Field Conversations

In the 2010 Field Conversations, the goal is to investigate the relationship between individual artists and institutions, and to identify the successes, challenges, and ways of strengthening relationships in order to strengthen our field.

An initial exploration began in Spring 2010 with a series of five teleconferences with actors, directors, designers, playwrights and dramaturgs which created the basis for the current project.  With the support of Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, we began the three-part Field Conversations project with Roundtable conversations in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago that included individual artists, leaders form both TCG member and non-member theatres, trustees and educators and partnered with local service organizations that included the Los Angeles Stage Alliance, The League of Chicago Theatres and the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York.

We are now about to launch the second and third parts, a National Survey that will help us to gather quantitative information from artists about their working conditions and relationships with organizations, and finally, in the third part of this project, we hope to engage theatres across the country by encouraging them to host Town Halls locally with their artistic communities.  These informal meetings will be an opportunity for member theatres and the artists in their communities to respond to themes and issues raised during the Roundtables, Findings from all three parts of the Field Conversations will be condensed into a report written by Celia Wren, published in American Theatre magazine in summer 2011 and widely circulated throughout the theatre field and to other interested parties.