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Info Sessions on Federal Relief for Black Theatres, Indigenous Theatres, and Theatres of Color (BITOC)

By Elena Chang posted 01-26-2021 12:44

  


On January 19, TCG held a webinar focused on the relief opportunities found in the recently passed federal legislation: Webinar & Slides: Accessing PPP, Save Our Stages and More.

TCG is offering dedicated support in navigating these opportunities to Black Theatres, Indigenous Theatres, and Theatres of Color (BITOC). We define BITOC as theatres founded by, for, about, with and near BIPOC communities.

Join us for one of our Info Sessions on Federal Relief for Black Theatres, Indigenous Theatres, and Theatres of Color (BITOC):

Thursday, January 28th, 2021
2pm - 3:30pm EST
Friday, January 29th, 2021
2pm - 3:30pm EST

Special gratitude to Leslie Ishii, Artistic Director, Perseverance Theatre; Board President, CAATA; Jackie Taylor, Artistic Director, Black Ensemble Theater; Snehal Desai, Artistic Director, East West Players; Teresa Coleman Wash, Artistic Director, Bishop Arts Theatre; and Rafael Sánchez, Executive Artistic Director, Repertorio Español for their support in organizing and helping to frame this session.

Can't attend? This session will be recorded and available to BITOCs in the coming days, and additional individualized support is available. Please email us for more information at smhaber@tcg.org.

For more information on current Federal Relief for Theatres, click here

Speakers for Info Sessions on Federal Relief for BITOC

Adrian Budhu, deputy director and COO, TCG, (he/him/his): Adrian Budhu joined TCG in 2016. He spent five years at The Theater Offensive (TTO), an LGBTQ not-for-profit arts organization in Boston. The strategies he implemented strengthened The Theater Offensive's brand on a national scale, increased its profile in the community, broadened its support base, and built capacity and resources for its sustainability. His other work experiences included GLBTQ Domestic Violence Project, XAMOnline.com, Metro Boston Newspaper, and John Hancock Financial. Adrian has won numerous awards for his leadership and activism. His prior affiliations include: the Boston Cultural Change Network (committed to collective action for social justice through Arts & Culture), the Boston Creates Leadership Council, where he advised and helped shepherd Boston's cultural plan into implementation; TCG's Board of Directors; and Point Foundation's National Board of Directors. Adrian also served as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts’ Theater & Musical Theater grants and TCG’s AHA! program. Mr. Budhu holds a BS in management studies from Boston University.

Laurie Baskin, director of advocacy, TCG, (she/her/hers): Laurie joined Theatre Communications Group (TCG) in 1997 and is director of Advocacy. Ms. Baskin is TCG’s liaison to the Performing Arts Alliance. She directs advocacy efforts at the federal level on behalf of the professional, not-for-profit American theatre field. She regularly provides advocacy updates for TCG’s website, Action Alerts to the field, and provides witnesses and testimony for legislative hearings. Ms. Baskin created the Blue Star Theatres program, which connected theatres and military families. She has overseen TCG’s research, including the Fiscal, Salary & Education Surveys. She has administered TCG’s Education Programs, including teleconferences & Special Report series. Her endeavors in theatre education over the last twenty years include conceiving and spearheading an assessment project, Building a National TEAM: Theatre Education Assessment Models. Prior to joining TCG, Ms. Baskin served for 15 years as executive assistant to the Chairman of the NYS Council on the Arts, working for then-Chairman, Kitty Carlisle Hart. She attended Mount Holyoke College, earned her B.A. from Colgate University, and a degree in arts administration from Adelphi University.

Emilya Cachapero, director of artistic and international programs, TCG, (she/her/hers): Emilya Cachapero is the director of Theatre Communications Group’s Artistic and International Programs, has been active in the global arts community for more than 35 years and oversees TCG’s grant programs, international programs and selected special projects which have included Beyond Orientalism, a national initiative to address the use of yellow face, brown face and whitewashing.  For 11 years she was a member of the Executive Board and Council of International Theatre Institute (ITI) Worldwide and was a US National Commissioner to UNESCO from 2002 – 2008. Ms. Cachapero has facilitated workshops and trainings for groups that include the Norwegian Consulate, Grantmakers in the Arts, the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, the Weissberg Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon foundation, and the Pew Charitable Trusts.  She was instrumental in creating the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival and was its founding producer for the first two years of the program.  Her writing has been published in American Poetry Review and several poetry anthologies.  Ms. Cachapero received her Bachelor of Arts degree in creative writing from San Francisco State University and an honorary M.F.A. from the American Conservatory Theater. She is an alumna of the James P. Shannon Leadership Institute and artEquity National Facilitator Training.

Elena Chang, director of EDI Initiatives, TCG (she/her/hers):  Elena Chang, Director of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives, joined TCG in 2016. Chang manages internal and external programs as part of TCG’s Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Initiative, including the EDI Institute, the facilitation of EDI workshops, the series #LegacyLeaders, and initiatives with Theatres of Color. Previously, Chang served as program director of the Asian American Arts Alliance, where she was responsible for the development, design/communications, and management of all artist-focused programs as well as community-centered initiatives. A longtime champion of POC & LGBTQ representation in the creative sector, Elena continues her work in the theatre field by centering the intersections of art, culture & activism. Elena was former creative director of Asian Pride Project, an arts & advocacy initiative featuring LGBTQ API communities. She serves on the Advisory Committee of the KQTCon, and frequently collaborates with National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA). In 2012, she was honored for her arts and LGBTQ advocacy work with Asian Pride Project by the White House Asian American and Pacific Islander Champions of Change Initiative. She received a BFA in Theatre from Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts.

Snehal Desai, producing artistic director, East West Players, (he/him/his): Snehal Desai is the producing artistic director of East West Players, the longest-running theater of color in the country and the nation’s largest Asian-American theater company. He has directed plays at venues from The Old Globe in San Diego to Boom Arts in Portland, Oregon to the Old Vic in London, and worked at more than a dozen theaters in New York City. Desai is a member of the Asian Pacific American Media Coalition and serves on the board of the Consortium of Asian American Theaters and Artists. Among various positions he has held, Desai served as resident director of Theater Emory, participated in the Lincoln Center Directors Lab and was a literary fellow with London’s Royal Shakespeare Company. A Soros Fellow and the recipient of a Tanne Award, Desai was in the Inaugural Class of Theater Communications Group’s (TCG) SPARK Leadership Program, was featured in American Theatre magazine’s “20 Theater Workers You Should Know.” He was also the inaugural recipient of the Drama League’s Classical Directing Fellowship. Snehal is a graduate of Emory University and received his M.F.A. in directing from the Yale School of Drama.

Leslie Ishii, artistic director, Perseverance Theatre (she/her/hers): Leslie Ishii is a leader in the American Theatre in many capacities. (Stage Director) Perseverance Theatre: Devilfish (Fall 2019), We Hold These Truths; East West Players: Takarazuka!!!, Taking Flight: The Katherine Cheung Story, Crimes Of The Heart; Artists At Play: 99 Histories; plays at UC, Irvine, USC, CSLA; Oregon Shakespeare Festival: API 2x2 Lab New Works Residency, Founder/Producer, Dramaturgy, FAIR Assistant Director Program Recipient; and where she began, Northwest Asian American Theatre. (Actor) Broadway, regional theatre—Penumbra Theatre Company, El Teatro Campesino, American Conservatory Theatre, and South Coast Repertory to name a few. She has also appeared in TV and film. (National Scope) Co-Chair/Organizer/Board Member: 5th and 6th Consortium of Asian American Theaters and Artists’ National ConFest; National Cultural Navigation Theatre Project for the sustainability of artists and theatres of color; Co-facilitated the launch of Theatre Communication Group’s Equity/Diversity/Inclusion Institute; Core faculty, artEquity working throughout the US with arts and culture organizations.  AEA, SAG-AFTRA, SDC.

Jonathan McCrory, artistic director, Dr. Barbara Ann Teer's National Black Theatre, (he/him/his): Jonathan McCrory is an Obie Award-winning & Audelco Nominated, Harlem-based artist who has served as Artistic Director at Dr. Barbara Ann Teer's National Black Theatre since 2012. Currently serving on the nominating committee for the Tony Awards & The Lucille Lortel Awards. Throughout his career, McCrory has worked professionally as a director, producer, and actor. A Washington, DC native, he attended Duke Ellington School of the Arts, where he trained in musical theater and theater production. He earned a BFA degree in Acting and Africana Studies from New York University TISCH School of the Arts.  He has directed numerous professional productions and concerts which include: Dead and Breathing, HandsUp, Hope Speaks, Blacken The Bubble, Last Laugh Enter Your Sleep, Iron John (NAMT), How the Light Gets In (2018 & 2017 at NYMF), and Klook (NAMT). He has worked at Experimental Theatre Wing at TISCH NYU creating devised work like Emergence: A Communion (based on adrienne marie brown's book Emergent Strategy), and evoking him: Baldwin and at Suny Purchase directing a production of Exit Strategy and A Beautiful Day in November. Outside of his own directorial work, he has been able to work as an assistant director to Talvin Wilks: Anne & Emmet, One Quarter, and Banana Beer Bath and Charles Randolph-Wright: Motown [Workshops].

Rafael Sánchez, executive artistic director, Repertorio Español (he/him/his):  Rafael Sánchez is the Executive Artistic Director at Repertorio Español (Spanish Repertory Theatre), a non-profit organization that has been performing the best of Latin American, Spanish, and Hispanic-American theatre in distinctive, quality productions, and bringing theatre to a broad audience in New York City, including seniors, students, and Hispanic of all national backgrounds  for the last fifty years. Born and raised in Madrid, Spain, Rafael possesses a BA in Drama from the University of Kent at Canterbury (ESAD), a Master in Performing Arts from the University Rey Juan Carlos, and also studied graduated courses in Comparative Literature at the University of Puerto Rico. He is currently finishing his Ph.D. in Hispanic Studies and Literature at the UPR. He has taught at that institution and at ICPR Junior College since 2012. Actually, he is also Adjunct Lecturer at the Hispanic Languages and Literature Department at Queens College (CUNY). His work with non-profits has been proved for more than ten years in Puerto Rico (where he has lived until 2017) and the USA, with companies such as Tantai Teatro (Founder) and Boundless Theatre Company. He is also a performing artist based in New York, having acted in and/or produced over 50 works in Spain and the USA.

Chandra Stephens-Albright, managing director, True Colors Theatre Company, (she/her/hers): Chandra is the Managing Director of True Colors Theatre Company, where she co-leads the theatre with Artistic Director Jamil Jude.  She brings an incredible depth of collaborative leadership and a successful track record of innovative fund development to her role as financial ambassador for the theatre. She is known for her acumen in defining strategy, executing priorities, converting insights into initiatives, and managing diverse groups of stakeholders. Chandra comes to True Colors Theatre Company from C5 Georgia, where she served as Executive Director from 2014 to 2017.  There, Ms. Stephens-Albright led efforts to achieve financial sustainability, raise community awareness, optimize operational effectiveness and increase alumni engagement. Previously, Chandra led customer marketing and innovation efforts at The Coca-Cola Company. Over her 22-year career there – from 1991 until 2013 – she built a reputation for directing productive teams, tackling tough challenges, and leading strategic initiatives. Specifically, she guided the development of the Coca-Cola Freestyle® brand name, user interface design and visual identity. Before joining Coca-Cola, she was a Product Manager at Clairol.  Her career began at Bristol-Myers Squibb in the Bristol Myers International Group.

Jackie Taylor, founder, executive director, and CEO, Black Ensemble Theater, (she/her/hers): Jackie Taylor serves as the Founder, Executive Director and CEO of the 44 year-old Black Ensemble Theater. Jackie Taylor has written, produced and directed more than 100 plays and musical biographies, including Don’t Make Me Over (The Story of Dionne Warwick), The Marvin Gaye Story, I Am Who I Am (The Story of Teddy Pendergrass), God Is A Black Man Named Ricky, Those Sensational Soulful 60’s, The Other Cinderella, Somebody Say Amen, At Last: A Tribute To Etta James, and The Jackie Wilson Story, among a myriad of other highly regarded productions. She is a theater graduate from Loyola University, has a Master's in Education from the American College of Education and holds a Doctor of Humane Letters from DePaul University. Ms. Taylor is also an educator having taught in the Chicago Public Schools for more than 35 years. Ms. Taylor is a consummate actress having starred in numerous theatrical productions with many major theaters. She won national attention in her first film “Cooley High”. She has gone on to be featured in several other films including Barber Shop II, To Sir With Love: Part II, Hoodlum, Losing Isiah and most recently Chiraq. Her television credits include being featured in such television shows as Early Edition, The Father Clements Story, and several television specials where, as a celebrity, she played herself. Jackie has worked with Sidney Poitier, Vanessa Williams, Bill Duke, Ice Cube, Steven Williams, and Spike Lee, just to name a few.

Teresa Coleman Wash, founding artistic director, Bishop Arts Theatre Center (she/her/hers): Teresa Coleman Wash is a producer, writer, and founding artistic director for the Bishop Arts Theatre Center whose mission is to cultivate a diverse and vibrant arts community while creating opportunities for local and emerging artists through performance and education. Wash is a National Arts Strategies fellow having studied at Harvard Business School and she holds an MA in Arts Management from Goucher College. She is the 2019 recipient of the Theater Communications Group’s prestigious Peter Zeisler Memorial Award for artistic integrity and ingenuity and in 2018, she received the National Guild for Community Arts Education’s Milestone Award and the Dallas Business Council for the Arts’ Obelisk Award in the category of Visionary Nonprofit Arts Leader. Mrs. Wash has also earned several Irma P. Hall Awards including the 2020 Irma P. Hall Theatrical Excellence Medal. In 2017, Teresa was elected to the Dramatists Guild of America Council representing the Southern region where she also served on the steering committee.

Torange Yeghiazarian, founding artistic director, Golden Thread Productions (she/her/hers):Torange Yeghiazarian is the Founding Artistic Director of Golden Thread Productions, the first American theatre company focused on the Middle East where she launched such visionary programs as ReOrient Festival, New Threads, Fairytale Players, and What do the Women Say?, and timely initiatives such as Islam 101 and Project Alo? Torange has been recognized by Theatre Bay Area and is one of Theatre Communication Group’s Legacy Leaders of Color. She was honored by the Cairo International Theatre Festival and the Symposium on Equity in the Entertainment Industry at Stanford University. A playwright, director, and translator, Torange contributed a case study chapter to “Casting a Movement”, forthcoming from Routledge, 2019. Her translation and stage adaptation of Nizami’s “Leyla Majnun” is published on Gleeditions.com. She has been published in The Drama Review, American Theatre Magazine, AmerAsia Journal, and contributed to Encyclopedia of Women Islamic Cultures and Cambridge World Encyclopedia of Stage Actors. At Golden Thread, Torange directed OH MY SWEET LAND by Amir Nizar Zuabi, and the premieres of OUR ENEMIES: LIVELY SCENES OF LOVE AND COMBAT and SCENIC ROUTES by Yussef El Guindi, THE MYTH OF CREATION by Sadegh Hedayat, TAMAM by Betty Shamieh, STUCK by Amir Al-Azraki, VOICE ROOM by Reza Soroor, and adapted the poem, I SELL SOULS by Simin Behbehani for the stage. Torange was a member of the artistic team that developed BENEDICTUS, a collaboration among Iranian, Israeli, and American artists. She received a Gerbode-Hewlett Playwright Commission Award for ISFAHAN BLUES, a co-production with African American Shakespeare Company, and a commission from the Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California to write THE FIFTH STRING: ZIRYAB’S PASSAGE TO CORDOBA. Other plays include 444 DAYS, WAVES, and CALL ME MEHDI, included in the anthology “Salaam. Peace: An Anthology of Middle Eastern-American Drama,” TCG, 2009. Born in Iran and of Armenian heritage, Torange holds a Master’s degree in Theatre Arts from San Francisco State University.

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