Individual Giving

Dear colleague,

In 2021, Theatre Communications Group celebrated its 60th anniversary. While we couldn’t gather for a large in-person celebration, we were able to serve the theatre field more deeply than ever, during a time of ongoing crisis and transformation. We also committed to a new strategic plan, which had been in the works since late 2019. Our plan is built around the mission: to lead for a just and thriving theatre ecology.

Today, we’re asking for your support for the next 60+ years in service of this essential new mission.

Amid the largest protest movement for racial justice in our country’s history, TCG’s new plan centers Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) theatremakers and theatres led by and for People of the Global Majority. Within these communities, we’re further prioritizing LGBTQI+, transgender, gender nonconforming, and disabled people, believing that when they are thriving, we all thrive. This means moving our work and our field away from old and divisive scarcity models toward accountability and abundance.

Over the past year, our new mission and strategic plan have radically transformed our work. Through our advocacy, we helped secure the largest federal investment in the arts in generations--and prioritized equitable access for BIPOC theatres and theatremakers. Our grantmaking partnerships provided rapid response grants to artists during the height of the pandemic, with more than 51% of grants awarded to BIPOC theatremakers. When the Delta variant surged, we hosted public health experts to help theatres adapt. We worked with Theatres and Networks of Color to celebrate their artistry and support their organizing, such as the #StopAsianHate movement; and we organized white theatremakers to respond to BIPOC demands. Through it all, we continued to publish a diverse range of authors and journalists through TCG Books and American Theatre Magazine.

We’ve also continued to build a foundation for the work ahead. We’ve built online communities and hosted Theatre Leader Connectedness meetings to share resources more responsively. To address the existential threat of the climate crisis, we convened two summits and ongoing monthly meetings on climate action. Most recently, we’ve announced two transformative programs celebrating BIPOC artistry: THRIVE!, a regranting program that will provide unrestricted funds, professional development, and technical assistance for U.S.-based Black, Indigenous, Theatres of Color (BITOC); and Illuminations, a TCG Books series which will help restore classic works from Black playwrights to their rightful place in the canon.

At every step of the way, we’ve taken inspiration from you: your innovative spirit and resilience, your calls for accountability, your commitment to collective action, and your steadfast support of TCG. We know we can’t go back to the way things were. And so we will continue to bring the leadership, connectivity, humility, and responsiveness needed to bring about a truly just and truly thriving theatre ecology.

To do this work, we need you! Please, help us continue to make the most of this transformative time by making a tax deductible contribution to TCG today.

Then, let’s take a deep breath together, and make the most of the year to come.

Teresa Eyring (she/her)

Executive Director & CEO