TCG Selects Chicago, IL for 2024 National Conference

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, has announced that the 33rd TCG National Conference will be hosted in Chicago, IL from June 20th to 22nd, 2024, in association with the League of Chicago Theatres. The TCG National Conference draws between 700 to over 1,000 theatre professionals from around the world for professional development, community-building, performances, and opportunities to explore - and draw inspiration from - the local theatre community. In December of 2022, TCG announced a return to a biennial National Conference schedule, with 2023 as the first off-year. After virtual conferences in 2020 and 2021, TCG held its first hybrid National Conference in Pittsburgh, PA in 2022. The 2024 Conference will build on the learnings of 2022 and include a virtual attendance option in addition to the in-person experience. Learn more about the Conference here.

"The last time TCG held our National Conference in Chicago in 2010, we were thrilled to engage with the vitality and vision of Chicago's irreplaceable theatre community. Our Conference, called Ideas to Action, focused on artistic risk-taking, race and gender, the arts learning continuum, and our creative ecosystem," said Teresa Eyring, executive director of TCG. "As we return to Chicago more than a decade later, we're thrilled to reconnect with that vitality and vision at a moment of crisis and transformation for our theatre ecosystem."

"The League of Chicago Theatres is proud to partner with Theatre Communications Group for the 2024 conference and, along with the entire Chicago theatre community, we look forward to welcoming our colleagues from across the nation," said Marissa Lynn Ford, executive director, League of Chicago Theatres and Heidi Thompson Saunders, board chair, League of Chicago Theatres. "Chicago is an incubator for our industry and has always been a supportive home for new work, artists and productions. We can't wait to share the Windy City's legacy of community artmaking, breadth of innovation and artistic talent with The National Theatre community."

Through its convenings, TCG continues to serve as a connector for theatres to share best practices and new business and artistic models with one another. TCG presents plenary speakers, breakout sessions, workshops, and performances throughout the National Conference. Past keynote speakers have included leading artists and thinkers, such as Julian Brave NoiseCat, Billy Porter, Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Edwidge Danticat, Naomi Shihab Nye, Jer Thorp, Anand Giridharadas, Samantha Power, Stephanie Ybarra, Mona Eltahawy, Jeff Chang, Jane McGonigal, and Baratunde Thurston.

The 2024 TCG National Conference in Chicago is supported by the following growing list of funders: the Doris Duke Foundation, the Howard Gilman Foundation, the Shubert Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, and the Sherri and Les Biller Family Foundation. If you are interested in supporting TCG and the National Conference, please contact LaTeshia Ellerson at lellerson@tcg.org.

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, leads for a just and thriving theatre ecology. Since its founding in 1961, TCG's constituency has grown from a handful of groundbreaking theatres to over 700 Member Theatres and affiliate organizations and over 7,000 Individual Members. Through its programs and services, TCG reaches over one million students, audience members, and theatre professionals each year. TCG offers networking and knowledge-building opportunities through research, communications, and events, including the annual TCG National Conference, one of the largest nationwide gatherings of theatre people; awards grants and scholarships to theatre companies and individual artists; advocates on the federal level; and through the Global Theater Initiative, TCG's partnership with the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, serves as the U.S. Center of the International Theatre Institute. TCG is North America's largest independent trade publisher of dramatic literature, with 19 Pulitzer Prizes for Drama on the TCG booklist. It also publishes the award-winning American Theatre magazine and ARTSEARCH®, the essential source for a career in the arts. TCG believes its vision of "a better world for theatre, and a better world because of theatre" can be achieved through individual and collective action, adaptive and responsive leadership, and equitable representation in all areas of practice. TCG is led by executive director and CEO Teresa Eyring. tcg.org

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