TCG Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Jenni Werner
Director of Programming
212 609-5900 ext. 233

ATLANTA THEATRE COMMUNITY TO HOST
THEATRE COMMUNICATIONS GROUP'S
16TH NATIONAL CONFERENCE

New York, May 2006 - Theatre Communications Group (TCG) is pleased to announce that the 16th TCG National Conference, Building Future Audience, will be hosted this year by the metropolitan Atlanta theatre community.  The national conference will be held at the Woodruff Arts Center, home of the Alliance Theatre, from June 8-10, 2006, with pre-conference programming to begin on the morning of June 8th. 

The 2006 conference will focus specifically on issues of social organizing and connection, building on discussions at last year's conference held in Seattle which examined the widening polarization in American society. Important issues to be discussed: How do theatres connect to the dialogues occurring within the communities they serve?  Can theatres become leaders in organizing and mobilizing their communities?  Given the great diversity of the field, how do theatres embrace and respond to the full diversity of the communities where they live and work?

Conference registration begins on Thursday with daytime activities to include a conference orientation for international guests and first time conference attendees.  Thursday evening provides attendees an opportunity to reconnect through Affinity Group meetings (discussions among like-minded and similar-sized organizations), and the conference kicks into high gear with exciting performances by Free Street Programs from Chicago, Pick Up Performance Company from New York and the Atlanta-based Alternate ROOTS' Uprooted: the Katrina Project, as well as the Opening Night Reception at the High Museum Weiland Pavilion. 

The three-day program offers a provocative mix of plenary and breakout sessions, a menu of performance options and ample time for networking and interaction among theatre professionals.  Plenary speakers include Colin Greer, president of the New World Foundation; Guy Garcia, author of The New Mainstream; Wendy Puriefoy, president of the Public Education Network; and Anne Bogart, artistic director of the SITI Company and the co-author with Tina Landau of The Viewpoints Book: A Practical Guide to Viewpoints and Composition. 

Another highly anticipated session of the conference will be the lunchtime Salon Series, which will feature intimate interviews with theatre community legends Tisa Chang, Peter Culman, Woodie King Jr. and Ed Waterstreet,  pivotal representatives of the Asian-American, regional, African-American and deaf theatre movements, respectively.  Friday and Saturday's programming also features additional performances, including the object theatre of Michael Sommers' Open Eye Figure Theatre from Minneapolis and several late-night performances throughout Atlanta.

The 2006 TCG National Conference is made possible with major support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Nathan Cummings Foundation. TCG would like to thank the greater Atlanta funding community for their generous support: the AEC Trust, the John H. and Wilhelmina D. Harland Charitable Foundation, the Charles Loridans Foundation, the James Starr Moore Memorial Foundation, Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund, Georgia Council for the Arts, Fulton County Arts Council and the City of Atlanta Bureau of Cultural Affairs. TCG also thanks the Atlanta Coalition of Performing Arts and the Woodruff Arts Center for their hospitality and assistance.

TCG is pleased to welcome back Fisher Dachs Associates as the event's Spotlight On sponsor and Schweickert & Company as a participating sponsor.  Sign language interpretation and captioning is made possible, in part, by the Theatre Development Fund.  United Airlines is the official airline of TCG. 

Regionally, thanks go to the Georgia Council for the Arts, Fulton County Arts Council, City of Atlanta Bureau of Cultural Affairs and Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund for supporting participation by regionally based theatres and artists, and the Atlanta Performing Arts Coalition for their assistance.  TCG would also like to express a very special thank you to local Host Committee theatre members Academy Theatre, Actor's Express, Alliance Theatre, Center for Puppetry Arts, Dad's Garage, Gainesville Theatre Alliance, Georgia Shakespeare, Horizon Theatre Company, Out of Hand, PushPush Theater, 7 Stages, Shakespeare Tavern, Synchronicity Performance Group, Theatrical Outfit and Youth Ensemble of Atlanta for their assistance in producing this year's conference.

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Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre, offers a wide array of services in line with its mission: to strengthen, nurture and promote the professional not-for-profit American theatre.  Artistic programs support theatres and theatre artists by awarding $2.7 million in grants annually, and offer career development programs for artists. Management programs provide professional development opportunities for theatre leaders through workshops, conferences, forums and publications, as well as industry research on the finances and practices of the American not-for-profit theatre. Advocacy, conducted in conjunction with the dance, presenting, opera and symphony orchestra fields, includes guiding lobbying efforts and providing theatres with timely alerts about legislative developments. As the country's leading independent press specializing in dramatic literature, TCG's publications include American Theatre magazine, the ArtSEARCH employment bulletin, plays, translations and theatre reference books.  As the U.S. Center of UNESCO's International Theatre Institute, a worldwide network, TCG supports cross-cultural exchange through travel grants and other assistance to traveling theatre professionals. Through these programs, 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 field. TCG serves over 430 member theatres nationwide.