NEW YORK CITY: In a letter to members today, Theatre Communications Group, the publisher of this magazine, announced that TCG, facing significant financial challenges, is undertaking a broader restructuring process. As part of that transition, the contracts of its three co-executive directors—Emilya Cachapero, LaTeshia Ellerson, and Alisha Tonsic—concluded effective Oct. 16. To guide TCG through the months ahead, the board has appointed Shaunda Miles McDill as interim executive director, effective Nov. 1.
“Emilya, LaTeshia, and Alisha led TCG with care, imagination, and deep commitment through a profoundly difficult period, in conditions years in the making across the whole field,” board co-chairs Alexandra Meda and Abby Marcus wrote in the letter. “We are grateful for their service and for everything they poured into TCG’s people, its programs and this community.”
This transition reflects TCG’s current financial and operational realities, Meda and Marcus noted. “We believe in shared leadership,” they said in the letter. “It is how much of this field already works, and what TCG learned from practicing it comes with us into what’s next. Nor does it diminish the contributions or impact of our three co-executive directors. We are committed to honoring their work and to handling this transition with care and respect.”
Miles McDill brings more than two decades of nonprofit leadership and arts management experience. Previously she was the managing director of Pittsburgh Public Theater and a program officer at the Heinz Endowments. She has held leadership roles at theatres across the country and on TCG’s board of directors.
“TCG’s mission does not change,” Meda and Marcus said in the letter. “We remain committed to leading for a just and thriving theatre ecology and to standing in the gap for the theatre field, connecting people and ideas, advocating for artistic freedom, supporting knowledge and professional development, publishing the work and stories of our field, and creating opportunities for theatres and theatremakers to learn and move forward together.”
The board is working with staff and partners to build a sustainable path forward for TCG. That work will include assessing its structure, priorities, and resources while preserving what matters most to the field.
