2009 TCG Fall Forum on Governance

Here we are, rapidly approaching 2010, and the affairs of our nation – the economy, politics, our international relationships – are still uncertain enough that it’s easy to hesitate, to wait and see what will happen next. For more than twelve months, the staff and trustee leadership of theatres across the country have been working through record-breaking economic instability and near-constant change. National debates have waged over the importance of the arts to communities and to the nation as a whole. Some theatres have closed their doors, some have drastically reduced their budgets, changed programming, etc., and some theatres have even thrived in this unpredictable environment. What would a snapshot of the field today look like? A year ago, would we have predicted that we’d find ourselves here? Has the President’s personal interest in the arts impacted public perception of the arts and their value?

This November, we will come together to discuss how we – as a national field and as theatres in our own communities – might take this opportunity to identify and build upon our strengths, to examine practices that are not working, and to take bold risks that just might earn theatre a stronger position going into the future. What do we need to learn, re-learn or even un-learn in order to make way for true innovation and expansion? What can we glean from others’ successes and challenges? If we make informed decisions now, we can come out of this economic upheaval stronger than we were when it began. How do we identify those key decisions and ensure that we are making the best choices for our theatres?

Join us in New York at TCG’s 2009 Fall Forum on Governance as we search for innovative thinking, re-invigorate our approaches to leadership and decision-making, and investigate some of today’s success stories in theatre stewardship. To best address these challenges we strongly recommend attendance by teams of organizational leaders and trustees. TCG sees the diversity of the field as one of its greatest assets, and is crafting this event to be useful for all member theatres, regardless of budget size, organizational structure, mission, audience demographics and geographic location.

The Fall Forum on Governance is limited to 150 participants to ensure engaged discussion and quality participation.