NEW YORK CITY: Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the publisher of American Theatre, will commence THRIVE! Week 2023, a four-day virtual convening, beginning tomorrow, Tuesday, July 11. The convening will uplift the leadership and wisdom of Black and Indigenous theatres, as well as theatres of color (BITOC).
“Recent research has confirmed what many working within theatres of color have long known: that BITOC are among the most visionary and resilient theatres in our country,” TCG’s executive director and CEO, Teresa Eyring, said in a statement. “While these theatres contend with systemic racism in terms of funding, media coverage, and more, the vibrancy of their work defies any deficit narratives. When we center their leadership and wisdom, the theatre field as a whole grows stronger.”
THRIVE! Week will feature guest speakers, roundtable conversations, panel discussions, and the meeting of the Intergenerational Leaders of Color program. THRIVE! Week’s programming is open to all on a pay-what-you-can structure.
Speakers and facilitators include artistic directors, leaders who founded BITOC in the 1960s and ’70s, businesspeople, TCG staff members, and members of Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson’s transition team. Featured speakers include Tammy Haili’ōpua Baker, the artistic director of Ka Hālau Hanakeaka at the University of Hawaiʻi; Eleanor Savage, president and CEO of the Jerome Foundation; and journalist and BIPOC Critics Lab founder Jose Solís, among others.
Office hours with THRIVE! Program Advisory Circle members will also be held throughout the convening. THRIVE! Week will close with a celebration of BIPOC and BITOC artmaking with guest artists UNIVERSES. A full schedule of events is available here.
“There are few intercultural theatre convenings where BITOC come together to celebrate their resiliency, engage in a mutual exchange of ideas, and build deep relationships with each other,” Emilya Cachapero, TCG’s director of grantmaking programs, said in a statement. “These are nutritious conversations for our times, and TCG is excited to share what we learn with the larger field.”
Registration for THRIVE! Week is available here.
THRIVE! Week is part of TCG’s program THRIVE! Uplifting Theatres of Color. It is supported by the Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation and ALJP Consulting.
Theatre Communications Group, the national organization for theatre and the publisher of American Theatre, strive to lead for a just and thriving theatre ecology. With over 700 member theatre and affiliate organizations and over 7,000 individual members, TCG reaches more than a million students, audience members, and theatre professionals each year.
