FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 1, 2019 | CONTACT: Gus Schulenburg | gschulenburg@tcg.org | 212-609-5941
TCG Brings Delegation of Theatre Leaders to Capitol Hill for
Arts Advocacy Day
Meetings with legislative staff on schedule
New York, NY –Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for U.S. theatre, is pleased to announce the TCG delegation of theatre leaders for Arts Advocacy Day in Washington, DC from March 4-5. The delegation includes: Adrian Budhu, deputy director and COO, TCG; Raymond Bobgan, executive artistic director, Cleveland Public Theatre, Cleveland, OH; Kristen Coury, founder and producing artistic director, Gulfshore Playhouse, Naples, FL; Julie Morris, advisory council, Playmakers Repertory Company, Chapel Hill, NC; and James McNeel, managing director, City Theatre Company, Pittsburgh, PA. They will be led on meetings with elected officials by Laurie Baskin, director of research, policy & collective action, TCG.
The TCG delegation will meet with legislative staff in the offices of Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), Senator Patrick Toomey (R-PA), Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Rep. Michael Doyle (D-PA), Rep. David Price (D-NC), and Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY). There is a meeting pending in the office of Senator Rick Scott (R-FL).
“TCG’s arts advocacy is a critical part of our commitment to fostering a healthy ecology for the theatre field,” said Teresa Eyring, executive director, TCG. “Through the coalition-building work we conduct with the Performing Arts Alliance, we advocate for favorable federal policies that impact the whole of the arts sector.”
The delegation will attend Arts Advocacy Day events and meet with elected officials on key issues that include: increased funding for the NEA; preserving and expanding tax incentives for charitable giving; improving the visa process for artists from abroad; protecting wireless microphones used in the performing arts; funding for arts education at the U.S. Department of Education; funding for international cultural exchange; and healthcare coverage for people in the arts.
“When theatre professionals share their heartfelt stories on the impact of the arts, elected officials listen,” said Baskin. “These meetings not only have a very real impact on federal arts policy, they also help foster deeper connections between theatre leaders and their elected officials.”
For over 55 years, Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for U.S. theatre, has existed to strengthen, nurture, and promote the professional not-for-profit theatre. TCG’s constituency has grown from a handful of groundbreaking theatres to over 700 Member Theatres and affiliate organizations and more than 12,000 individuals nationwide. TCG offers its members networking and knowledge-building opportunities through conferences, events, research, and communications; awards grants, 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 publisher of dramatic literature, with 16 Pulitzer Prizes for Best Play 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.#ArtsAdvocacy#WashingtonDC