July 2010 Field Letter
Written on June 28, 2009
Dear Friends,
This year’s TCG National Conference in Chicago was a success on so many levels and I want to thank our local host committee, our board, the National Council for the American Theatre and the TCG staff, as well as our Conference funders for supporting us there. We had record attendance this year. With strong programming and Chicago as a setting, we were able to offer an invaluable experience for our attendees. Chicago is unique for the relationship it holds with its arts community that is clearly valued as necessary and crucial to the fabric of the city. This fact was underscored in the plenary session with Mayor Daley and in a luncheon with the critics Chris Jones and Richard Christiansen, who talked reverently about the ground-up evolution of the Chicago theatre scene and the nuances of its ecology.
Against the backdrop of this great arts town, our meetings proceeded
apace. We will be reporting on the sessions in a number of ways
in the coming months. But as I reflect on those days together, a
few things became apparent to me:
• We are at a watershed moment in the history of our field.
It is possible today for the youngest practitioners to sit and talk
with some of the people who were there at the dawn of the resident
theatre movement. An exquisite continuum exists and is visible at
our convenings at this moment in time.
• The next generation of leaders is building an articulate
and vibrant voice in the TCG landscape. We heard this in meetings
of the young leaders of color, in sessions with the New Generations
program grantees and in the TCG/American Express Leadership
Boot Camp, a program where established and emerging leaders
came together to investigate leadership practices. We heard it in
the vocal and passionate contributions of members of teen councils
in attendance. The new generation of leaders is not standing by
at the fringe—but is beginning to define the future of our
field. (There’s a Facebook group dedicated to this that you
can join: New
Landscape for American Theatre.)
• Our community continues to go global. Present at the Conference
were theatre practitioners from 16 countries. We were able to advance
exchange and dialogue with the artists of these lands and offer
a glimpse into our national conversation. Our theatre movement is
becoming a global movement and TCG is a connecting place for that
transformation.
• Financial and organizational issues are ever present and
we learn from each other in talking and sharing information about
fundraising, audience development, board relations and advocacy.
Some of the conversations are those familiar old conversations that
we’ve been having for years. Some are new. Regardless of which
it is, this type of exchange is necessary to propel the health and
well being of individual organizations and the field.
• And at the end of the day, the ART matters and ideas matter
and that is where we get our juice. But as much as we crave ideas,
the field is motivated, not just by the talking, but also by the
walking. This was apparent in our series of “Manifestos”
on four topic areas: race and gender, artists and artistry, the
arts learning continuum and creative ecology. The conversations
were honest, direct, cross generational and inclined towards momentum.
Ideas are important, action is crucial.
• And on a practical note, at the TCG/American Express
Leadership Boot Camp, we learned one of my favorite and easily
implemented takeaways. It was about goal setting and achievement:
You have a 20% chance of reaching a goal simply by having the goal,
it rises to 40% if you write it down, it goes to 60% if you tell
someone and 80% if you have a friend or “accountability”
partner who checks in with you about your progress. This was a good
piece of guidance in leaving a Conference titled, Ideas into
Action.
A service organization such as TCG exists for the harnessing and
redistribution of knowledge, for its networking capacity and for
the financial efficiencies that can be gained by centralizing the
primary research, advocacy and professional development requirements
of the field. TCG takes on this challenge, in part, as a convener.
Our Conference saw record numbers of attendees during a period that
has been rocked by an unsteady economy, and at a time, when the
internet and social networking make it possible for theatre practitioners
to find information and communicate with each other without ever
leaving home. People want to be at the party. Our robust and wildly
interconnected—and ever evolving—community can be assembled
in this way, in part, because of TCG’s presence and stewardship
over the decades. The theatre ecosystem has evolved, taking on new
artistic dimensions and responding to new community needs. A new
generation of practitioners is on the scene and they are questioning
systems, structures and inclusion. Long-time practitioners are also
at the table investigating systems, structures and inclusion. All
the while, TCG is a steady presence—chronicling events through
American Theatre, building a legacy of great writers through
the book program, partnering with foundations to supply funding
for the professional development of young practitioners, advocating
at the federal level for NEA funding and an array of policies that
affect us, conducting national research that benchmarks our unique
situation, convening people at meetings of all kinds and finally,
just listening.
Arthur Miller once said he couldn’t imagine having time for
a theatre that didn’t want to change the world. In reality,
some theatres change the world on purpose and some change it by
accident. But somehow as a field, the net effect has been a real
and important impact in the lives of our communities and the world.
And it’s always nice to come together and celebrate that!
We will continue the big conversation next year, as we honor TCG’s
50th Anniversary! Our National Conference will be in Los Angeles,
June 16-18. Mark the dates!
Until next month, all the best,
Teresa Eyring
Executive Director