Leadership Teleconferences
TCG is proud to offer
a new series of teleconferences for trustees and staff of our member theatres. Leadership Teleconferences, a program of the TCG Trustee Leadership Network, will include presentations by experts in various fields who will give their unique perspective on a topic and then will engage in a dialogue with a moderator and a pre-selected panel. Participants will listen to the presentation and have the opportunity to email questions for the speaker. This program offers trustees and staff an opportunity to hear the challenges, strategies and solutions that affect our field, our communities and our nation. Participation in the Leadership Teleconference Series is only open to trustees and staff at TCG member organizations.
We are always interested in ideas for future Leadership Teleconferences. Please contact Chris Shuff with your suggestions.
Past Leadership Teleconferences
Twitter as Audience-Builder and Branding Tool
A presentation by Callie Kimball
Thursday, July 30, 2009
2:00pm - 3:00pm EDT
Everyone's talking about Twitter, but what does it have to offer arts organizations? Several theatres are using Twitter in creative ways to engage with their audience and reach out to new theatre-goers. This teleconference is for novices as well as for people who already use Twitter and want to learn more. After a quick review of the basics, we'll explore how to identify and attract "followers," how to decide who should Twitter on behalf of your organization, how Twitter differs from Facebook, basic Twitter etiquette and ways of creating an authentic Twitter voice. Examples of arts organizations using Twitter effectively will be shared.
Click here and here to download the visual aids accompanying the presentation (PDFs).
NEW! Audio transcript now available! Click here for the audio transcript.
Presenter:
Callie Kimball is a playwright, performer and blogger in New York City, and she works in Digital Media at NBC Universal. In June, she spoke about how arts organizations are using Twitter creatively at the #140 Character Conference in NYC. She's deeply interested in the opportunities and ethical challenges of social media, especially in the power of social media to bring attention to the most marginalized members of society and their advocates. She is the literary manager of Red Bull Theater, served as regional representative (DC) for the Dramatists Guild of America and was a MacDowell Fellow in 2006. Visit her website at www.calliekimball.com.
Innovating Through A Crisis: Theatre Companies Talk About the Current Financial Reality and What They're Doing About It
A panel discussion moderated by Brad Erickson of Theatre Bay Area with panelists Tiffany Cothran, Heather Kitchen, Lisa Mallette, Susie Medak, Jess Moreles, Ryan Rilette and Sherri Young
Thursday, May 28, 2009
1:00pm - 2:15pm EDT
Participants in this joint teleconference by TCG and Theatre Bay Area will discuss the findings of the snapshot survey, Taking Your Fiscal Pulse:
A Report on the Fiscal Health of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Community, the
current financial reality and what theatre companies of various sizes in the Bay area are doing about it.
NEW! Audio transcript now available! Click here for the audio transcript.
Taking Your Fiscal Pulse: What Are the Implications for Your Theatre?
A panel discussion moderated by David Hawkanson with panelists J. Scott Atherton, Elisbeth Challener, Paula Tomei and Chris Widdess
Thursday, March 19, 2009
2:00pm - 3:30pm EDT
This teleconference will lead participants through the findings of TCG's latest snapshot survey, Taking Your Fiscal Pulse: January 2009. Click here to download the report. A panel of esteemed theatre leaders (from various budget group-sized theatres) will then provide context to the findings, discuss the fiscal realities facing theatres today and offer strategies to cope during this economic downturn. There will also be an opportunity for participants to offer comments and ask questions of the panelists.
NEW! Audio transcript now available! Click here for the audio transcript.
Moderator:
David Hawkanson:
(Executive Director, Steppenwolf Theatre) Prior to Steppenwolf, David Hawkanson was the managing director of the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota, under the artistic leadership of Joe Dowling. Before his arrival at the Guthrie, he served for eight years as the managing director of Hartford Stage Company in Connecticut. In the years prior to his tenure at Hartford Stage, Hawkanson was managing director for the Arizona Theater Company and a guest administrator at San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater. He was a former senior staff member at the National Endowment for the Arts and subsequently chairman of its Theater Program.
He has also had an active career as an arts consultant and board member for such organizations as the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays, the Ford Foundation's Working Capitol Fund, National Arts Stabilization Fund, Alliance for Arts Advocates, League of Resident Theatres, Theatre Trustees of America, TCG, New York Stage and Film, the American Arts Alliance and Door County’s Peninsula Players, where he is an honorary board member. In Chicago, he is a board member of the Illinois Arts Alliance and the League of Chicago Theatres.
Panel:
J. Scott Atherton (Manager of Administration and Development, Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble) Scott Atherton is a native of Catawissa and a graduate from Bloomsburg University with a degree in elementary education and a minor in speech & theatre. Atherton spent 11 years as a trust officer with First Columbia Bank & Trust Company, six years as a financial consultant with Salomon Smith Barney, and is back in the theatre where he belongs. This is Atherton’s fourteenth season at BTE. He understands what Confucius meant when he said, “Once a man finds the right job, he never goes to work again.” He has served on the Access for Individuals with Disabilities panel, the Entry Track panel, the Arts Organizations & Arts Programs panel, and the Artist in Education Residency panel for the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the Humanities and the Arts panel for the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and Artist in Residence panel for the Perry County Council on the Arts. He lives in Catawissa with his wife Jean and their dog Kichkinet.
Elisbeth Challener (Managing Director, Zachary Scott Theatre Center [ZACH]) Prior to joining ZACH in 2007, Elisbeth Challener served as a non-profit consultant and the executive director of One World Theatre since moving to Austin in 2005. As ZACH’s managing director, Elisbeth is responsible for a $20 million capital campaign towards the building of a new 500-seat theatre as well as the management, operations and development of the organization. Prior to Austin, she resided in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she was Montalvo Arts Center’s executive director, spending nearly 20 years with the organization. As executive director, Elisbeth led Montalvo’s growth from a small, community-based organization into a major presenting venue and home to an internationally acclaimed artists residency program. She was responsible for the vision and oversight of a range of programs encompassing performing, literary and visual arts and an extensive arts education program. Other accomplishments during her tenure included growing ticket sales from less than $500,000 to more than $4 million, expanding the patron base from 6,000 to 80,000 and raising more than $20 million for capital projects. Earlier in her career, she served as administrative director for the San Francisco Boys Chorus, education/outreach director of the Fairmount Theatre of the Deaf, and as department chair and faculty member of the performing arts department of the Purnell School, a private boarding high school for women. Elisbeth graduated from the Boston Conservatory of Music with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts in drama and musical theatre. She is a Past President of Saratoga Rotary Club and served as board member, treasurer and senior fellow of American Leadership Forum, Silicon Valley.
Paula Tomei (Managing Director South Coast Repertory) Paula Tomei is responsible for the overall administration of South Coast Repertory and has been managing director since 1994. A member of the SCR staff since 1979, she has served in a number of administrative capacities including subscriptions manager, business manager and general manager. She served on the board of TCG, the national service organization for theatre, from 1998-2006, and was its president for four years. She has also served as treasurer of TCG, vice president of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) and has been a member of the LORT Negotiating Committee for industry-wide union agreements. In addition, she represents SCR at national conferences of TCG and LORT; is a theatre panelist for the NEA and the California Arts Council, and site visitor for the NEA; served on the Advisory Committee for the Arts Administration Certificate Program at UC, Irvine; and has been a guest lecturer in the graduate school of business at Stanford and UC, Irvine. She is on the board of Arts Orange County, the county wide arts council, and recently joined the board of the Nicholas Endowment. Ms. Tomei graduated from UC, Irvine with a degree in economics and pursued an additional course of study in theatre and dance.
Chris Widdess (Managing Director, Penumbra Theatre) Chris Widdess is a proven change agent with expertise in turnarounds, special projects, new market development and campaigns. Her ability to break down the steps required to achieve a goal has ensured success with a diverse range of employers including Saint Paul Riverfront Corporation, Minnesota Public Radio, Saint Paul Pioneer Press and the March of Dimes. Currently at Penumbra Theatre Company, Widdess serves as managing director, and in partnership with Lou Bellamy, the founder and artistic director, runs the administrative side of the organization. In the last four years, Penumbra eliminated $600,000 in old debt, built strong fiscal controls and procedures and raised $2.9 million of extraordinary general operating support.
Theatre Facts 2007: Everything You Wanted To Know but Were Afraid To Ask!
A Presentation by Zannie Giraud Voss
Thursday, October 2, 2008 from 2:00pm to 3:30pm (EDT)
NEW! Audio transcript now available! Click here for more information and the audio transcript.
The Contributed Income Quest: New Strategies to Maximize Results
A Conversation with Dory Vanderhoof
Wednesday, June 25, 2:00pm to 3:30pm (EDT)
Click here for more information and an audio transcript.
Perspectives on the Economy
A Conversation with Robert Rubin
Thursday, April 17 from 2:30pm to 3:45pm (EDT)
Click here for more information and an audio transcript.
If you have any questions please contact Chris Shuff, Director of Management Programs, via e-mail at cshuff@tcg.org or phone at 212.609.5900 x 248.