Arena Stage Hosts Theater Beyond Twitter, a Discussion 11/19

Arena Stage has announced Theater Beyond Twitter: A Moderated Discussion Between Peter Marks and Howard Sherman in the Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle at the Mead Center for American Theater, November 19 at 5:00 p.m. EST. Following one of their frequent, unprompted Twitter debates, Howard Sherman, the former executive director of the American Theatre Wing and noted arts management consultant, proposed to The Washington Post theater critic Peter Marks that they should expand their spirited 140-word count exchanges to a live, in-person discussion. Arena Stage offered to host the event, which will also be livestreamed to the web via #NEWPLAY TV at Livestream.com/newplay.

Some of the topics to be addressed include the significance of a resident theater staying on mission, the value of audience enrichment events in tandem with productions, the pros and cons of celebrity casting, the nature of theatrical awards, the impact of social media on arts journalism and the role of the press in a theater's marketing and public outreach.

The conclusion of the discussion will feature a Q&A with the audience. Online participants watching on #NEWPLAY TV are also encouraged to tweet their questions during the event using #newplay.

To tune in online, go to Livestream.com/newplay November 19 from 5:00 to 6:15 p.m. EST. The filmed conversation will also stay posted online in the "latest videos" section. #NEWPLAY TV is a collective media outlet for live events and performances relevant to the new play sector in American theater. It is an open access network operated for the field through the American Voices New Play Institute at Arena Stage. For more information regarding the Institute visit arenastage.org/new-play-institute.

Peter Marks is the theater critic for The Washington Post. Prior to joining the Post in 2002, he worked for a decade at The New York Times, where he served as the Off-Broadway drama critic. At The Times, he also worked as a theater reporter and covered the national news media in the 2000 presidential campaign. He previously was a reporter for the Bergen Record and Newsday, where he was on a team of reporters that shared a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of a New York subway accident. A graduate of Yale, he has also taught in the theater department and the honors program at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Follow him on twitter @petermarksdrama.

Howard Sherman is an arts management consultant with a particular focus on communications, marketing and branding. This follows his eight-year tenure as executive director of the American Theatre Wing, where his many responsibilities included serving as executive producer and occasional moderator of the television program Working in the Theatre; creating and hosting the audio program Downstage Center; and serving on the Tony Awards Management and Administration committees. Immediately prior to joining ATW, he spent three years as executive director of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Conn., overseeing the Center's educational and developmental programs. Sherman was managing director of Geva Theater in Rochester; general manager of Goodspeed Musicals; and public relations director of Hartford Stage. He blogs at 2amtheatre.com and tweets as @hesherman.

TICKETS: Tickets for Theater Beyond Twitter are $10, plus applicable fees. Tickets may be purchased online at www.arenastage.org, by phone at 202-488-3300 or at the Sales Office at 1101 Sixth St., SW, D.C.

METRO: Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater is only one block from the Waterfront-SEU Metro station (Green Line). When exiting the station, walk west on M Street toward Sixth Street, and the main entrance to the Mead Center is on the right.

PARKING: Parking is available in Arena Stage's on-site garage. Subscribers may purchase parking in advance for $15. Single ticket buyers may purchase parking in advance for $18 or on the day of the performance for $20 on a first-come, first-served basis. Limited handicapped parking is available by reservation. The entrance to the Mead Center garage is on Maine Avenue between Sixth and Seventh streets. Patrons can also park at the Public Parking Garage at 1101 Fourth Street, one block from the Mead Center, for $11. Street parking is also available along Maine Avenue and Water Street.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater is a national center dedicated to the production, presentation, development and study of American theater. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Molly Smith and Managing Director Edgar Dobie, Arena Stage is the largest company in the country dedicated to American plays and playwrights. Arena Stage produces huge plays of all that is passionate, exuberant, profound, deep and dangerous in the American spirit, and presents diverse and ground-breaking work from some of the best artists around the country. Arena Stage is committed to commissioning and developing new plays through the American Voices New Play Institute. Now in its sixth decade, Arena Stage serves a diverse annual audience of more than 300,000. www.arenastage.org

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