TCG Announces Round 2 Cycle B Recipients of 2014 Leadership U[niversity] Program

Theatre Communications Group (TCG) announces the 2014 Round 2 Cycle B recipients of the Leadership U[niversity]-Continuing Ed program. Through the support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, grants of up to $5,000 will support four mid-career and veteran theatre professionals at TCG Member Theatres for learning opportunities to advance their leadership skills. The goal of this program is to strengthen the field by developing the individuals who are the core and the future of theatre.

"It can be difficult for mid-career and veteran theatre professionals to create space for new learning opportunities amidst their busy schedules," said Teresa Eyring, executive director of TCG. "With the support of our long-standing partnership with The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Leadership U will empower these four practitioners to expand their leadership skills in areas that include education programming, community-generated work and new play development."

Leadership U[niversity] awards grants in two initiatives: One-on-One for early-career leaders and Continuing Ed for mid-career and veteran professionals. Continuing Ed grants of up to $5,000 are awarded to mid-career to veteran professionals at TCG Member Theatres for learning opportunities to advance their leadership skills. Grants have been awarded to the applicants' home theatres on behalf of the theatre practitioners.

Continuing Ed Grant Recipients:

Center Stage, Rosiland M. Cauthen, Director of Community Programs & Education, Baltimore, MD

Cauthen will investigate ways to expand Center Stage's current programs into two areas: social service programs, such as theatre in prisons, and professional children's theatre productions. Through research, interviews, and site visits at The Public Theater, South Coast Repertory and Ten Thousand Things, she will develop and implement a successful model for Center Stage.

EgoPo Classic Theater, Lane Savadove, Artistic Director, Philadelphia, PA

Savadove will conduct an in-depth investigation of the Extended Voice Technique through training workshops with Master Teacher Richard Armstrong and the Roy Harts Institute in order to bring this specialized training back to his theatre and utilize it in the acting ensemble's on-going creative process.

Perseverance Theatre, Bostin Christopher, Artistic Associate & Summerfest Producer, Douglas, AK

Christopher will investigate theatres with new play development models and residency programs and learn the methodologies and techniques they use to incorporate those models and programs in a festival-type setting.

Theatre Horizon, Erin Reilly, Artistic Director, Norristown, PA

Reilly will study Cornerstone Theater Company's model of creating community-generated theatre pieces to determine how community-generated work can be included in Theatre Horizon's season and be used as a tool to build new and diverse audiences.

The Leadership U[niversity] Continuing Ed Round 2 Cycle B panel included Dina Janis, Artistic Director/CEO, Dorset Theatre Festival; Jane Jung, General Manager, Ping Chong + Company; and Charlie Miller, multimedia specialist / Off-Center Curator, Denver Center Theatre Company.

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is a private philanthropic institution that makes grants on a selective basis in four core program areas: higher education and scholarship; scholarly communications and information technology; museums and art conservation; and performing arts. The Foundation's Performing Arts program focuses on achieving long-term results by providing multi-year grants to leading organizations in the disciplines of music, theater, and dance. Annual giving in the area of the performing arts has averaged approximately $30 million per year since 2005. In 2004 The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation was awarded a National Medal of Arts, the highest award given to artists and arts patrons by the United States government. www.mellon.org.

For over 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 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 12 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.

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