HUNDREDS OF BOSTON AREA THEATRE ARTISTS
TO GATHER AT BOSTON THEATRE CONFERENCE

ARTISTIC DIRECTORS FROM HUNTINGTON, TRINITY REP, AND A.R.T.
TO BE FEATURED GUESTS ON AUGUST 9, 2008

(Boston, MA) – StageSource, the Greater Boston Theatre Alliance, presents Boston Theatre: Raising Our Standard, a Boston Theatre Conference, sponsored by Bank of America, on Saturday, August 9 at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown. The Conference will convene an anticipated 250 actors, directors, designers, playwrights, production and administrative personnel and theatre enthusiasts from the region to consider issues facing Boston area theatre, explore opportunities and confront challenges, and celebrate theatre.  The event will feature a conversation with Artistic Directors from three of the region’s larger professional theatres including Curt Columbus (Trinity Repertory Company), and Boston’s two newest, Diane Paulus (American Repertory Theatre) and Peter DuBois (Huntington Theatre Company), moderated by director Scott Edmiston and playwright Kate Snodgrass (Boston Playwrights’ Theatre).

Boston theatre is at a crossroads in 2008. The growth of theatre in the region in the past 10 years has been dramatic, with an increase in the number of theatre companies and artists making a home in the region. In addition to the centerpiece discussion with artistic directors, Boston Theatre: Raising Our Standard will address topics including:
· Artistic and Organizational Collaborative Exchanges
· Boston as an incubator of new works
· Developing and participating in professional growth opportunities
· Creating a culture of sharing and diversity
· Art on our Stages: thought provoking, inspiring, risk-taking

We will work collectively and collaboratively as a community on these topics and more to identify next steps to take Boston theatre to the next level. The conference will also feature breakout sessions including:

· “Directors and Designers: Collaboration from Concept to Creation”, with director Spiro Veloudos and costume designer Rafael Jaen (Lyric Stage Company’s Follies)
· “Emerging Leadership: The Next Generation of Theatre Leaders” moderated by Rebecca Curtiss (Huntington Theatre Company), Summer Williams (Company One), and Dawn Simmons (StageSource).
· “Fight Choreography with Georgia Lyman and Angie Jepson”
· “It’s a Blog Blog World: Theatre Journalism, Audience Development and Web 3.0” with Nick Peterson (A.R.T.), Charles McEnerney (ArtsBoston), and additional panelists tba.
· “Mid-size, Small & Fringe Theatres: A Network of Peers”, moderated by Kristin Baker (Rough & Tumble Theatre)
· “Producing Your Own Work, moderated by Gary Garrison, Dramatist Guild”
· “Wicked Good Boston Accents”, a workshop with Christine Hamel, Boston University School of Theatre Arts”
· “Women of the Theatre”, a discussion with some of Boston’s leading and emerging theatre artists, including Debra Wise (Artistic Director, Underground Railway Theatre), Danielle Fauteaux Jacques (Artistic Director, Apollinaire Theatre Company), Liz Hayes (Actor, Orfeo Group’s Look Back in Anger, Lyric Stage Company’s Three Tall Women), Sarah deLima (Actor, Fiddlehead Theatre’s Steel Magnolias, Village Theatre Project’s Importance of Being Earnest), Lydia Diamond (Playwright, The Bluest Eye).

In addition, the day will include performances, speakers, round table discussions, and special guests, attended by hundreds of actors, directors, designers, playwrights, producers, stage managers, educators, production and administrative personnel, and theatre enthusiasts on New England area stages. Some of the artists and theatre companies slated to appear include: Paul Daigneault (SpeakEasy Stage), David Colfer (Brandeis Theater Company), Joyce Van Dyke (Playwright), Judith Braha (Director, Boston University), Cheryl Singleton (Actor), Greg Maraio (Phoenix Theatre Artists), Kerry Dowling (Actor), Diego Arciniegas (Publick Theatre), Gail Buckley (Costume Designer), Darren Evans (Theatre On Fire and Boston Center for the Arts), Sara Glidden (Lyric Stage Company), Matthew Woods (Imaginary Beasts), Meg Taintor (Whistler in the Dark Theatre), Sarah Newhouse (Actor), Antonio Ocampo-Guzman (Northeastern University Theatre Department), David Miller (Zeitgeist Stage), Brian Fahey (Gurnet Theatre Project), Bob Murphy (Actor), Julie Hennrikus (Emerson Stage), Janet Bailey (Janet Bailey & Associates), Michelle Baxter (ACT Roxbury), Amy Merrill (Playwright), Troy Siebels (Village Theatre Project). Additional panelists and moderators continue to be added.

“This decade has been extraordinary in the theatre community, with the onset of more emerging theatre companies than ever before, a proliferation of theatre practitioners making Boston their home, the growth of companies like the Huntington and A.R.T. with new venues at the Calderwood Pavilion and Zero Arrow, plus new venues like Arsenal Center for the Arts and Stoneham that have aided in the rise of the mid-sized theatre,” notes Jeff Poulos, StageSource Executive Director. “With this confluence of happenings taking place, I am excited that we are able to introduce Boston’s two newest Artistic Directors, Diane Paulus from the A.R.T. and Peter DuBois from the Huntington, to the community, plus we welcome Curt Columbus who has just completed his second year at Trinity Rep. I see 2008 as the year of the ‘Perfect Storm’ in our region.  This unprecedented time affords us a great opportunity to gather for meaningful dialogue about how we move forward as a community.”

Boston Theatre: Raising Our Standard is being sponsored by Bank of America, with addition support from Kennison Staffing, Arsenal Center for the Arts and New Repertory Theatre. The Conference will take place on Saturday, August 9, 2006, from 9:00am to 5:00pm at Arsenal Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA. Open to any interested person, registration fee is $35 for StageSource members and $45 for non-members.  For more information, contact StageSource at (617) 720-6066 or register online.

Previous Page    Back to News    Next Page