TCG Launches Next Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Institute

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, has just announced the launch of two new cohorts in the Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Institute.

With support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Institute will bring two peer-learning cohorts of over 20 theatres each through a three-year curriculum of personal analysis-building, organizational action-planning, and collective action for field-wide impact. The Institute is a core program of TCG's multi-year, six-point EDI Initiative to transform the national theatre field into a more equitable, inclusive, and diverse community.

"As our inaugural Institute cohort draws to a close, we're excited to bring the progress made and lessons learned to over 40 new theatres committed to making change at the personal, organizational, and field-wide level," said Teresa Eyring, executive director of TCG. "Thanks to support from our longtime partners at The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, we're able to significantly increase the reach and impact of the Institute, drawing us closer to our vision of every TCG Member Theatre participating in this work."

Dafina McMillan, TCG's former director of communications & conferences, partnered with Carmen Morgan, founder and director of artEquity, to launch the inaugural cohort at the 2013 TCG National Conference. The first Institute cohort included: Alliance Theatre, California Shakespeare Theater, Cara Mía Theatre Co, Central Square Theater, Children's Theatre Company, Cleveland Play House, Crossroads Theatre Company, Dallas Children's Theater, Dallas Theater Center, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Jubilee Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, The Lark, Magic Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Penumbra Theatre, Portland Center Stage, The Public Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Tectonic Theater Project, The Theater Offensive, and TCG. That cohort will hold its final meeting at the 2016 TCG National Conference in Washington, DC, which will also launch the first of the two new cohorts.

Over the three years of the Institute, the participating theatres convene in-person at TCG's National Conference in June and TCG's Fall Forum on Governance in November. The Institute also provides skills-building webinars, regional organizing, and one-on-one consultations to participants. Drawing from artEquity's popular education methodology and intersectional approach to social justice, the Institute seeks to bring about systemic change to the inequities of the not-for-profit theatre field and beyond.

"Many arts organizations have good intentions, but take very little action," said Carmen Morgan, founder and director of artEquity. "So an important aspect of the Institute was to provide the cohort with a shared analysis (that when applied would interrupt structural barriers) and a shared vocabulary that would support them in making tangible steps towards organizational change, and ultimately social change."

To support the expansion of the Institute, TCG is pleased to welcome Elena Chang as associate director of equity, diversity & inclusion. Chang served as program director of the Asian American Arts Alliance, a 33-year old arts service organization dedicated to strengthening Asian American arts and cultural groups through resource sharing, promotion, and community building, where she was responsible for the development, implementation, and management of all artist-focused programs. Under her leadership, the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA) and Asian Pride Project also launched a multilingual national campaign to promote awareness of acceptance of LGBTQ Asian Americans, South Asians, Southeast Asians, and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) and their family members. Her advocacy work has been recognized at the White House through the Champions of Change Initiative. Chang will partner with Morgan and Gus Schulenburg, TCG's director of communications & community engagement, to co-facilitate and develop the curriculum for the next two Institute cohorts.

"I am thrilled with the opportunity build upon the incredible work done so far at TCG to make progress towards a more inclusive theatre field, especially at such a pivotal time in this country around issues of identity," said Chang. "Through the lens of TCG's groundbreaking new initiative, I look forward to working with the deeply committed EDI team and the theatre community at large to do the best we can to proactively uplift the values of working with different perspectives in our communities."

Theatres interested in joining the new Institute cohorts should email Elena Chang at echang@tcg.org. An official application process will launch in March 2016. Learn more about the Institute at www.tcg.org/fifty/EDI/institute.cfm.

Founded in 1969, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation endeavors to strengthen, promote, and, where necessary, defend the contributions of the humanities and the arts to human flourishing and to the wellbeing of diverse and democratic societies by supporting exemplary institutions of higher education and culture as they renew and provide access to an invaluable heritage of ambitious, path-breaking work. For more information, visit www.mellon.org.

For over 50 years, Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, has existed to strengthen, nurture and promote the professional not-for-profit theatre. TCG's constituency has grown from a handful of groundbreaking theatres to nearly 700 member theatres and affiliate organizations and more than 12,000 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 U.S. 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 14 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. Visit www.tcg.org.