professional development pre-conference symposium on integrating presenting opportunities into theatre business and artistic models - and will be exposed to new and contemporary theatrical expressions from L.A. and around the globe. For more information about RADAR L.A., visit: http://www.redcat.org/event/radar-la-festival. TCG will also partner with the Consortium of Asian American Theater Artists, whose festival takes place in Los Angeles from June 16 to 26. For more information on the Consortium of Asian American Theater Artists, visit: http://www.caata.net.

Registration for the national conference is now available. For conference details and to register, please visit: www.tcg.org/conference.

Board Committee:
Diane Rodriguez, Director of New Play Development, Center Theatre Group (co-chair)
Kate Warner, Artistic Director, New Repertory Theatre (co-chair)
Doug Brown, President and CEO, Cambridge Homes, Inc.
Lydia Diamond, Playwright
Jennifer L. Nelson, Director of Special Projects, Ford's Theatre
Mark Valdez, National Coordinator, Network of Ensemble Theatres
Clyde Valentin, Executive Director, Hip-Hop Theater Festival
Angel Ysaguirre, Director of Global Community Investing, The Boeing Company

Host Committee:
Guillermo Avilez-Rodriguez, Artistic Director, Watts Village Theatre Company
Michael Barker, Managing Director, The Antaeus Company
Dan Berkowitz, Co-Chair, Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights
Wren Brown, Executive Director, Ebony Repertory Theatre
Gilles Chaisson, Producing Director, Reprise Theatre Company
Caroline Chang, Production Coordinator, Native Voices at the Autry
Marissa Chibas, Faculty, Cal Arts
Douglas Clayton, Programs Director, LA Stage Alliance
David Elzer, Freelance Producer
Allison De La Cruz, Associate, East West Players
caryn desai, Managing Director, International City Theatre
Elizabeth Doran, Managing Director, Actors' Gang
Jon Dorf, Co-Chair, Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights
John Gallogly, Artistic Director, Theatre West
Paul Graham, Producing Director, Latino Theatre Company
Laura Hill, Managing Director, Deaf West Theatre
Eric Imley, Managing Director, California Repertory Theatre
Brian Kite, Producing Artistic Director, La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts
David Mack, Managing Director, Watts Village Theatre Company
Terence McFarland, Executive Director, LA Stage Alliance
Lori Monnier, General Manager, South Coast Reparatory
Michael Nelson Marketing Director, LA Theatre Works
Julie Nguyen, ExperienceLA
Oanh Nguyen, Artistic Director, The Chance Theatre
Ken Novice, Managing Director, Geffen Playhouse
Allison Rawlings, Communications Director, Geffen Playhouse
Cathy Reinking, Casting Director, LA Theatre Works
Diane Rodriguez, Associate Producer of New Play Development, Center Theatre Group; Board Member, TCG
Julia Rodriguez-Elliot, Co-Artistic Director, A Noise Within
Camille Schenkkan, Arts for LA & Emerging Arts Leaders
Jean Bruce Scott, Co-Producing Artistic Director, Native Voices at the Autry
Michael Seel, Executive Director, The Theatre @ Boston Court
Samantha Starr, Education Director, A Noise Within
Trent Steelman, Executive Director, The Colony Theatre Company
Charity Tran, ExperienceLA
Marilyn Tukoda, Arts Education Director, East West Players
Jose Luis Valenzuela, Artistic Director, Latino Theatre Company
Sibyl Wickersheimer, Freelance Designer
Karen Wood, Managing Director, Laguna Playhouse
Laurie Woolery, Associate Artistic Director, Cornerstone Theatre
Diana Wyenn, Marketing Director, REDCAT

For 50 years, Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre, has existed to strengthen, nurture and promote the professional not-for-profit American theatre. Founded in 1961, 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; grants approximately $2 million per year to theatre companies and individual artists; advocates on the federal level and serves as the US Center of the InterNational Theatre Institute, connecting its constituents to the global theatre community.

TCG is the nation's largest independent publisher of dramatic literature, with 11 Pulitzer Prizes for Best Play on our 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.

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