Arena Stage and Georgetown University to Present Symposium Series, Begins with DEFINING DIVERSITY Dec. 4 to 6

Arena Stage, in partnership with Georgetown University's Theatre and Performance Studies Program, presents a series of symposiums with industry leaders to discuss issues currently affecting American theater and the development of new works. Each will feature both a private meeting of theater professionals and a public presentation. These symposiums are part of Arena's AVNPI and will be hosted on the Georgetown campus.

The 2009-2010 American Voices New Play Institute's Symposiums are as follows:

Defining Diversity - December 4-6, 2009
This symposium will seek to address the role diversity in the theater. It will feature an open panel discussion and a video screenings featuring a work-in-progress film by Robert Levi that highlights the role of diversity in the first round of selections in the NEA New Play Development Program hosted by Arena Stage.

Black American Playwrights - January 15-17, 2010
Leading black playwrights will convene to discuss the issues affecting their work and their current role in the canon of American Theater. The public will be invited to hear playwrights read excerpts from their work, and hold a Q&A session.

Theater Outside the Box - February 19-21, 2010
This conversation will investigate the unique challenges facing ensemble-driven, devised, and interdisciplinary theater. The weekend will culminate with a public lecture-demo of ensemble and devised performance techniques.

For more information, visit performingarts.georgetown.edu.

The Georgetown Theater & Performance Studies Program integrates creative and critical inquiry, emphasizing artistic excellence, interdisciplinary learning, socially-engaged performance, and the spirit of collaboration. Now offering a dynamic major in Theater & Performance Studies, the Program features a nationally recognized faculty, including a number of the field's leading scholar/artists, and many of the region's leading professional theater practitioners. One of the country's only undergraduate programs in Theater and Performance Studies, the fast-growing program has rapidly attracted significant national attention for its distinctive curriculum, reflecting the political and international character of Georgetown, as well as for its commitment to social justice, and its high-quality, cutting-edge student production seasons.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Molly Smith and Managing Director Edgar Dobie, Washington, D.C.-based Arena Stage has become the largest theater in the country dedicated to American plays and playwrights. Founded in1950 by Zelda Fichandler, Thomas Fichandler and Edward Mangum, Arena Stage was one of the nation's original resident theaters and has a distinguished record of leadership and innovation in the field. With the opening of the new Mead Center for American Theater in 2010, Arena Stage will be a leading center for the production, presentation, development and study of American theater. Now in its sixth decade, Arena Stage serves a diverse annual audience of more than 200,000. For more information please visit www.arenastage.org.

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