TCG Bulletin

Advertise on the TCG Website!

Reach up to 65,000 visitors each month with a display ad on TCG’s website! Place an ad on the TCG Home Page, the main gateway to all of TCG’s programs and services for the national theatre community (40,000 visitors each month) or advertise on the ArtSEARCH job listings page, TCG’s online source for a career in the arts (65,000 visitors each month). Take 20 percent off of regular rates as a TCG member theatre. As a special introductory offer, place your ad before August 1 and receive an additional 10 percent off. Space is limited, so call today!

Action: Rates and guidelines are available in the Advertising section of the website. For more information, contact Carol Van Keuren.

Wanted: Electronic Human Resources Documents for TCG's Topical Files

As a service for member theatres, TCG maintains electronic resource files for inquiries about performance reviews, job descriptions, organizational structure, trustee evaluation, software packages and more. Some of our most useful and most requested files contain employee handbooks, reviews, job descriptions and contracts that are submitted by member theatres to be used as a resource by other member theatres.

All member theatres are encouraged to send us any electronic human resources-related documents they utilize for inclusion in these files. We can remove any language that identifies your theatre, if you wish to contribute anonymously. In particular, we are looking to expand our collection of employment contracts for full-time and management-level staff, but we gladly welcome any and all submissions. Also, if you have worked with a consultant that you particularly would recommend, please forward their information as well.

Action: If you have any documents that you would like to contribute to our files, please email them as an attachment (Microsoft Word preferred) to Sarah McLellan .

Update Your Staff Contacts with TCG

TCG sends email notification of the TCG Bulletin and Field Letter directly to general managers, education directors, business managers, marketing directors, PR directors, literary managers, dramaturgs, development directors and associate artistic directors at TCG member theatres. We do this in order to keep staff informed of the activities and developments of the not-for-profit theatre field, to deepen staff knowledge of TCG and to increase participation in our programs. Many of these senior staff already participate in TCG programs and have sent TCG their email addresses. However, we are far from a complete list. We strongly encourage you to send us email contacts for all senior staff at your theatre, and to inform us of any staff changes when they occur.

Action: To receive notification of the TCG Bulletin and Field Letter by email or to inform TCG of staff changes at your theatre, contact Gregg Gomez .

TCG Requests Production Posters

TCG is requesting posters from your theatre's current season. We prominently display members' posters in our office, which not only creates a lively and attractive work environment but also helps us showcase the full diversity of our membership to the artists, funders, government leaders, theatre administrators and board members who visit TCG. We also remind you to send posters to your federal, state and local legislators. They often like to display their constituents' posters in their offices.

Action: Mail posters to Demosthenes Chrysan, TCG, 520 Eighth Avenue, 24th Floor, New York, NY 10018-4156, as well as your legislators.

TCG Trustee Leadership Network

All trustees of TCG member theatres are eligible to join the TCG Trustee Leadership Network. For $75 annually, the network affords trustees the following benefits: American Theatre magazine; annual TCG Theatre Directory; and notification of management publications including the TCG Bulletin, Field Letter and Centerpiece. Please encourage your board members to join.

Action: Visit the Membership section of the website to download a registration form or for more information.

White Space Issue: Please Write to Your Member of Congress!

Google continues to advocate in Washington for access to the White Space spectrum. It was recently reported in The Wall Street Journal that Google co-founder Larry Page traveled to Washington to meet with Members of Congress and the FCC to urge that they open up access to the White Space.

If you haven’t yet done so, please urge your Member of Congress to instruct the FCC Chairman to preserve the ability of wireless microphones used in the performing arts to operate without interference. The FCC should be urged to conduct adequate testing before permitting new devices to operate in the White Space spectrum.

Action: Visit the American Arts Alliance website for an Action Alert on this issue. Click here to see the American Arts Alliance Ex Parte letter on this issue. For background on this issue, please see our May 2008 TCG Bulletin story.

NEA Announces 2008—2009 Shakespeare for a New Generation Grants

The NEA announced that 40 not-for-profit, professional theatre companies will receive grants to participate in Shakespeare for a New Generation from June 1, 2008—May 31, 2009. Part of the NEA's Shakespeare in American Communities initiative, Shakespeare for a New Generation targets middle and high school students, introducing young people to the power of live theatre and the masterpieces of William Shakespeare. Managed by Arts Midwest, the program has already benefited more than one million students with live performances and educational activities.

Each of the participating companies, 11 of which are new to the program, will present productions of selected Shakespeare plays with accompanying educational activities to at least 10 schools in their communities. These activities may include in-school residencies, workshops or post-performance discussions. Companies receive grants of $25,000 each to support the project for a total federal investment of $1,000,000.

Action: Visit the NEA website for the complete press release and a list of participating theatres.

NEA Announces First Recipients of the NEA Opera Honors

Dana Gioia, chairman of the NEA, announced the first recipients of the NEA Opera Honors, the highest award our nation bestows in opera. The honorees are soprano Leontyne Price; composer Carlisle Floyd; administrator Richard Gaddes, general director of the Santa Fe Opera and co-founder of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis; and maestro James Levine, music director of the Metropolitan Opera and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Authorized by Congress in the FY 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act, NEA Opera Honors recipients are nominated by the public and chosen by an NEA-convened panel of opera experts. These are the first new NEA awards in 25 years to celebrate lifetime achievement and individual excellence. In addition to an awards ceremony in the fall, the designation includes a one-time grant award of $25,000. Opera America partners with the NEA in managing the program.

Action: Visit the NEA website for photos, bios and additional information.

NEA Announces Grants to Four United States Organizations for The Big Read Egypt/United States

In an effort to deepen and broaden cultural understanding, the NEA, in partnership with the United States Department of State and Arts Midwest, announced a second international component of the NEA's national reading program, The Big Read. Four United States organizations will receive grants ranging from $10,000-$20,000 to present Big Read projects focusing on The Thief and the Dogs by Egyptian Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz. The selected organizations are Columbia University (New York, NY), Florida Center for the Literary Arts at Miami Dade College (Miami, FL), Huntsville-Madison County Public Library (Huntsville, AL) and the South Dakota Humanities Council/South Dakota Center for the Book (Brookings, SD).

Action: Visit the NEA website for the complete press release.

NEA Announces More Than $77 Million in Grants for the Second Round of FY 2008 Funding

In its second major grant announcement of FY 2008, the NEA announced that it will award $77.4 million to fund 1,014 grants. The Arts Endowment will distribute $77,452,700 in this round of FY 2008 funding to not-for-profit national, regional, state and local organizations across the country, funding grants in the categories of Access to Artistic Excellence, Arts on Radio and Television, Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth, Partnership Agreements (State and Regional), and American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius.

TCG member theatres received the following grants, for a combined total of $1,760,500:

TCG Members Recipient of Access to Artistic Excellence Grants:

Grand Total for TCG Member Grant Recipients: $1,359,000

Action: Visit the NEA website to view a complete list of grant recipients.

The Artist/Teacher Institute International in Adelphi, Maryland, July 20—26

ATI International is a project of Arts Education in Maryland Schools Alliance and the Maryland State Department of Education. It is modeled after the Maryland Artist/Teacher Institute (MATI), a professional development program for teachers and school administrators, which explores the arts as a force in a child's development, enabling teachers to become more knowledgeable, creative and skillful in using the arts to engage children in active learning.

ATI International is open to educators from within and outside the United States. This year's program will likely include participants from Italy and Kurdistan.

ATI International is a week-long residential program. Participants attend performances, discussions and hands-on workshops that enable them to explore the various roles of dance, music, theatre and visual arts in teaching and learning. Participants will design and implement an integrated, arts-centered educational program that creates an exciting and dynamic environment for learning. Participants will design performance assessment strategies that measure student achievement in the arts and other disciplines.

Action: The total program cost is $1,700. Visit this link for a program brochure and registration form. Please contact the Arts Education in Maryland Schools Alliance at info@aems-edu.org if you have any questions regarding the program.

2008 American Alliance for Theatre and Education Conference in Atlanta, GA, July 23—27

The American Alliance for Theatre and Education (AATE) will hold its conference, Walking the Dream: Creating Footprints in the Arts of Theatre and Education from July 23—27 in Atlanta, GA. Scheduled keynote speakers are Susan V. Booth, artistic director of the Alliance Theatre (Atlanta, GA), Patrick Spottiswoode, education director, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre (London, UK) and playwright and Golden Globe award-winning actress Regina Taylor.

Action: Visit the AATE website for registration materials and more information.

New AEP Publication Highlights Strategies for Arts Integration and Urban School Reform

The Arts Education Partnership (AEP) has announced the release of its new publication The Art of Collaboration: Promising Practices for Integrating the Arts and School Reform by Andrew L. Nelson, AEP associate for research and policy. This second installment in AEP’s research and policy brief series outlines promising practices for building community partnerships that integrate the arts into urban education systems.

The publication describes 16 practices used by the demonstration sites in their efforts to improve student achievement, build public support for arts education and influence local policy. The intended audience for this publication is anyone engaged or interested in using community-based arts education collaboration as an agent for system change.

Action: The cost of The Art of Collaboration: Promising Practices for Integrating the Arts and School Reform is $5.00. Visit the AEP website to order or download the brief.

Americans for the Arts Convention 2008 in Philadelphia, PA, June 20—22

The 2008 Americans for the Arts Convention, American Evolution: Arts in the New Civic Life, will take place in Philadelphia, PA from June 20—22. This conference will explore how the arts can offer welcoming invitations, needed spaces and new forms for civic participation. The keynote speaker is the renowned futurist Andrew Zolli, futurist-in-residence for American Demographics magazine, Popular Science, National Geographic and National Public Radio’s Marketplace.

Action: The registration deadline is June 6. Visit the Americans for the Arts website for more information and registration materials.

2008 National Arts Forum Series: New Frameworks for the Changing Face of America

The annual National Arts Forum Series, sponsored by the Arts and Business Council of Americans for the Arts, will examine models that provide a new way to look at diversity in the United States and how diversity is reshaping American culture. These issues will be addressed by featured speaker Patricia Martin, an author and cultural analyst. Ms. Martin will discuss her “RenGen” theory, short for Renaissance Generation, a cultural movement created by the confluence of art, education, entertainment and business, resulting in the powerful new “cultural consumer”. RenGen is a way of seeing how the issue of diversity has evolved from statistics and quotas to a new reality, which is reflected in this new trend that crosses race, class, age and ethnicity. The National Arts Forum Series will continue through October 2008 in 10 cities across America.

Action: Visit the Americans for the Arts for the full National Arts Forum schedule.

Foundation Center Releases Foundation Growth and Giving Estimates: Current Outlook 2008

In a survey of more than 72,000 grantmaking foundations, the Foundation Center’s Foundation Growth and Giving Estimates report finds that foundation giving increased by an estimated 10 percent in 2007, growing to $42.9 billion in total. The report finds double-digit increases in giving by independent foundations, family foundations and community foundations. Giving by corporate foundations also increased but only by 6.6 percent. In spite of the current trouble in the economy, the report suggests that more than half of the survey’s respondents expect to increase their giving in 2008, and that foundation assets grew an estimated 9 percent in 2007, which suggests that foundation giving overall will show modest growth in 2008.

Action: Visit the Foundation Center website to download a free copy of the report.

Foundation Center Releases Key Facts on Corporate Foundations 2008

A new summary report from the Foundation Center finds that giving by corporate foundations increased 6.6 percent in 2007 to an estimated $4.4 billion. The report is the result of the Foundation Center’s latest research on the size, scope and philanthropic interests of thousands of corporate foundations in the United States. Although corporate foundation giving has grown at a slower rate than other foundation giving, the report finds that corporate giving has almost doubled since 1990. Education and human services comprised the majority of corporate giving, both receiving approximately 25 percent of total corporate donations, whereas arts and culture only made up about 12 percent of corporate giving.

Action: Visit the Foundation Center website to download a free copy of the report.

Hill Strategies Releases Report, Social Effects of Culture: Exploratory Statistical Evidence

Recently released by Canada’s Hill Strategies Research, Social Effects of Culture: Exploratory Statistical Evidence examines the social impact of four cultural activities: reading books, attending live performances, visiting art galleries and attending movie theatres. Data was drawn from Statistics Canada’s General Social Survey 2005. The report found that performing arts attendees tended to be more likely to volunteer for a not-for-profit organization, more likely to donate money or goods to a not-for-profit and were even more likely to do a favor for a neighbor.

Action: Visit Hill Strategies Research website to download a free copy of the report (PDF).

Project Streamline Releases Report, Drowning in Paperwork, Distracted from Purpose

Recently released by Project Streamline, an initiative of the Grants Managers Network, Drowning in Paperwork, Distracted from Purpose: Challenges and Opportunities in Grant Application and Reporting summarizes some of the key frustrations observed by not-for-profits attempting to comply with grant application and reporting procedures. The report highlights ten inefficiencies in current grant application and reporting procedures, including the lack of “right-sized” reporting requirements, insufficient net grants, due-diligence redundancy and undermined trust between granters and grantees. The report also outlines how the current system could be improved, such as streamlining communications, relieving the administrative burden from grantees and rigorously auditing the amount of information needed to bestow grants.

Action: Visit the Project Streamline website to download a free copy of the full report.