STAGE TUBE: I AM THEATRE Project - Devon Smith

BroadwayWorld.com is excited to share a weekly series developed by the Theatre Communications Group! This week Threespot's Devon Smith shares pivotal moments in her theatre career and why the arts matter to her!

Devon Smith is the Director of Social Media at Threespot, a digital media consulting firm for nonprofits. She has worked in marketing, development, and general management roles for theatre and dance companies across the US, including Actors Theatre of Louisville, Intiman Theatre, Peter Kyle Dance, Roundabout Theatre Company, and Yale Repertory Theatre, as well as for A.R.T/New York, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Mary Gates Foundation, and the World Science Festival. She has recently presented social media research at arts conferences including Theatre Communications Group, Chorus America, Americans for the Arts, Shakespeare Theatre Association, Culture Lab, Midwest Arts, and the Nonprofit Technology Conference. Much of her research can be found at www.24UsableHours.com. As a former playwright, dramaturg, and stage manager, her artistic work has been seen at the Connelly Theatre and HERE Arts Center in New York City, in 14/48: The World Quickest Theatre Festival in Seattle, at the University of Washington, and the University of South Carolina, among others. She is a former company member of Washington Ensemble Theatre and current company member of Pacific Performance Project/East. Devon hails from Austin, Texas, and holds an MBA from Yale School of Management, an MFA in Theatre Management from Yale School of Drama, a BBA from the University of Washington's Foster School of Business, and a BA from the University of Washington's School of Drama. She has traveled extensively across six continents, enjoys independent film and theatre, and collects non-Mercator maps.

I AM THEATRE spotlights the stories of theatre practitioners, in their own words. With 50 videos over the next 50 weeks, TCG is celebrating its 50th anniversary by sharing stories from a diverse group of people who are creating, supporting, and engaging with theatre. YOU ARE THEATRE: We want to hear your stories! TCG will release a new video each week of individuals sharing pivotal moments in theatre - and hope they will inspire you to tell your stories too. Join us as we seek to raise the international awareness of the depth, diversity and impact of the theatre field. WE ARE THEATRE! Today, not-for-profit professional theatres in the U.S. employ 130,000 people annually, inspire more than 30 million attendees and contribute $2 billion directly to the U.S. economy. What if thousands of theatre artists across the world posted their own video testimonies of why they do what they do and why theatre matters? How might that transform communities' awareness of our work? Please share the stories we've recorded, and we'll share the videos you make, and together we'll testify in a voIce That everyone will hear...I AM THEATRE. YOU ARE THEATRE. WE ARE THEATRE!

For 50 years, Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre, has existed to strengthen, nurture and promote the professional not-for-profit American theatre. TCG's constituency has grown from a handful of groundbreaking theatres to nearly 700 member theatres and affiliate organizations and more than 13,000 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 serves as the US Center of the International Theatre Institute, connecting its constituents to the global theatre community. TCG is North America's largest independent publisher of dramatic literature, with 11 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