April 2007 Field Letter
Written on March 27, 2007
Dear Colleagues:
I've Arrived at TCG
March 26 marked my first day in the office at TCG. I was welcomed by the TCG staff in grand fashion with a breakfast spread, including lox and the chance to begin a relationship with this talented group of 50-plus people. Following a meticulous tour given by TCG's fabulous office manager Demosthenes (Demo) Chrysan, I plunged immediately into meetings including a conference call with TCG's executive committee, an update from communications director Phil Matthews on Free Night expansion possibilities and a National Conference planning session with national conference director Jenni Werner. One of the day's highlights was a brief visit with Constanza Romero, wife of August Wilson and a former classmate of mine, who was meeting with TCG publisher Terry Nemeth about the forthcoming boxed set of August Wilson's plays to be published by TCG Books. This project is coming along extremely well and we look forward to a late summer release. Another highlight was the bouquet of flowers that appeared on my desk within moments of my arrival. Inside the note were well wishes from a difficult, if not impossible, act to follow—Mr. Ben Cameron.
I am pleased to announce that Gigi Bolt, who has served TCG so well over the last 8 months as interim executive director, will be staying on for several months to assist with my transition. Gigi has done unbelievable work in keeping TCG and its many programs moving forward. While I knew Gigi for years in her role as director of the Theatre Program at the National Endowment for the Arts, it has been a great pleasure to work with her over the last several months as I've prepared to take on the leadership of TCG. Gigi has become a great and cherished friend.
I plan to spend the majority of my first month on the job here in New York, getting up to speed with the staff and designing a planning process for TCG. A number of trips follow, including a visit to Washington, DC, in April to meet with NEA Chairman Dana Gioia and leaders of the American Arts Alliance. I will attend the League of Resident Theatres conference in Sarasota in late April, and will plan a series of visits to theatres and communities nationally in the months after our National Conference.
The TCG National Conference
The TCG Conference Twin Cities Host Committee is in high gear preparing to welcome the field in June. The conference theme, Artistry in a New Century, provides an opportunity to think about how we seize the future for theatre in the U.S. and beyond. The early bird deadline is April 2; please register soon. And I strongly encourage you to invite trustees to attend as well. The conference is an excellent opportunity for board members to increase their understanding of the art form—its beauty and its complexity—while also participating in the dialogue about the future of our institutions and field. The phenomenal line-up of speakers and presenters includes Nobel Prize-winning author and playwright Wole Soyinka, whose lifetime of activism as a writer and theatre practitioner will be an unparalleled source of wisdom and inspiration. We are so fortunate to have Mr. Soyinka at the conference, and he is traveling all the way from Nigeria just to be with us. In advance of the conference, I recommend reading his recently published memoir You Must Set Forth at Dawn.
In addition to the plenaries, we are developing a formidable lineup of breakout sessions of interest to artistic and managing directors, individual artists, theatre staffs and trustees. And for the first time ever, our pre-conference seminar, Building a National TEAM: Theatre Education Assessment Models, is focused on professional development for our theatre education professionals. It will center on assessment and adapting national models to programs already in place at our member theatres. This program will be extremely valuable and I encourage you to attend or send education staff.
Several Twin Cities area theatres are in production in June, so you will have the chance to experience their work while you are in town. And the conference is located at the new Guthrie Theater on the Mississippi River, which is an unbelievable facility designed by French architect Jean Nouvel. In between meetings—or if you able to stay longer in the area—you can take the opportunity to visit the many architectural wonders that have sprung up in the Cities over the last several years, including the Walker Art Center, designed by Herzog and de Meuron; the Minneapolis Public Library designed by Cesar Pelli; the Children's Theatre Company and Minneapolis Institute of Arts expansions designed by Michael Graves; and the Weisman Art Museum, which Frank Gehry designed and is preparing to expand. In the evening on June 9, the city of Minneapolis kicks off its annual celebration of the arts, Mosaic, which highlights the diversity of the art and artists of the area. It will feature a newly commissioned play.
For the "futurists" in the crowd who have a few extra days and dollars, the Push the Future conference takes place June 10–12 at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. This event, organized by the Push Institute, brings together leading academics, scientists, artists and "provocateurs" to examine future trends and their impact on our lives and work. I attended the conference last year, and it knocked my socks off. For more information, go to PushTheFuture.org.
Generational Differences
I recently heard a fascinating talk by David Stillman, an expert on generational differences and co-author of the book, When Generations Collide: Who They Are. Why They Clash. How to Solve the Generational Puzzle at Work. He talks about differences in attitudes and behaviors among the four main generational categories: Traditionalists (currently age 62 to 82), Baby Boomers (currently age 43 to 61), Generation X'ers (currently age 27 to 42) and Millennials (currently age 5 to 26). There are dramatically fewer X'ers than there are Boomers, and while I was aware of this fact, I hadn't realized before how vast the difference is. There are 80 million Boomers vs. just 46 million X'ers. While this decline may be explained in part by the fact that there is a shorter range of birth years covered in the Generation X category, the decline is significant nonetheless. It has implications for workforce recruitment and retention, and potentially for theatre attendance numbers as well. Looking ahead, there are 76 million Millennials, so this next generational group grows again. However, Stillman observed that among Millennials, there is a significant and growing gap between the "haves" and the "have nots." He also noted that half do not have internet access. I found these observations useful in thinking about artist and audience development for the coming years. For more information on David Stillman or to order the book, go to Generations.com.
Fun Facts re: New Work
Management programs director Chris Shuff provided me this week with a report indicating how many TCG theatres had mounted world premieres in FY04 and FY05. This information is collected as part of our annual fiscal survey. And the answer is: In FY04, 120 of the responders reported at least one world premiere for a grand total of 286; in FY05, 118 theatres reported at least one world premiere for a total of 253.
Question of the Month
In addition to keeping you up to date on what's happening at TCG and in the field, I would like to use the Field Letter as an opportunity to hear from you on specific topic areas that affect you in your work. Each month, I will pose a question and request that you consider it individually, in a staff or board meeting or with your students. If you have a moment and can write back to me briefly with your thoughts, I will compile a summary to share with everyone in subsequent field letters. This month's question:
Is there a local, national or global trend that presents a significant opportunity and/or obstacle for your organization or your work…what, how and why?
Please e-mail me at teyring@tcg.org by April 12. Include the words TREND QUESTION in the message line.
All the best,
Teresa Eyring
Executive Director