FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 19, 2021 || CONTACTS:: Corinna Schulenburg | cschulenburg@tcg.org | 212-609-5941
Theatre Communications Group Announces
Chi è di Scena? ITI meets USA
Online event on March 22 features U.S. theatre leaders and artists
New York, NY – Theatre Communications Group (TCG) is pleased to announce ITI Meets the USA, an online event on Monday, March 22, at 11am EST/4pm Italy (GMT+1) on Facebook Live. Presented and hosted by the International Theatre Institute (ITI) Italy and ITI-Worldwide the 70-minute event will include remarks from leaders of the Global Theater Initiative (GTI), which serves as the U.S. Center of ITI, followed by a conversation and Q&A with U.S. artists. The featured U.S. artists include: Daniel Banks and Adam W. McKinney of DNAWORKS; Dr. Lee Francis III, Reed Bobroff, and Kim Gleason of Two Worlds; and Mia Yoo of La MaMa ETC. The livestream will be held here: https://www.facebook.com/InternationalTheatreInstituteItalia.
“We’re thrilled to share our perspectives on what’s happening in U.S. theatre during this transformational moment in our country’s history,” said Teresa Eyring, executive director and CEO, TCG. “Whenever we gather with our colleagues across borders, we’re reminded how much we have in common, and how much more becomes possible when we work together. We’re so grateful to be joined by distinguished artists from DNAWORKS, Two Worlds, and La MaMa ETC. ”
TCG’s Global Initiatives include serving as the U.S. Center for the International Theatre Institute (ITI-U.S.), sharing leadership of ITI-U.S. with the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics as part of the Global Theater Initiative. TCG’s Executive Director, Teresa Eyring, currently serves on the executive council of ITI worldwide and as ITI Vice President for the Americas. The Global Theater Initiative connects practitioners with resources, knowledge, and partnerships to strengthen their work, promotes cultural collaboration as essential for international peace and mutual understandings, and innovates new strategies to maximize the global theatre field’s opportunities and impact. TCG also publishes extensive coverage of international work in American Theatre, issues peer consultation letters for international visa petitions, and advocates for cultural exchange and artists’ rights worldwide. For decades, TCG has also supported cultural exchange through grantmaking, and by leading delegations of U.S. theatre practitioners to festivals worldwide. To further support this initiative and work of TCG, please contact Kevin Bitterman, director of Institutional Advancement & Partnerships, at kbitterman@tcg.org.
Speakers from the Global Theater Initiative include: Emilya Cachapero, director of artistic & international programs of TCG and former ITI VP for the Americas; Teresa Eyring, executive director/CEO of TCG, co-President of ITI US, and ITI VP for the Americas; Juli Hendren, Dr Kerry English Global Connectivity Manager at TCG/ITI-US; and Derek Goldman, co-founder of the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics at Georgetown and former ITI VP for the Americas. The livestream will be held here: https://www.facebook.com/InternationalTheatreInstituteItalia.
DNAWORKS (Fort Worth, TX) is dedicated to furthering artistic expression and dialogue, focusing on issues of identity, culture, class, and heritage.
Daniel Banks, Ph.D. (Co-Director, DNAWORKS) has worked extensively in the U.S. and abroad as a director, deviser, and educator. Daniel has served on the faculties of the Department of Undergraduate Drama, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University; the MFA in Contemporary Performance, Naropa University; the M.A. in Applied Theatre, City University of New York; and as Chair of Performing Arts at the Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe, NM. He is founder of the Hip Hop Theatre Initiative, Associate Director of Theatre Without Borders, and the 2020 recipient of the Alan Schneider Director Award from Theatre Communications Group.
Adam W. McKinney (Co-Director, DNAWORKS) is a dancer, choreographer, and community activist. He has danced with some of the world’s preeminent dance companies, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, and Béjart Ballet Lausanne. McKinney holds an MA in Dance Studies with concentrations in Race and Trauma theories from NYU-Gallatin. He is an Assistant Professor of Dance in the School for Classical & Contemporary Dance at TCU. He is recipient of the 2019 Interchange Fellowship from Mid-America Arts Alliance and Co-Founder and President of Tarrant County Coalition for Peace and Justice.
Two Worlds (Albuquerque, NM) Reclaiming our Identity through Live Performance: Two Worlds is dedicated to the craft of performing arts expressing the duality of the contemporary American Indian through drama, comedy and storytelling. Guided by shared Native experiences, we strive to develop ways of telling our stories through honest and creative expression.
Dr. Lee Francis III (Laguna Pueblo – Anishinaabe) is a Poet, Educator, Theatre Maker, and Founder of “Wordcraft Circle” of Native Writers and Storytellers, and Indigipop-X organization. Dr. Francis was the National Director of Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers of Albuquerque, New Mexico since 1992. He served on the Diversity Committee of the United Way of America and the National Coalition for Indian Education and the National Indian Education Association.
Reed Bobroff (Diné) is a Pushcart Prize-nominated poet, playwright, performer, and educator from Albuquerque, NM. He studied Theater at Yale University and has worked with indigenous youth across Indian Country, Alaska, Hawai'i, and New Zealand. After researching the healing qualities of writing and performance at the Yale Child Study Center, he returned home as the inaugural Arts Integration Coordinator and Drama teacher at the Native American Community Academy.
Kim Gleason (Diné) is a Native American Producer, Actress and Director. She’s been active in local theater, film and television for over 20 years, where she continues to promote Native American performing and cinematic arts in New Mexico. She is a graduate of UNM in music and theater and the proud Co-Founder for Native Women Lead.
La MaMa ETC (New York, NY): La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club is dedicated to the artist and all aspects of the theatre. We are a creative home to artists and audiences from around the world, and a dynamic hub for risk-taking new performance. A vital part of New York City’s cultural fabric, La MaMa has a worldwide reputation for producing theatre, dance, music, and performance art that defies form and embraces all identities.
Mia Yoo is an actor, writer, and producer. She was mentored by La MaMa’s founder Ellen Stewart since 1996 and under the TCG’s New Generations Future Leaders Program, the mentorship was formalized in 2005. In 2009, Mia acted as La MaMa’s Co-Artistic Director and in 2011, La MaMa’s Board of Directors unanimously elected Mia as Artistic Director of La MaMa.
The International Theatre Institute (ITI), an international non-governmental organization (NGO), was founded in Prague in 1948 by UNESCO and the international theatre community. Today, the mission of ITI is to promote the international exchange of knowledge and practice in theatre arts in order to consolidate peace and friendship between peoples, to deepen mutual understanding and increase creative co-operation between all people in the theatre arts. https://www.iti-worldwide.org/
Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, leads for a just and thriving theatre ecology. 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 over 7,000 Individual Members. Through its programs and services, TCG reaches over one million students, audience members, and theatre professionals each year. TCG offers 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 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 18 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. TCG believes its vision of “a better world for theatre, and a better world because of theatre” can be achieved through individual and collective action, adaptive and responsive leadership, and equitable representation in all areas of practice. TCG is led by executive director and CEO Teresa Eyring and deputy director and COO Adrian Budhu. https://circle.tcg.org/home
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