Jacqueline E. Lawton
  • Home
  • Info
    • Artistic Statement
    • Bio
    • Awards and Fellowships
    • Affiliations
  • Writing
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
    • Plays
    • Productions
    • Commissions
    • Award Ceremonies
    • Publications
  • Advocacy
    • Appearances
    • Facilitation, Workshops, and Trainings
    • Access, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the American Theatre
    • Gender Equity
    • Theatre and Technology
    • Theatre Action >
      • After Orlando
      • Climate Change
      • Every 28 Hour Plays
    • Testimonials
    • Additional Resources
  • Dramaturgy
    • New Play Development
    • Production Dramaturgy
    • Dramaturgy and Script Consultation
    • Additional Resources
  • Teaching
    • Qualifications
    • Curriculum Development, Theatre Arts Integration and Teaching Artist Training
    • Philosophy
    • Experience
  • Producing
    • ARDEO
    • On Stage with the Migration Series
    • Out of Silence: Abortion Stories from the 1 in 3 Campaign
  • Media
    • Gallery
    • Good Ink
    • Media Coverage
    • Interviews
    • Press Releases
    • Podcast & Video
  • Blog
  • Contact

TCG's Fall Forum on Governance: Strategy Forward

11/1/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
On Thursday, I head to New York to take part in TCG's Fall Forum on Governance, which gathers theatre trustees and senior staff from around the country. This will be my third Fall Forum and I remain as interested as ever in the learnings made during these meetings. The purpose of this convening is threefold:
  • LISTEN AND INTERACT with the foremost experts in arts leadership.
  • DISCOVER AND SHARE fresh techniques and best practices for theatre governance.
  • CONNECT AND RE-CONNECT with industry colleagues from across the country.

This year's theme is Strategy Forward and our guiding questions will be: 
  • In a time of increasing complexity, should theatres be strategic planning or scenario planning—or throw out the plans altogether and develop organizational flexibility?
  • What are models both within and without the field of successful board and staff strategic collaboration?
  • And how does this all manifest on our stages and in our communities?

As I think about the work ahead, I'm reminded of a recent Facebook conversation between colleagues discussing transitions in artistic leadership in the D.C. theatre community, which highlighted that the last time a woman was selected to lead a major regional theatre was in 1998 and that was at Arena Stage. Since then, Olney Theatre, Round House Theatre, and Theater J have seen leadership transitions go from man to man. None of them of color. (Studio Theatre went from a woman to a man. Center Stage in Baltimore, MD went from a woman to a man, specifically, to a man of color.)

​Having just served on a Producing Artistic Director Search Committee at a major regional theatre, I will say that the makeup of your board/search committee and their commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion are of the utmost importance during transitions of power. They must be committed to the theatre's mission; knowledgeable of issues impacting the local, regional, and national theatre communities; aware of the needs and contributions of the staff; excited by a vision for the future; and not afraid of the great change necessary to make all of this happen.

In other words, your fundraising and advisory boards must be peopled with change makers and their investment in your organization must be tied to the health, growth, and sustainability of the community you serve. All of which is easier said than done, of course, but absolutely necessary. We are at a time in our country and world where great change and new ways of thinking are essential for survival. We need a tide of reckoning, a wrestling with our unconscious bias towards race, ethnicity, gender, class, religion, and ability when it comes to leadership and representation. It will be interesting to see what happens at Shakespeare Theatre Company, Signature Theatre, and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company...as well as other regional theatres across the nation.
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    My Blog

    Picture
    I'm a playwright, dramaturg, and teaching artist. It is here where you'll find my queries and musings on life, theater and the world. My posts advocate for diversity, inclusion, and equity in the American Theatre and updates on my own work. Please enjoy!
    Tweets by @dulcia25

    Categories

    All
    Advocates For Youth
    ARDEO
    Blackbirds
    Dance Exchange
    Dc Theatre
    Diversity And Inclusion
    Dramatist Guild
    Gender Parity
    Intelligence
    Lions Of Industry
    LoTT
    Love Brothers Serenade
    Mothers Of Invention
    Musings
    Nnpn
    Noms De Guerre
    Nso
    Our Man Beverly Snow
    Plays For Two
    TCG
    Theatre Education
    Theatre For Social Change
    The Hampton Years
    The Inferior Sex
    Triangle Theatre
    Wizard Of Oz
    Women Artistic Directors
    Women Directors
    Women Dramaturgs
    Women Playwrights
    Women Stage Managers
    Women Theatre Critics
    Xx Playlab Festival

    Archives

    June 2020
    April 2020
    December 2019
    September 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    August 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012

    Reading List
    2am Theatre
    American Theatre Wing

    Americans for the Arts
    The Atlantic
    Black Girl Dangerous
    Colorlines
    Feminist Crunk Collective
    Feminist Spectator

    The Good Men Project
    Guardian: Theatre
    Guernica
    HowlRound
    Media Diversified
    The Nation
    NEA Art Works
    NPR Arts and Life
    NYTimes: Arts

    Opine Season
    The New Yorker
    The Paris Review

    Salon
    Theater Talks
    Think Progress
    WaPo: Theatre
    Works by Women

    Vox

  • Home
  • Info
    • Artistic Statement
    • Bio
    • Awards and Fellowships
    • Affiliations
  • Writing
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
    • Plays
    • Productions
    • Commissions
    • Award Ceremonies
    • Publications
  • Advocacy
    • Appearances
    • Facilitation, Workshops, and Trainings
    • Access, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the American Theatre
    • Gender Equity
    • Theatre and Technology
    • Theatre Action >
      • After Orlando
      • Climate Change
      • Every 28 Hour Plays
    • Testimonials
    • Additional Resources
  • Dramaturgy
    • New Play Development
    • Production Dramaturgy
    • Dramaturgy and Script Consultation
    • Additional Resources
  • Teaching
    • Qualifications
    • Curriculum Development, Theatre Arts Integration and Teaching Artist Training
    • Philosophy
    • Experience
  • Producing
    • ARDEO
    • On Stage with the Migration Series
    • Out of Silence: Abortion Stories from the 1 in 3 Campaign
  • Media
    • Gallery
    • Good Ink
    • Media Coverage
    • Interviews
    • Press Releases
    • Podcast & Video
  • Blog
  • Contact