TCG government director Teresa Eyring on the TCG18 closing plenary. (Picture by Jenny Graham for Theatre Communications Group)
Simply earlier than I started as TCG’s government director in 2007, I used to be engaged on my very first American Theatre column, by which I mirrored on leaving a spot I’d been for a very long time—and particularly, what would I do with the containers and containers of theatre applications within the basement? Shifting from a small home in Minneapolis to a tiny New York house meant downsizing; it additionally evoked a number of reminiscences of my experiences as a part of that tremendous theatre scene. I despatched a draft to Minnesota-based playwright Jeffrey Hatcher to get his suggestions. He wrote again to me: “I wouldn’t change a phrase.” Phew! Column submitted.
One other Twin Citian and pricey good friend, Dipankar Mukherjee, had some clear recommendation on a unique entrance. He mentioned: “While you get to TCG, that you must intention for transformation within the area. And it’s extra than simply ‘altering the font measurement.’”
Once I take into consideration these almost 17 years on the helm, I discover myself reflecting in a full-circle house. In 2007, the U.S. economic system was inching towards a crash that will have an effect on theatres deeply, and power them to make selections they’d by no means made earlier than. We spent a superb period of time collectively contemplating potential impacts, asking questions, and sharing what we had been studying. The angle of some thought leaders was that we’d see a decimation of the theatre area altogether—that there would solely be some left standing. Fortunately, that didn’t occur.
On the similar time, there have been some alternatives. Expertise was quickly advancing: Fb had not too long ago opened to the general public, Twitter had emerged, Kindle and smartphones had been gaining floor. Netflix was additionally effectively on its manner from being a DVD mailing service to turning into an authentic content material creator and streamer. TCG hosted a number of convention requires theatre people to learn to entry these platforms and use them for communications, advertising, and extra. We had been early adopters as a area, and lots of theatres had been in a position to keep afloat by way of inexpensive, simpler communications with their audiences and different stakeholders.
TCG was additionally a part of coalitions to get the humanities included within the American Restoration and Reinvestment (ARRA) Act of 2009, and $50 million was awarded through the NEA for “shovel prepared” initiatives that might assist kickstart the economic system. Shovel prepared meant actions that might start instantly for financial affect, particularly job creation/preservation.
By the 2011 TCG Nationwide Convention in L.A., issues had been beginning to really feel extra steady once more. There was even a way of optimism that impressed us to theme our convention “What If?…” and to name for a sequence of “Whatifestos.” Larissa FastHorse supplied hers: “What if…being a Native American feminine playwright had been now not unique?” Kristin Shumaker queried: What if…neuroscience in theatre turned a useful gizmo as a substitute of a novelty?” Jacob Padrón proposed: “What if…the theatre area sought transformation?” And there have been many extra. (I extremely advocate looking for out these speeches on Vimeo.)
That very same yr, the board, management, and employees of TCG entered a strategic planning course of by which we named fairness, range, and inclusion as a core precedence. The particular applications and actions that got here within the early years of that plan helped transfer the needle towards addressing structural racism and deliberately advancing higher fairness, together with the EDI Institute, the Legacy Leaders of Colour Video Mission, the SPARK program, and the Younger Leaders of Colour (since revised to Rising Leaders of Colour). A decade later in 2021, we revised our mission to “to guide for a simply and thriving theatre ecology.”
As I put together to go away TCG, we’re in an much more difficult interval of change. Theatre and its individuals are experiencing an unsteady return within the post-pandemic-lockdown world. Expertise, social media, and now AI have exploded, providing new alternatives in addition to extra competitors for individuals’s time and a spotlight.
Nonetheless, our artwork kind continues to be differentiated by its aliveness. And it looks like a wonderful time to ask that query once more. What if…?
It’s additionally a time to welcome a brand new era of management. That is my final column for American Theatre as TCG’s ED/CEO. I’m taking a sabbatical earlier than my departure from TCG on the finish of June. I’m excited by the announcement of Karena Fiorenza as interim CEO and LaTeshia Ellerson as interim Chief Development Officer. You may be listening to from them!
I need to thanks all for being a outstanding community of visionary theatremakers, dreamers, and supporters. You might be magnificent in your creativity, your resilience, and your dedication to the communities you serve.
Bringing all of it full circle, I shared this column with Jeffrey Hatcher earlier than presstime. He responded instantly with: “I wouldn’t change a phrase. However I’d enable your self a bow.”
I’ll see you on the Nationwide Convention in June!
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