Who We Are

MISSION: To lead for a just and thriving theatre ecology

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, leads for a just and thriving theatre ecology. Since its founding in 1961, TCG’s constituency has grown from a handful of groundbreaking theatres to over 750 Member Theatres and Affiliate organizations and over 3,000 Individual Members. TCG reaches over one million students, audience members, and theatre professionals each year through its programs and services. TCG offers networking and knowledge-building opportunities through research, communications, and events, including the annual TCG National Conference, one of the largest nationwide gatherings of theatre people; awards grants and scholarships to theatre companies and individual artists; advocates on the federal level; and through the Global Theater Initiative, TCG's partnership with the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, serves as the U.S. Center of the International Theatre Institute. TCG is North America’s largest independent trade publisher of dramatic literature, with 18 Pulitzer Prizes for Drama on the TCG booklist. It also publishes the award-winning American Theatre magazine and ARTSEARCH®, the essential source for a career in the arts. TCG believes its vision of “a better world for theatre, and a better world because of theatre” can be achieved through individual and collective action, adaptive and responsive leadership, and equitable representation in all areas of practice. TCG is led by executive director and CEO Teresa Eyring. 
 
What do we mean by lead, just, and thriving?
 
Lead: For TCG, to LEAD (for) is a statement of intention and accountability. It reflects the organization’s commitment to modeling and advocating for the structural, cultural, and equitable environments that a just and thriving theatre ecology requires. Distinguishing to lead “for” versus solely to “lead,” TCG recognizes its communal role in this ambition. Listening was noted as a key quality of leadership, as well as actively assessing and acting in ways that the organization can have impact. 
 
Just: JUST specifically names TCG’s equity-based values. It is one of the adjectives that explicitly describes the type of theatre ecology that TCG will advance. TCG believes that a better world for the theatre requires greater equity, visibility, and funding.
 
Thriving: TCG envisions a THRIVING theatre ecology that has the investments, commitments, and participants it needs to 

• create, produce, and present diverse stories;
• encourage, engage, and financially sustain theatre makers and practitioners; 
• abundantly serve multifaceted communities;
• advance values and practices of equity and justice; and
• sustain theatre as a viable industry.

Land Acknowledgement

 Theatre Communications Group’s offices are located on the Lenape island of Mannahatta in Lenapehoking, the Lenape homeland.  We honor the generations of stewardship the Lenape peoples have given to the water, air, and land. As guests, we pay respect to the Lenape peoples, past, present, and future, here in their homeland and throughout the Lenape diaspora.

Values Manifesto

Theatre has the power to uplift and change the world. 
As theatre-makers and practitioners, TCG values artistic curiosity, open discourse, and meaningful connections. We believe in individual and collective action, adaptive and responsive leadership, and equitable representation in all areas of practice.
 

Workplace Culture Manifesto

The staff at TCG commits to building and sustaining a workplace culture that fuels passions and creativity, nurtures collective engagement, embodies diversity, models transparency, facilitates growth, and elevates honest and open discourse. 

We are the ones to make it happen.
We respect and value our people. 
Our staff. 
Our board. 
Our interns.
Our fellows.
Our artists. 
Our administrators. 
Our supporters.
Our volunteers. 
All members of the theatre ecosystem.
Our people. 
 
We fuel passions without depleting our people.
We know that personal passions and dreams about artistry, what theatre is now, and what it could become inspire people to join TCG. While fueling these passions, we aim to preserve an environment where the staff are supported in doing their best work without exhausting themselves. We are aware of the tendency to sacrifice personal time in response to capacity shortfalls. We will not take advantage of this tendency, for it compromises the well-being of our people. Thus, we will make every effort to maintain realistic expectations of the time and resources required to deliver a task. 
 
We believe that people should be equitably and meaningfully engaged.
We know that organizations that actively work to dismantle white supremacy culture at all levels and to elevate anti-bias, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive practices understand what it means to be equitably and meaningfully engaged. They steward workplace environments where staff are seen, heard, and engaged in decision-making that impacts the staff and institution. We aim to work with employees to determine what they need to be successful. We know that when employees operate in their best capacity and are included on critical matters, the organization succeeds. 
 
We know that people hold multiple identities and are more than their titles at work.
We commit to understanding what it means to see the full person—in their personal and professional selves—when designing equitable and invigorating workplace practices and policies.
 
We believe that decision-making should include those whose work is directly impacted by such decisions.
We commit to an environment where those responsible for delivering tasks are asked what is needed, not merely told what to do. We also believe that staff should know how significant decisions that impact the organization are made. We understand that not every staff member can be a “decider” in every decision. The process for making such decisions, however, should be widely shared. Everyone should have a voice and the capacity to trace any decision that affects them. 
 
We believe that there is always room for growth, even when there is no space for internal advancement.
We value personal and professional development. As an organization committed to a just and thriving theatre ecology, we know that the people who come to and eventually leave TCG are a part of this ecosystem, and thus must be fortified. We know that we will not always have space within the organization’s structure to accommodate all desires for advancement. We will nurture and sustain a culture of collective engagement among and across departments while creating opportunities for individual learning and professional growth. 
 
We prioritize open discourse.
We know that conscientious, emotionally competent, and culturally responsible communications are critical. Microaggressions and the implications of fragility are openly addressed. We believe in strengthening the interpersonal communications of our team.