Theatre Communications Group: Oregon Connections

The Theatre Communications Group (TCG) is the national membership group for theaters--big and small--a trade association of sorts, with the mission to "strengthen, nurture and promote the professional not-for-profit American theatre."

TCG puts on an annual conference, manages grant programs, supports career-development for theater artists and administrators, advocates for arts funding, collects and analyzes data, and publishes American Theatre magazine and a catalog of scripts and books. It also sponsors and coordinates the annual "Free Night of Theatre" program in mid-October--a national initiative in which several Portland theater companies participate.

Like most nonprofit organizations, TCG has been struggling to balance its budget, and I would guess that attendance at this year's conference in Baltimore in two weeks will be down (especially from theaters that aren't on the east coast). The theater with which I am associated has decided to skip the conference this year, and we're agonizing over paying dues of a few thousand dollars this year.

None of the foregoing information has anything to do with this post. All I want to report is that the organization's new slate of officers includes two Oregon connections: Paul Nicholson, executive director of Oregon Shakespeare Festival is the new treasurer; and, Olga Sanchez from Miracle Theatre Group is TCG's new secretary. Congratulations to both.

You can show Olga your appreciation for her service by going to see "The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa," which she directed and which closes on May 30th.