Theatre Communications Group

Spring 2012 Theatre Professionals Teleconferences

Artistic Directors
Education Directors
Marketing Directors
Trustees

Spring 2012: Artistic Directors

New Artistic Directors (Three years or less as a leader of an organization)
Through moderated discussions and with experienced guest speakers, this track of the series will orient new artistic directors to the non-artistic responsibilities of leading a theatre company. Topics will include understanding your theatre’s financial structure; board development and interaction; effectively leading staff and serving your theatre’s community. The fourth session will be a joint call with the Veteran Artistic Directors and moderators of both tracks and will focus on finding that elusive balance of being an artist and an administrator.

Moderator:
Joseph Haj, Producing Artistic Director, PlayMakers Repertory Company

Veteran Artistic Directors (More than seven years as a leader of an organization)
This track of the series is designed to give veteran artistic directors the opportunity to step back from day-to-day tasks and to jointly reflect on topics that include keeping abreast of new models and contemporary forms; renewal and avoiding burn-out; and embracing change. The fourth call will be with the New Artistic Directors and moderators of both tracks, and will focus on finding that elusive balance of being an artist and an administrator.

Moderator:
Susan Booth, Jennings Hertz, Jr. Artistic Director, Alliance Theatre

REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED.

Registration Fee: $75

Dates:
All teleconferences last one hour and take place in Eastern Time. *On May 9 the call will combine both groups, be led by both moderators and will start at 1:00pm.*

New Artistic Directors (Three years or less as a leader of an organization)	Veteran Artistic Directors (More than seven years as a leader of an organization)
Wednesday, February 15 (1:00pm)	Wednesday, February 15 (3:00pm)
Wednesday, March 14 (1:00pm)	Wednesday, March 14 (3:00pm)
Wednesday, April 11 (1:00pm)	Wednesday, April 11 (3:00pm)
*Wednesday, May 9 (1:00pm)	*Wednesday, May 9 (1:00pm)

Only one person per theatre may register, and registration is only open to staff members at TCG Member Theatres. Participants are encouraged to register early, as space is limited and registrations are accepted on a first come, first served basis. If you have any questions, email artistic programs associate Mohammad Shatara.

Spring 2012: Education Directors

Moderator:
Kati Koerner, Education Director, Lincoln Center Theater

REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED.

Registration Fee: $75

Dates:
All teleconferences last one hour and begin at 2:00pm Eastern Time (unless otherwise noted).

Education Directors (All budget sizes)
Tuesday, February 28
Thursday, March 22
Thursday, April 19
Thursday, May 24
Thursday, June 14

Only one person per theatre may register, and registration is only open to staff members at TCG Member Theatres. Participants are encouraged to register early, as space is limited and registrations are accepted on a first come, first served basis. If you have any questions, email government and education programs associate Alissa Moore.

Spring 2012: Marketing Directors

Moderator:
Cynthia Fuhrman , Director of Marketing & Communications, Portland Center Stage

REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED.

Registration Fee: $75

Dates:
All teleconferences last one hour and begin at 2:00pm Eastern Time (unless otherwise noted).

Marketing Directors Group A (budget group 4-6)	Marketing Directors Group B (budget group 1-3)
Thursday, February 23	Tuesday, February 28
Thursday, March 22	Tuesday, March 27
Thursday, April 19	Tuesday, April 24
Thursday, May 17	Tuesday, May 22

Only one person per theatre may register, and registration is only open to staff members at TCG Member Theatres. Participants are encouraged to register early, as space is limited and registrations are accepted on a first come, first served basis. If you have any questions, email management programs associate Rachel Hutt.

Spring 2012: Trustees

Moderator:
Carolyn Ferolito , Trustee, Paper Mill Playhouse

REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED.

Registration Fee: $75

Dates:
All teleconferences last one hour and begin at 2:00pm Eastern Time (unless otherwise noted).

Trustees (All budget sizes)
Thursday, February 16
Thursday, March 15
Thursday, April 12
Thursday, May 17

Only one person per theatre may register, and registration is only open to staff members at TCG Member Theatres. Participants are encouraged to register early, as space is limited and registrations are accepted on a first come, first served basis. If you have any questions, email director of government and education programs Laurie Baskin.

Moderator Bios:

Moderator for New Artistic Directors
Joseph Haj (Producing Artistic Director, PlayMakers Repertory Company)
In addition to his work at PlayMakers (Cyrano de Bergerac, The Illusion, Amadeus, Pericles, Well, Big River, As You Like It and others), Haj has directed and performed at theatres throughout the United States including the Guthrie Theater, The Public Theater/NYSF, Alley Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, Ahmanson Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, the Folger Theatre and many others. He has worked overseas in Salzburg, Edinburgh, Paris, Berlin, Venice and Japan. Outside of traditional theatres, Haj has directed projects in a maximum security prison in Los Angeles, in Batesburg-Leesville, South Carolina, in the West Bank and Gaza. As an actor, Haj has worked with many of the theatre's foremost directors including Garland Wright, Anne Bogart (as an original member of SITI Company), Jon Jory, Peter Sellars, Sir Peter Hall, JoAnne Akalaitis, Robert Woodruff and others. Haj has served on peer review panels for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and Theatre Communications Group (TCG), is the recipient of the NEA Millennium Grant awarded in 2000 to “fifty of America’s finest artists,” was a participant in TCG's Career Development Program for Directors and was named by American Theatre as one of 25 theatre artists who will have a significant impact on the field over the next quarter century. His 2010 production of Hamlet at Folger Theatre in Washington, DC was nominated for six Helen Hayes Awards, winning for Outstanding Production. Haj is on TCG's Board of Directors and is a member of Mark Russell’s Director’s Circle. Upcoming projects include Henry V at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Moderator for Veteran Artistic Directors
Susan V. Booth (Jennings Hertz, Jr. Artistic Director, Alliance Theatre)
Booth joined the Alliance Theatre in 2001. Over the past nine seasons, she has initiated the Collision Project for teens and the Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Competition, created local producing partnerships, oversaw regional collaborative productions, as well as commercial partnerships on projects including, The Color Purple; Bring It On: The Musical; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee; SISTER ACT the Musical; Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk; and Jesus Christ Superstar GOSPEL, which she also directed. As a director, she has worked nationally at theatres including Goodman, La Jolla Playhouse, New York Stage and Film, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Northlight Theatre, Victory Gardens, Court Theatre and many others. She holds degrees from Denison and Northwestern Universities and was a fellow of the National Critics Institute and the Kemper Foundation. She has held teaching positions at Northwestern and DePaul Universities, and currently serves as adjunct faculty with Emory University. She is the immediate past President of the Board of Directors for Theatre Communications Group (the national service organization for the field), is on the Advisory Committee of the Steinberg Charitable Trust in New York and serves on the board of the Metro Atlanta Arts and Culture Coalition. Susan is married to Max Leventhal and is the proud mother of Moira Rose Leventhal.

Moderator for Education Directors
Kati Koerner (Education Director, Lincoln Center Theater) has been Lincoln Center Theater’s Director of Education since October 2002. She is also currently Co-Chair of the New York City Arts in Education Roundtable, a 100+ member service organization for cultural groups that provide education programs to the city’s schools and communities. Koerner serves on the NYC Department of Education’s Advisory Council on Arts Education and helped develop their Blueprint for Teaching & Learning in the Arts in Theater. Koerner is a member of the Center for Arts Education’s Advocacy Committee. For TCG, she facilitates conference calls for theater education directors; was a member of their Theatre Education Assessment Models (TEAM) working group; and has been a grants panelist. Koerner served on The Children’s Theatre Company’s Advisory Board for their U.S. Department of Education-funded Neighborhood Bridges program. Prior to coming to LCT, Koerner worked as a high school drama teacher and as The Children’s Theater Company’s Education Partnerships Coordinator. Koerner also has extensive experience as a director, translator and teaching artist both in the U.S. and in Germany. She holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University and an M.F.A. in Drama and Theatre for Youth from the University of Texas at Austin. In 2011, she received the American Alliance for Theater & Education’s Lynn Wright Special Recognition Award for her work with English Language Learners.

Moderator for Marketing Directors
Cynthia Fuhrman (Director of Marketing & Communications, Portland Center Stage)
Cynthia Fuhrman, Director of Marketing & Communications at Portland Center Stage, has worked in marketing and communications, primarily in the professional theater, since 1981, with two detours — which she highly recommends taking. She has led the marketing and communications functions at several companies around the U.S.: as Manager of Public Relations at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland ('81-87), and Director of Marketing and Communications when OSF opened its Portland branch ('88-94), and through its transition to Portland Center Stage ('94-98); between Ashland and Portland, Cynthia spent a season at StageWest in Massachusetts ('87-88) as Director of Public Relations; and for five seasons, she was Director of Marketing and Communications at Seattle Repertory Theatre ('03-07). The first detour from professional theater came when Cynthia was from 1998-2002 the Chief Operating Officer for eyescream interactive, inc., at the time the Northwest's largest internet marketing agency; a second breather from the theater came in 2007, when for a year she was the Communications Director for the City of Portland's Office of Sustainable Development, a crash course in promoting all things green — from building to recycling. So it seemed fitting to return to PCS in 2008 as Director of Marketing and Communications, as PCS is the first LEED platinum-designated performing arts venue in the U.S. Cynthia holds her B.A. and M.A. degrees in Humanities, and attended the University of Oregon, the American University of London, and Southern Oregon University.

Moderator for Trustees
Carolyn Ferolito (Trustee, Paper Mill Playhouse) Carolyn Ferolito has been a member of Paper Mill Playhouse's Board of Trustees since 1997, and served as Co-Chair of the Board from 2008-2010. She is currently a Trustee of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance and TCG's National Council for the American Theatre. Ms. Ferolito served on the Board of the United Way of Millburn/Short Hills as President for two terms. She also served on the Board of the Valerie Fund, The New Jersey Child Care Advisory Council, the New Jersey Junior Leagues and the New Jersey Emergency Medical Services for Children Advisory Council. She is the founder and President of Hidden Ponds Foundation, whose mission is to support at-risk women and children in the state of New Jersey. Ms. Ferolito resides in New Vernon, NJ, is married and has one son.