Jonah Lehrer Set As Keynote Speaker For 2010 TCG National Conference

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for professional not-for-profit theatre announces its 2010 conference: Ideas into Action. From June 17-19, 2010, the theatre community will come together in Chicago to explore bold new solutions to the major challenges facing the theatre field, cultivate a community that strengthens and nourishes theatres and hear from artists and other thought leaders who will inspire strategic thinking and action.

For over 30 years, the TCG National Conference has offered the only forum in which the national American theatre community comes together for this kind of artistic and intellectual exchange. Within the conference, attendees meet in large plenary sessions designed to expand the field's thinking and contextualize the moment in which it operates; and in breakout sessions largely designed to address the immediate concerns of the field. The event also provides time for attendees to connect with their colleagues and form relationships that will sustain them between conferences.

"Last year, we examined the landscape within which we were working," said Teresa Eyring, TCG executive director. "We looked at some of the major challenges faced by the theatre field: changes in leadership, economic uncertainty, a diversity of aesthetics, technological advances, the possibilities of the future and the evolving nature of global relationships."

"This year, we will dig even deeper," Eyring continued. "The 2010 TCG National Conference is an opportunity to explore bold new solutions, cultivate a community that strengthens and nourishes work and allows us to hear from theatres, artists and other thought leaders who will inspire strategic thinking that leads to action."

Recognizing the complexity of our field and our society today, TCG will curate the three-day gathering around four main motifs. Artists and Artistry will allow participants to explore the lives of individual artists today and the subjects of artistic risk-taking and the creation of new and ambitious works, while considering how this type of work can be more fully supported and sustained. Race and Gender examines the multi-layered definitions of diversity including trans-nationalism, generational approaches to diversity, gender disparity and questions of religious tolerance. The third motif, The Arts Learning Continuum, will focus on arts education in schools, lifelong learning opportunities and training programs for artists and administrators. Lastly, Creative Ecology will explore the relationships of creative ecosystems (local, national, and international) as well as creative industries (broadly defined to include the performing arts, the advertising industry, technology, social media, architecture and more) and their impact on our art form, artists, audiences and communities.

As in past conferences, TCG also invites a variety of experts from across professional lines to address and engage with this unique and dedicated gathering of theatre professionals. In 2010, guest speakers include best-selling author, Jonah Lehrer; the president and CEO of CEOs for Cities, Carol Coletta; the president of the Doblin Group, Larry Keeley; and director of theater and musical theater at the NEA Ralph Remington.
Jonah Lehrer has been hailed as an important new thinker by The Los Angeles Times and is the author of Proust Was a Neuroscientist and the instant bestseller, How We Decide. Captivating, accessible, and never dull, he talks about how we make decisions -- and how we can make better decisions. "Lehrer ingeniously weaves neuroscience, sports, war, psychology, and politics into a fascinating tale of human decision making," says Dan Ariely (Predictably Irrational). "He makes us much wiser."
Currently, he is a contributing editor at Wired, Scientific American Mind and NPR's "Radio Lab." He has also written for The New Yorker, SEED, and The Washington Post.

Carol Coletta is president and CEO of CEOs for Cities and host and producer of the nationally syndicated public radio show Smart City (www.smartcityradio.com).

Previously, she served as president of Coletta & Company in Memphis. She is a highly sought after speaker on the success formula for cities and creative communities and is frequently interviewed as an expert on urban issues by national media.
In 2008 she was named one of the world's 50 most important urban experts by a leading European think tank. Most recently, she was named the recipient of the Lamda Alpha International 2009 International Journalism Award for her work with CEOs for Cities and Smart City, and as one of the top 50 urban thinkers of all time by readers of PLANetizen.com.

Larry Keeley is a strategist who has worked for 30 years to develop more effective innovation methods. He is president and co-founder of Doblin Inc, an innovation strategy firm known for pioneering comprehensive innovation systems that materially improve innovation success rates. He lectures frequently, publishes regularly and is completing a book on innovation effectiveness, "The Taming of the New" - an exhaustive analysis of innovation and the superior methods that drive ROI (return on investment).
BusinessWeek named Keeley one of seven Innovation Gurus that are changing the field, and specifically cited Doblin for having many of the most sophisticated tools for delivering innovation effectiveness. In 2010, they also selecTed Keeley as one of the 27 most influential designers in the world, a phenomenon Keeley himself found to be a head scratcher, since he is not actually a designer.
Ralph Remington serves as the Director for Theater and Musical Theater at the National Endowment for the Arts. He is responsible for the grantmaking processes for theatre and musical theatre, developing partnerships to advance the theatre field as a whole, and leading large-scale Theatre Projects such as the NEA's New Play Development Program.

Most recently, Mr. Remington was a city council member of the City of Minneapolis, representing Ward 10 from 2006 through 2009. From 2001-02, Mr. Remington served as artistic associate and director of community engagement with Arena Stage, overseeing all of the company's outreach and education programs and a staff of 19. Mr. Remington is founder of Pillsbury House Theatre and served as producing artistic director until 1999.

Support for TCG's 2010 national conference provided by The Boeing Company, The Chicago Community Trust, The Richard M. Driehaus Foundation, Easy-Ware Corporation, Fisher Dachs Associates, The MacArthur Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts and Target Resource Group.

About the TCG National Conference:
The TCG National Conference brings together approximately 800 theatre professionals from across the nation and around the world for meetings, speeches, performances and a chance to explore the local theatre community.
The 2010 Conference will be held in Chicago, Illinois from June 17-19 at the Palmer House Hilton - 17 E. Monroe Street, Chicago, Il. TCG's host is The League of Chicago Theatres. In addition to the Palmer House, conference activities will be held at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, The Goodman Theatre and Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
For more information and registration, go to www.tcg.org/conference.

Ideas into Action

2010 TCG National Conference

The Pre-Conference, June 16-17, Chicago, Il

Theatre Education Assessment Models (TEAM)

This program will equip Theatre Education Directors with the training and tools to tabulate and articulate the effectiveness of their education programs through accessible, valid, and reliable assessment analysis. Support for this program provided by The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation Inc.,The Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation and The Dana Foundation.

The TCG/American Express Leadership Boot Camp

This program will offer a two-day professional development pre-conference workshop bringing together pairs of leaders (an established leader and an emerging leader) from 20 theatres across the country. This program is funded in full by the American Express Foundation.

The Network of Ensemble Theaters presents

NETWorks: The ABCs of Today's Creative Touring Partnerships

In this shifting arena, what do ensembles and companies need to know as they prepare to tour-or re-think how they tour? Led by touring artists and "activist presenters," this artist-centered workshop will map the touring landscape, build skills and share resources to prepare artists and companies to go out on the road.

TCG Member Theatres in Chicago:

About Face Theatre

Chicago Children's Theatre

Chicago Dramatists

Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Collaboraction

Court Theatre

First Folio Theatre

Free Street Theater

Goodman Theatre

The House Theatre of Chicago

The Hypocrites

Illinois Theatre Center

Lookingglass Theatre Company

The Neo-Futurists

Next Theatre Company

NightBlue Theater

Northlight Theatre

Pegasus Players Theatre

Piven Theatre Workshop

Redmoon

A Red Orchid Theatre

Silk Road Theatre Project

Steppenwolf Theatre Company

Teatro Vista

Timeline Theatre Company

Victory Gardens Theater

Writers' Theatre

The 2010 Conference will be held in Chicago, Illinois from June 17-19 at the Palmer House Hilton - 17 E. Monroe Street, Chicago, Il. TCG's host is The League of Chicago Theatres. In addition to the Palmer House, conference activities will be held at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, The Goodman Theatre and Steppenwolf Theatre Company.