Our Mission
Theatre Communications Group (TCG) exists to strengthen, nurture, and promote professional theatre in the U.S. and globally. 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 nearly 10,000 Individual Members. Through its Core Values of Activism, Artistry, Diversity, and Global Citizenship, TCG advances a better world for theatre and a better world because of theatre. TCG offers its members 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, approximately $2 million per year, 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 16 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. 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.www.tcg.org.
In 2005, TCG received the Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre in recognition of its impact on the national field. TCG and its Member Theatres are major contributors to the U.S. theatre sector, which is estimated to employ more than 147,000 people, produce over 155,000 performances each year, and contribute over $2.5 billion to the U.S. economy annually. A 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, TCG is led by executive director Teresa Eyring and governed by a national board of directors representing the theatre field.
Our Vision for the Next 50 Years
A better world for theatre. A better world because of theatre.
TCG will become the catalytic center of a network of theatre people building more creative, diverse and civically engaged communities through theatre. Participation in theatre will be widely recognized as a right of every individual, a necessity for every community and a uniting force nationally and internationally.
In an increasingly interconnected, non-hierarchical and resource-stressed world, TCG will be the hub of an interdependent, inclusive and sustainable theatre field. TCG will harness our digital, high-tech future to champion the value of local, high-touch human connection. Our programming and core values will ripple through the primary partnership of our Member Theatres and other partner organizations to empower all theatre people and the communities they serve.
Our Core Values
Artistry
Human beings are inherently creative and are most gratified when they can approach their endeavors with a sense of excellence, skill, and craftsmanship. At TCG, we approach our own day-to-day work with artistry as a value—whether in the editing of a book or in the design of a new leadership program. We believe that the services we offer in support of our mission are fundamentally aimed at nurturing and promoting artistry throughout the theatre community—which will in turn benefit and contribute to society at large.
Diversity
The diversity of the theatre community—combined with its interdependence—makes it strong, healthy and robust. The theatre constituency includes a diverse community of artists, administrators, students, educators, trustees, audiences, volunteers and donors. TCG is committed to supporting the plurality of aesthetic, perspective, race, class, gender, age, mission, as well as organizational size and structure.
Activism
Theatre has the power to shape and challenge ideas, inspire civic engagement, and ultimately change the world. Activism in communities across the nation led to the successful building of a national theatre field, and it is the same sense of activism that allows TCG to fight for effective cultural and economic policies.
Global Citizenship
Members of our national theatre community are citizens of a worldwide theatre community. Our national movement is increasingly a global movement. TCG leads by facilitating cross border relationships among theatre practitioners. We promote international and cultural exchange in order to enhance our art form, while also deepening peace and understanding.