TCG National Conference 2005

Creating the Future: Theatre in a Polarized World

Seattle, WA

Since 1976, the National Conference has fostered communication within the nation's artistically and geographically diverse theatre field, re-energizing and animating the leadership of America's regional theatres. The 15th TCG National Conference was held in Seattle, WA, from June 16-18 with this year's conference drew 825 theatre professionals making it the largest-ever TCG gathering.

The conference is designed to bring together artistic and managing leaders, trustees, individual artists and other practitioners for two and a half days of presentations and performances, discussions and workshops. The conference represents the best opportunity for many participants to experience a broad cross-section of the field, giving theatre professionals from throughout the country the chance to discuss organizational and artistic issues, evaluate their art form and galvanize their leadership for future collective action

This year four Seattle theatres – ACT Theatre, Intiman Theatre, Seattle Children's Theatre and Seattle Repertory Theatre – hosted the conference, the first to take place in the Pacific Northwest. Creating the Future featured an opening keynote address from Thomas Frank, the celebrated author of What's the Matter with Kansas? A respected cultural critic and author, Frank fired off a progressive battle cry framing debate around the provocative idea of an "us versus them" mentality within the red state/blue state makeup of America and how popular conservatism has eclipsed traditional American progressivism as the ethos of the heartland. Over the span of the conference, attendees continued to engage in lively discussion about the role of the not-for-profit theatre with respect to this debate.

The second day moved from depiction of the present to analysis of longer-term future trends, education, technology, demography and religion. Speakers included Ellen Ullman, a software engineer, tehnocritic and author of Close to the Machine: Technophilia and Its Discontents; George Lakoff, professor of linguistics at the University of California in Berkeley and bestselling author of Don't Think of an Elephant!; and Harlem-based poet and musician Sekou Sundiata. Other highlights of the conference included a motivating "call to advocacy and action" from Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA), and a performance of the deeply felt and socially engaging work of Cornerstone Theater Company.

In addition to plenary speakers and performances, TCG scheduled practical breakout sessions that allowed participants to focus on specific issues, whether artistic, managerial or governance that directly impact them and their theatres. Led by experienced practitioners, breakouts offered a mix of relevant topics and provided the opportunity for participants to call their own impromptu sessions on site, to ensure that no topic of interest goes uncovered. Other conference highlights included the vendor fair, which introduced participants to consultants, goods and services useful to the field; portfolio displays by TCG grant recipients that introduce young professionals to the larger community; and nightly informal gatherings. Seattle marked TCG's first truly annual conference and plans are well under way for the 2006 National Conference to be held in Atlanta, GA, June 8-10, 2006.

Alan Schneider Director Award 2005 Recipient

Director, playwright and solo performer Michael John Garcés was named the 2005 Alan Schneider Director Award recipient. He was nominated by Christopher Burney, Associate Artistic Director of Second Stage Theatre ( New York, NY) and Michael Wilson, Artistic Director of Hartford Stage ( Hartford, CT). Burney acknowledged Garcés as "a consummate director able to organically connect every production element." Wilson commented: "So many directors lean into actor-relationships but lack greater vision with productions; or, conversely, create beautiful architecture and images on stage, while failing to root the psychological and emotional relationships. Michael's seamless facility in accomplishing both is not only rare, but also crucial for a director who spends much of his time working on new plays with some of this country's most influential and provocative writers."

The $10,000 award was presented to Garcés at the 2005 TCG National Conference by Nancy Keystone, the 2003 recipient of the Alan Schneider Director Award.

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2005 TCG Awards

The TCG Awards salute extraordinary contributions to the American not-for-profit theatre community. They have been part of the TCG National Conference since 2001, and were again awarded at the 2005 TCG National Conference in Seattle.

TCG Awards are given in four categories, each recognizing sustained, exemplary service to the field.

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