FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACTS
May 30, 2019 Corinna Schulenburg | cschulenburg@tcg.org | 212-609-5941
TCG Launches New Cohort of the Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Institute
Cohort to Focus on Theatres and Networks of Color
New York, NY –Theatre Communications Group (TCG) is pleased to announce the launch of a new cohort in the Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Institute. With renewed support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Institute will work with Networks of Color to convene Theatres and People of Color for a two-year curriculum of personal analysis-building, organizational action-planning, and collective action for field-wide impact. The Institute is a core program of TCG's multi-year, six-point EDI Initiative to transform the national theatre field into a more equitable, inclusive, and diverse community.
“Networks and Theatres of Color have unique strengths through which they make essential contributions to our field and culture. They also face unique challenges caused by historic injustice and continuing inequities,” said Teresa Eyring, executive director of TCG. “Thanks to support from our longtime partners at The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, our next EDI Institute cohort will focus entirely on these networks and theatres.”
“Last year, we convened 41 Theatres and Networks of Color for an inspiring and productive pre-conference that reminded us of the power of sharing space together,” said Elena Chang, director of EDI Initiatives, TCG. “We’re excited to implement the learnings from that gathering in service of a cohort centered entirely on Theatres and Networks of Color.”
EDI Institute Cohort Four includes:
- Black Theatre Commons: David Mitchell, managing director and program manager, Arena Players; Meredith Suttles, steering committee member, Black Theatre Commons and Director of Development, TheaterWorksUSA
- Black Theatre Network : Andre Harrington, president, Black Theatre Network; Gregory G. Williams, artistic director, New Venture Theatre
- Black Vitality Commission: Jackie Alexander, artistic director, North Carolina Black Repertory Company/National Black Theatre Festival; Nicole Hodges Persley, artistic director, KC Melting Pot Theatre; Monica White Ndounou, associate professor of theatre, Dartmouth
- Consortium of Asian American Theatres & Artists (CAATA): Andi Meyer, producing artistic director, Tradewind Arts; Victor Maog, artistic director, Second Generation and board president, CAATA; Leslie Ishii, stage director/arts educator/writer; founder/co-director, National Cultural Navigation Theatre Project; co-chair, steering committee/board member, CAATA
- Latinx Theatre Commons: Alex Meda, artistic director, Teatro Luna; Adriana Gaviria, founding member, artistic producer, Solfest producer, Sol Project; Abigail Vega, producer, director, actor, Latinx Theatre Commons member
- Native communities represented by: Ty Defoe, co-owner Indigenous Direction, performance artist, activist; writer Ryan Victor “Little Eagle” Pierce, founder and artistic director, Eagle Project; Randolph Reinholz, co-founder and producing artistic director, Native Voices at the Autry
- MENA communities represented by: Andrea Assaf, artistic and executive director, Art2Action; Kate Moore Heaney, artistic producer, Noor Theatre; Torange Yeghiazarian, artistic director, Golden Thread Productions
Over the two years of the Institute, the participating theatres convene in-person at TCG’s National Conference in June and TCG’s Fall Forum on Governance in November. The Institute also provides skills-building webinars, regional organizing, and one-on-one consultations with participants in order to bring about systemic change to the inequities of the not-for-profit theatre field and beyond. Additional support for the Institute is provided by The Hearst Foundations.
To widen the impact of the EDI Institute all Cohort 4 participants are also representing Networks of Color in addition to their own organizations. Over the past year, Chang and Emilya Cachapero, director of artistic programs at TCG, connected with these Networks and attended their convenings to strengthen the relationships and foster a shared understanding of their goals and values. Each Network of Color was then invited to request representatives, at least one of whom is affiliated with a Theatre of Color, to join Cohort 4.
TCG partnered with Carmen Morgan, founder and director of artEquity, to launch the inaugural EDI Institute cohort at the 2013 TCG National Conference. TCG staff leadership was provided by Dafina McMillan, TCG’s former director of communications & conferences. The first Institute cohort included: Alliance Theatre, California Shakespeare Theater, Cara Mía Theatre, Central Square Theater, Children’s Theatre Company, Cleveland Play House, CROSSROADS, Dallas Children’s Theater, Dallas Theater Center, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Jubilee Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, The Lark, Magic Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Penumbra Theatre Company, Portland Center Stage, The Public Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Tectonic Theater Project, The Theater Offensive, and TCG. The second Institute cohort included: ACT - A Contemporary Theatre, Bricolage Production Company, Center Theatre Group, Crowded Fire Theater Company, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, dog & pony dc, East West Players, Guthrie Theater, Marin Theatre Company, McCarter Theatre Center, Mu Performing Arts, New Native Theatre, People's Light, Ping Chong + Company, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Southern Rep Theatre, TeAda Productions, Teatro del Pueblo, and Two River Theater Company.The third cohort included: Actors Theatre of Louisville, American Shakespeare Center, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Company One Theatre, Dorset Theatre Festival, Geva Theatre, Park Square Theatre, Playwrights' Center, The Playwrights' Realm, and Shotgun Players.
Founded in 1969, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation seeks to strengthen, promote, and defend the centrality of the humanities and the arts to human flourishing and to the wellbeing of diverse, fair, and democratic societies. To this end, its core programs support exemplary and inspiring institutions of higher education and culture. For more information, visit www.mellon.org.
The Hearst Foundations are national philanthropic resources for organizations and institutions working in the fields of Education, Health, Culture and Social Service. The goal of the Foundations is to ensure that people of all backgrounds have the opportunity to build healthy, productive and inspiring lives. The charitable goals of the Foundations reflect the philanthropic interests of William Randolph Hearst.
Theatre Communications Group (TCG) exists to strengthen, nurture, and promote professional theatre in the U.S. and globally. Since its founding in 1961, TCG’s constituency has grown from a handful of groundbreaking theatres to over 700 Member Theatres and affiliate organizations and nearly 10,000 Individual Members. Through its Core Values of Activism, Artistry, Diversity, and Global Citizenship, TCG advances a better world for theatre and a better world because of theatre. TCG offers its members networking and knowledge-building opportunities through research, communications, and events, including the annual TCG National Conference, one of the largest nationwide gatherings of theatre people; awards grants and scholarships, approximately $2 million per year, to theatre companies and individual artists; advocates on the federal level; and through the Global Theater Initiative, TCG's partnership with the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, serves as the U.S. Center of the International Theatre Institute. TCG is North America’s largest independent trade publisher of dramatic literature, with 17 Pulitzer Prizes for Drama on the TCG booklist. It also publishes the award-winning American Theatre magazine and ARTSEARCH®, the essential source for a career in the arts. In all of its endeavors, 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.www.tcg.org.