2011 TCG Fall Forum on Governance
TCG Fall Forum on Governance 2011 Resources
Opening Keynote Speech
David Henry Hwang, Playwright, Screenwriter & Librettist
View Transcript
Defining, Redefining and Capitalizing on our Assets
Moderator: Ben Cameron, Program Director for the Arts, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
Panel: Bruce Coppock, Managing Director, The Cleveland Orchestra Miami Residency; Martha Lavey, Artistic Director; Steppenwolf Theatre Company; Clyde Valentin, Executive Director; Hip-Hop Theater Festival
What are a theatre's true assets? How do we define them? How do we use them? How do they interact? Ben Cameron will lead a panel to frame how we can rethink our artistic, financial and human assets. It’s time to leave behind survival mode and achieve greater sustainability by fully understanding and utilizing ALL of our assets.
Capitalizing Human Assets
Moderator: Richard A. Mittenthal, President and CEO, TCC Group
Panel: Nancy Livingston, Board Chair, American Conservatory Theater, Richard A. Nurse, Senior Board Member, Crossroads Theatre Company, Jeremy Shamos, Board President, Curious Theatre Company
Board members are one of the theatre’s most important assets. The issue of staff burn out was discussed during last year's Fall Forum. But what about board burn out? How is the continued economic uncertainty affecting board members? Build a more sustainable framework for board engagement and recruitment to thrive in trying times.
The Financial State of our Theatre Field: A National Perspective
Presentation by Teresa Eyring, Executive Director, Theatre Communications Group and Kevin E. Moore, Managing Director, Theatre Communications Group
For 35 years, TCG has been tracking the fiscal health of the theatre field through its annual survey and Theatre Facts, one of the most respected arts research reports in the nation. Before delving into the remaining Fall Forum conversations about our financial assets, Teresa Eyring and Kevin Moore presented a layman’s analysis of TCG’s Theatre Facts 2010 report and TCG’s Taking Your Fiscal Pulse–Fall 2011 report, summarizing the fiscal health of the field, and the implications of the data.
Building Financial Capital in an Uncertain World: Perspectives from National Funders and Philanthropy Experts
Moderator: Stacy Palmer, Editor, The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Panel: Jonathan Katz, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA), Vicki Reiss, Executive Director, Shubert Foundation,
Irving Weiser, Retired Chairman & CEO, RBC Dain Rauscher, Angel Ysaguirre, Director of Global Community Investing, The Boeing Company
This panel brought together representatives from foundations, corporations and government entities to present a national perspective on funding. They addressed how theatres can be more competitive and creative in thinking about collaborations and financial capital. The funders discussed what might be changing at their specific organizations and how they see the national philanthropic landscape evolving over the next few years.
Capitalizing Artistry
Moderator: Edward Sobel, Associate Artistic Director, Arden Theatre
Panel: Jenny Allen, Board President, Contemporary American Theater Festival, Lydia R. Diamond, Playwright, Kenny Leon, Co-Founding Artistic Director, True Colors Theatre Company, Emily Mann, Artistic Director and Resident Playwright, McCarter Theatre Center
The art is often what draws board members to theatres in the first place, but what is their role and connection to the artistic process? The session kicked off with readings from Stick Fly, written by playwright and TCG board member Lydia Diamond, which opens on Broadway this fall. The play’s journey through many successful productions nationwide serves as a potent example of the field’s collaborative potential to advance artistry.
Lydia and Kenny were joined by a panel of practitioners and artists to discuss the process for developing new plays in non-profit theatre and the best practices of engaging trustees in the artistic conversations at the theatre and in the community. How do we communicate with each other about the work on our stages? Can we find a common language for board members, theatre staff and freelance artists to use in discussing the work?
Capitalizing Community Assets
Speaker: Margy Waller, Senior Fellow at Topos Partnership and Special Advisor at ArtsWave
To move theatre to the center of our communities we all need to become evangelizing ambassadors on steroids! Given trustees are the biggest advocates for the work of a theatre, how do we empower trustees to become the theatre’s ambassadors and advocates in the community? How do we strategically communicate about and raise awareness for the arts?