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News Releases 
Twin Cities Theatre Community To Host TCG's 2007 National Conference - CTC's Eyring returns as TCG's executive director 
For Immediate Release: May 21, 2007
The Children's Theatre Company's managing director of seven years, Teresa Eyring, returns to the Twin Cities to host the 2007 Theatre Communications Group (TCG) National Conference, Artistry in a New Century. TCG, which tapped Eyring to be their executive director effective early March, is the national organization for American theater. The conference will be held in the new Guthrie Theater facilities from June 7-9, 2007. The pre-conference, Building a National TEAM: Theatre Education Assessment Models Training will be held on Wednesday, June 6, at Penumbra Theatre in St. Paul. For nearly 30 years, the TCG National Conference has offered the only forum in which the national American theater community comes together for this kind of artistic and intellectual exchange.
With expected attendance by over 700 leaders from the American theater field, Artistry in a New Century will explore the creative process, the responsibility of the artist as a catalyst for social change and innovative models of new play development that are changing the face of theater. The three-day program offers a provocative mix of plenary and breakout sessions, and ample time for networking and interaction among theater professionals. CTC artistic director Peter C. Brosius will co-moderate a panel on Theatre for Young Audiences with Jeff Church, the Coterie Theatre's producing artistic director.
Minnesota's world-class arts and culture organizations are recognized throughout the country and the world, and the Twin Cities are second only to New York in per capita attendance at theater and arts events according to a 2004 University of Minnesota report. In total, not-for-profit arts and culture are an $838.5 million industry in the state of Minnesota – one that supports 22,095 full-time jobs and generates $94.1 million in local and state government revenue.
The conference begins on Thursday, June 7, with daytime activities to include workshops led by celebrated artists Tina Landau, Laurie Brooks and Michael Rohd. Official conference ceremonies kick off with welcoming speeches from Joe Dowling, artistic director of the Guthrie Theater, and Molly Smith, TCG board member and artistic director of Arena Stage in Washington, DC, followed by the Opening Night Reception, sponsored by Target and held at The Open Book. The Children's Theatre Company will host a reading of international work and a late night event sponsored by Village Voice Media and The City Pages.
On Friday, June 8, featured plenary speakers and sessions will include Wole Soyinka, Nobel Prize-winning poet, playwright and activist; and "The Artist as Activist," moderated by Barbara Schaffer, with artists Rha Goddess, John Malpede and Kathy Randels; and Danai Gurira and Nikkole Salter will perform In the Continuum, their two-woman play about the experience of black women in the fight against AIDS. The day's activities will conclude with a late night party and performance hosted by Illusion Theatre and sponsored by Village Voice Media and The City Pages, featuring a performance of Suzan-Lori Park's 365 Days/365 Plays by Mixed Blood Theatre.
Saturday, June 9 will feature plenary sessions "Visions of Tomorrow's Theatre: A Roundtable Discussion," moderated by Kristin Martin with Clove Galilee, Joseph Haj, Young Jean Lee, Ruben Polenda, Dan Rothenberg and Sean San José; and "Creating and Producing the New American Musical," moderated by Sue Frost with Duncan Sheik and Stephen Sater of Broadway's Spring Awakening, Jessica Hagedorn and Mark Bennett of Most Wanted, and Steve Cosson and Micheal Friedman of Nobody's Lunch.
A special lunchtime event with Suzan-Lori Parks and Bonnie Metzgar will highlight Mixed Blood Theatre's performance of 365 Days/365 Plays. The closing plenary speech will be delivered by Teresa Eyring, newly appointed TCG executive director and most recent managing director of The Children's Theatre Company.
The 2007 national conference is made possible through funding by the National Endowment for the Arts, The Nathan Cummings Foundation, Target, The McKnight Foundation, Ruth Easton Fund, Bush Foundation, Michael Margulies/ Lindquist & Vennum P.L.L.P and members of the Twin Cities legal community, General Mills Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board, The Minneapolis Foundation and Theatre Development Fund. The national sponsors are The Stage Channel, U.S. Trust Company, Village Voice Media and City Pages, Target Research Group and Fisher Dachs Associates. In-kind support provided by Jefferson Lines.
TCG's one-day pre-conference for theatre educators is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation and the Esther B. Kahn Charitable Foundation, with in-kind support from St. Paul Travelers.
The Guthrie Theater and the Twin Cities metropolitan theatre community are providing valuable assistance to conference organizers. Additionally, the Penumbra Theatre in St. Paul is generously donating their space for TCG's pre-conference. TCG would also like to express a very special thank you to our local Twin Cities Host Committee theatre members: The Children's Theatre Company, Commonweal Theatre Company, Guthrie Theater, History Theater, Illusion Theater, Jungle Theater, Mixed Blood Theatre Company, Mu Performing Arts, Nautilus Music Theater, Pangea World Theater, Penumbra Theatre Company, Pillsbury House Theatre, The Playwright's Center, Stages Theatre Company, Ten Thousand Things Theater and Theatre de la Jeune Lune.
Media can register: https://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Register/IdentityConfirmation.aspx?e=f5cc54c8-e9b1-42f5-a784-30e878833432
Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre, offers a wide array of services in line with its mission: to strengthen, nurture and promote the professional not-for-profit American theatre. Artistic programs support theatres and theatre artists by awarding $2.7 million in grants annually, and offer career development programs for artists. Management programs provide professional development opportunities for theatre leaders through workshops, conferences, forums and publications, as well as industry research on the finances and practices of the American not-for-profit theatre. Advocacy, conducted in conjunction with the dance, presenting, opera and symphony orchestra fields, includes guiding lobbying efforts and providing theatres with timely alerts about legislative developments. As the country's leading independent press specializing in dramatic literature, TCG's publications include American Theatre magazine, the ArtSEARCH employment bulletin, plays, translations and theatre reference books. As the U.S. Center of UNESCO's International Theatre Institute, a worldwide network, TCG supports cross-cultural exchange through travel grants and other assistance to traveling theatre professionals. Through these programs, TCG seeks to increase the organizational efficiency of its member theatres, cultivate and celebrate the artistic talent and achievements of the field, and promote a larger public understanding of and appreciation for the theatre field. TCG serves over 440 member theatres nationwide.
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