2024 TCG Our Stories Gala

Falling in Love with Theatre

Honoring

Brian Anthony Moreland, David Rockwell, The Shubert Foundation, and Schele Williams

Celebrating Teresa Eyring

The printed three-course menu and selection of wines can be found

WELCOME and OPENING REMARKS

Rick Miramontez, Gala Co-Chair & Past Honoree; Broadway Publicist; President, DKC/O&M

Lauren Reid, Gala Co-Chair; President, John Gore Organization

The Dynamites

Jackie Arnold Tracee Beazer Judine Somerville

HONORING DAVID ROCKWELL

Harvey Fierstein

HONORING BRIAN ANTHONY MORELAND

Kandi Burruss & Todd Tucker

PERFORMANCE

Aisha Jackson

REMARKS

Karena Fiorenza, Interim Chief Executive Officer, TCG

LaTeshia Ellerson, Interim Chief Growth Officer, TCG

ANNOUNCEMENT

Merrique Jenson, TCG Board Vice Chair & Trans Women of Color Fund Co-Chair; President & Executive Director, Transformations Organization

Qween Jean, TCG Board Member & Trans Women of Color Fund Co-Chair; Founder, Black Trans Liberation

Monica Beverly Hillz, Reality Television Personality and Transgender Activist

PERFORMANCE

PigPen Theatre Company

HONORING THE SHUBERT FOUNDATION

Kenny Leon

HONORING SCHELE WILLIAMS

LaChanze & Michael Greif

PERFORMANCE

Nichelle Lewis

CELEBRATING TERESA EYRING

André De Shields

TEXT TO GIVE!

Harold Steward, TCG Board Chair; Executive Director, New England Foundation of the Arts

Text TCG to 44321 or scan the QR code below to make your gift online.

To use the wifi, go to Settings and select Edison Ballroom Guest. No password is required.

If you prefer to mail your gift in the form of a check, please send it to:

TCG Gala, PO Box 22469, New York, NY 10117-2469.

Questions? Email gala@tcg.org. THANK YOU!

CLOSING REMARKS

THANK YOU FOR COMING!

Please pick up the most recent issue of AMERICAN THEATRE magazine on your way out as a token of our deepest gratitude for your presence and your support. To receive future issues in your mailbox, become a TCG Member at tcg.org. Someone from your table is welcome to take the centerpiece home. A digital version of the Gala Journal can be found here:

We are proud to support

TCG and salute our fellow honorees this evening:

Brian Anthony Moreland

David Rockwell

Schele Williams

Teresa Eyring

TABLE of CONTENTS

2 Welcome / Menu

4 Event Program

6 GALA Co-Chairs, Sponsors, Host Committee and Supporters

8 Front & Center

Honoring: Brian Anthony Moreland, David Rockwell, The Shubert Foundation, and Schele Williams

Celebrating: Teresa Eyring and her 17 Years as TCG’s Executive Director & CEO

Gala Co-Chairs: Rick Miramontez and Lauren Reid

18 TCG Staff

TCG Board

National Council for the American Theatre Performing Arts Alliance

20 Feature

Throughout the year, American Theatre magazine’s editors and reporters interview hundreds of theatre workers across the country, and many of those people share their earliest memories of our beloved art form. From roles in school plays to family outings and everything in between, here are what some of the brightest stars in the American theatre had to say about how they fell in love with theatre.

28 About TCG

The entire TCG Staff

Shawn Brophy

Adrian Bryan-Brown

Kandi Burruss

Sean Campbell

Brian Davidson

André De Shields

Jamie deRoy

Trey Ellett

Molly Foy

Jeffrey Gurel

Greg Kamp

Nichelle Lewis

LaChanze

Kenny Leon

Joan MacKeith

Kevin McCollum

Ken Melamed

Rick Miramontez

Brian Anthony Moreland

Diana Phillips

David Rockwell

Ellery Sandhu

Gerilyn Shur

Andy Snyder

Harold Steward

Isaiah Tanenbaum

Suzanne Tobak

Bálint Varga

Bob Wankel

Ally Weber

Schele Williams

Amy Dorfman Wine

Harold Steward

Chair, TCG Board of Directors

Teresa Eyring

Outgoing Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer

Karena Fiorenza

Interim Chief Executive Officer

LaTeshia Ellerson

Interim Chief Growth Officer

Theatre Communications Group, the national organization for theatre, leads for a just and thriving theatre ecology.

Crab, Mango and Avocado Timbale

Filet Mignon with Bordelaise Sauce (GF)

Fresh Seasonal Vegetable Sauté and Creamy Scalloped Potatoes

Miso-Glazed Wild Black Bass with Sesame Ginger Sauce

Baby Bok Choy and Wild Rice Pilaf

DESSERT

NY-Style Cheesecake with Macerated Wild Berries

Selection of Petits Fours: Cheesecake Pops; Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

Black & White Cookies; Caramel Cups (V); Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups (V)

Fruit Tarts (V); Lemon Meringue Cups (V)

Chocolate-Covered Strawberries (VG, GF)

Regular and Decaffeinated Coffees and Imported Teas

WINE

Nicolas Idiart Chardonnay

Baron Lombart Cabernet Sauvignon

Your presence tonight means the world to us! Thank you for joining us. To make a gift in support of TCG’s mission, please text TCG to 44321 or scan the QR code.

If you prefer to mail your gift in the form of a check, please send it to: TCG Gala, PO Box 22469, New York, NY 10117-2469. Questions? Email TCG at gala@tcg.org

Teresa Eyring

And her 17 years as TCG’s Executive Director/CEO

FEATURING PERFORMANCES AND PRESENTATIONS BY

Kandi Burruss

André De Shields

Harvey Fierstein

LaChanze

Kenny Leon

Nichelle Lewis

And More of Broadway’s Brightest Stars

2024 GALA EVENING DIRECTED BY

Trey Ellett

MUSIC DIRECTOR

Bálint Varga

STAGE MANAGER

Molly Foy

LINE PRODUCER

Greg Kamp

TCG would like to offer our gratitude to tonight’s generous sponsors for their support of this important event.

GALA CO-CHAIRS

PLATINUM SPONSORS

Bloomberg Philanthropies

Rick Miramontez and Lauren Reid

The Shubert Foundation

GOLD SPONSORS

GFP Real Estate

John Gore Organization

The Notebook – the musical

The Rockwell Group

Thinkwell NYC

HOST COMMITTEE

Margot Astrachan

Miles Benickes

Bond Theatrical

Kandi Burruss & Todd Tucker

Kristin Caskey

James L. Chosy

Edward Bond Chapin Columbia

Jasmine Clarke Columbia

Stephen Paul Columbia

Jill Cornell

GALA SUPPORTERS

101 Productions

Jill Anderson

Arts Insurance Program, LLC

Kevin Bitterman

The Booking Group

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS

Concord Theatricals

Cathy Dantchik & Kelly Robinson

Foresight Theatrical

The William & Eva Fox Foundation

BK Fulton

Goodman Theatre

Ruth Hendel

Marshall Jones III

TCG’s profound THANKS goes to our generous GALA Co-Chairs, Sponsors, Host Committee and Supporters

Josh & Ako Dachs

Jamie deRoy

Olga Garay-English

Keli Goff

Iliana Guibert

David Henry Hwang

JMA Solutions

Judith O. Rubin

Reginald Van Lee

Teresa Coleman Wash

Amnon Kabatchnik

Rachel Kraft & Doug Brown

Laurie McCants

Nederlander Organization

Kathryn Nolan

Jack O’Brien

Daryl & Steven Roth Foundation

Jordan Roth

Tom Schumacher

Jana Shea

Andy Snyder

Steward Consulting Group

Michael Weller

In recognition of Teresa Eyring

The William & Eva Fox Foundation extends its deepest gratitude to Teresa for her exceptional and visionary leadership of TCG over the last 17 years.

Teresa’s unwavering commitment to excellence, community engagement and the culture of inclusivity has profoundly enriched all of us.

Brava, Teresa

https://circle.tcg.org/foxfoundation/home

committed to the artistic development of theatre actors as a strategy to strengthen live theatre

FRONT & CENTER Love Stories

David Rockwell

Architect & Designer, GALA Honoree

My mother Joanne is the reason I fell in love with theatre. Earlier in her life she had been a successful vaudeville dancer and always remained involved with the stage. When I was around 4, she helped establish a community theare at the Jersey Shore, where we had recently transplanted. She allowed my brothers and me to work there – we took on bit parts (I played one of the waiters in a production of Hello, Dolly! ), played music, built sets, and helped around backstage. It was so gratifying to be part of what seemed like a massive collaboration — to feel useful and part of the team.

What really seduced me, though, was how these productions would turn our sleepy, introverted town of Deal, N.J. into this

buzzing, socially engaged, fully activated community. That theatre was a beacon and it felt like everybody wanted to take part in it. For a kid like me, who craved the public realm, it was such a perfect fit. The other magical thing about that experience, which was impossible for me to know at the time, was how it became a memory machine. These productions, which only lasted a few performances, have become vivid lifelong memories I can revisit at will. My mother died when I was 15, so those memories have taken on profound meaning in my life. And even now, all these years later, it’s the theatre’s unique ways of imprinting memory and sparking community that still fuel my passion. •

David Rockwell photo by Brigitte Lacombe

Young David Rockwell at the piano.

Brian Anthony Moreland

Broadway Producer, GALA Honoree

I remember being in third grade, so, around nine years old, at home in southern California. My teacher, Ms. Tice, asked my mother if I could participate in the school play. My mother said yes, and was then quickly asked, “Could you also make his costume?” My mother again said yes. The school play was called Be What You Want to Be and I was cast as Santa Claus. When the show was over, I recall one feeling only: “I want to do this again.” Thus began my love affair with theatre. I have been seduced by every aspect of the theatre community since. •

Schele Williams

Director & Actor, GALA Honoree

I vividly remember the first time I saw The Wiz. I was seven years old. The touring production played at Memorial Theatre in Dayton, Ohio. The details of that day and that show replay in slow motion in my mind. The impact of seeing it is immeasurable, as is the joy it brought me and continues to bring me. I even remember what I was wearing. When mom took me to the theatre, l always wore a dress and tights, and we went to lunch at MCL Cafeteria in Downtown Dayton. I remember how it felt when the lights went down and the orchestra began to play. I remember dancing in my seat and wanting to sing along to songs that felt both familiar and brand new. My face hurt from smiling and my hands hurt from clapping. The indelible impression The Wiz made on me will last forever. I can still feel the bright lights of the day that cut through

the darkness when the doors opened after the matinee. But mostly, I remember wanting to do that again and again and again. That feeling has never left me. •

“Thoughts of a Colored Man” on Broadway, producing partner Brian Anthony Moreland.

“The Wiz” revival directed by Schele Williams.

Schele Williams photo by Brent Dundore

Teresa Eyring

Celebrating 17 years as TCG’s Executive Director & CEO

My parents brought me to New York City for the first time when I was 10 years old. We drove up from my hometown of Baltimore to do some sightseeing and attend Broadway shows. On that trip, we saw Promises Promises at the Shubert Theatre and Butterflies are Free at the Booth. While it rained almost the entire time we were in the city, that didn’t stop my decade-old self from falling in love with the magnitude of it all. The lights, the glitz and glam, the scale...and most specifically, the theatre. In addition to the fabulous performances, I was very curious about: Who gets the people to the theatre? Who brings the actors to the stage? Who gets the audience in the chairs? After a matinee, we had a late lunch at a Rockefeller Center restaurant, The Forum of the Twelve Caesars. Across the room, another table was occupied by the now late, great Orson Welles. Thanks to my father, we met him. I was wearing a yellow bow in my hair. He autographed a menu for me, which I still have. Yes, I fell in love with theatre. Recognizing our artform’s importance in community and civic life – and getting people there through theatre leadership, producing, and ultimately, my work at TCG, have been my life’s passion and pursuit. •

Teresa Eyring, 10 years old, with her dad at Rockefeller Center.

The Shubert Foundation

GALA Honoree

The Shubert Foundation was established in 1945 by Lee and J.J. Shubert, in memory of their brother, Sam. Since the establishment of the Shubert Foundation grants program in 1977, more than $613 million has been awarded to not-for-profit arts organizations throughout the United States, providing critical funds even in the midst of the pandemic. Today, the Foundation is the nation’s largest funder of unrestricted aid for not-for-profit theatre and dance companies. The Shubert Foundation awarded a record total of $37.9 million to 635 not-for-profit arts organizations across the United States. Starting at $15,000, the grants benefit a broad spectrum of performing arts organizations, from large to small, covering a wide range of locations, from urban to rural. The Shubert Foundation is especially interested in providing support to professional resident theatre and dance companies that develop and produce new American work, and is proud to provide access to funding via an opendoor, no-invitation policy. The Shubert Foundation is also the largest funder for theatre education for the NYC Public Schools, providing more than $8.6 million since 2005. The Shubert Foundation is led by Robert E. Wankel (Board Chair), Diana Phillips (Board President), Vicki Reiss (Executive Director) and Amy Dorfman Wine (Senior Program Director). •

Rick Miramontez

GALA Co-Chair

My fascination with theatre started in the most unlikely of places: a flag store I used to frequent in my neighborhood of Silver Lake in Los Angeles. This wasn’t just any old flag store mind you — it was California’s pre-eminent emporium of flags, banners and bunting, and I loved browsing the vibrantly colored banners on display. When I was around seven, I saw the most fascinating woman draping herself in Union Jack flags in front of the giant store. She explained to the owner that she was attending the opening night of Hair at the Aquarius Theatre on Sunset Strip and was going to create a gown from these British Union flags.

At the time, I didn’t know what Hair was, but I was determined to learn more about the inspiration for this bold, sartorial experiment. I soon got my hands on the original Broadway cast recording of Hair and discovered that it was the source of some of the hit songs I’d already loved on the radio by artists like The Cowsills, The Fifth Dimension, and Three Dog Night.

This thrilling collision of Broadway, popular music, and fashion became my entrée to the world of theatre. It wasn’t just the songs; it was how Hair reflected and influenced the world around me.

Flash forward to 2009. My company, O&M Co., was still in its infancy and we were hired to handle press for the Diane Paulusdirected Broadway revival of Hair. To underscore this “full circle moment,” as Oprah might call it, I knew I needed to have a flag dress on that red carpet. So, we hired Patricia Field to design exactly that for Drag Race winner Bebe Zahara Benet to wear on opening night. It was my way of acknowledging how that simple encounter all those years ago had influenced my path.

That production of Hair turned out to be a major success for O&M Co., winning the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical. The victory celebration we threw at the Carlyle Hotel’s Royal Suite marked the beginning of what became our annual O&M Tony party.

Today, I’m still seeking and, hopefully, helping to create those intersections where the theatre meets, influences, and responds to the world around us. •

Lauren Reid

GALA Co-Chair

Lauren Reid, President of the John Gore Organization (JGO), has channeled her lifelong passion for live entertainment into a storied career working at the highest levels of the theatre industry to extend the reach of Broadway. Throughout her tenure at JGO, Lauren has helped steer the company to become a leading presenter, distributor, and marketer of commercial theatre from coast-to-coast. In addition to its dozens of productions currently on Broadway and around the world, JGO presents theatre in 48 markets across North America and reaches more than 35 million fans each year through its platforms. JGO’s family of companies includes Broadway Across America, Broadway.com, The Broadway Channel, BroadwayBox.com, Broadway Brands and Group Sales Box Office.

Lauren Reid first joined the JGO family in 1992. She left the company in 2005 to launch BASE Entertainment. As COO of BASE, she managed worldwide operations, produced Broadway shows and live music events, and oversaw the construction and operation of multiple venues in Las Vegas and Singapore. She returned to JGO in 2010 and was named President in 2021.

In 2023, Lauren concluded her three-year term as Chair of The Broadway League, during which she ushered the safe and successful return of the theatre industry following its longest-ever shutdown. Under Lauren’s leadership, the League has placed a renewed emphasis on government relations—leading to important legislative wins—and created its first-ever department focused exclusively on EDIA, to help lead a larger, industry-wide effort to ameliorate inequities and promote access.

An advocate for mentoring and creating new pathways, Lauren co-created the Broadway League’s Rising Stars program, which identifies and mentors current middle-level managers to help create the next generation of industry leaders. She also forged a partnership between Broadway Across America and Black Theatre Coalition to create the BTC/BAA Fellowship program. For her work, WP Theater honored Lauren with their 2023 Ceiling Breaker Award.

Lauren serves on the Boards of the Entertainment Community Fund and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. She guest lectures “The Business of Entertainment” at her alma mater, The University of Texas, and splits her time between New York City and Connecticut, but you might find her in one of the historic venues around the country that her husband, David, renovated and operated. She first fell in love with theatre at age 10 while attending a touring production of Annie in Houston, Texas. •

- David Rockwell

Heartfelt congratulations to tonight’s honorees, with gratitude to TCG for continuing to bring us together.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF TONIGHT’S HONOREES

From your friends at

Karena Fiorenza

Interim Chief Executive Officer, TCG

Theatre literally saved my life. After I experienced the death of a family member while I was in high school, theatre and the performing arts became a form of therapy and a place for deep healing while giving me ánimo to press on. On stage, I was free to be anyone and to channel all the emotions that I didn’t know how to express personally into a character. Theatre was freedom. The older I got and the more I processed my grief, the less I needed to be on stage. However, by that time, the love, respect, and healing power of theatre were ingrained into my bones. I chose to dedicate my professional career to advancing our theatre ecosystem, in the hopes that my efforts will one day help bring theatre’s healing power to the next little girl who desperately needs it. •

We join TCG in celebrating SCHELE WILLIAMS and all of tonight’s honorees.

TCG Staff Executive Office

Karena Fiorenza, Interim Chief Executive Officer

LaTeshia Ellerson, Interim Chief Growth Officer

LaDonna Lane, Interim People and Culture Director

Sol Oliver, Management Associate

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Initiatives

Ciara Diane, EDI Initiatives Manager

Fieldwide Programming

Devon Berkshire, Director of Fieldwide Programming

Ella Silverman, Manager of Fieldwide Programming

Marketing

Joshua H. Jenkins, Director of Marketing

Monet Cogbill, Design Manager

Breana (Bree) Olgadez, Marketing Associate

Communications & Research

Corinna Schulenburg, Director of Communications & Research

Rachael Hip-Flores, Communications & Research Associate

Membership

Jennifer Cleary, Director of Membership

Lauren Sullivan, Membership Manager

Jupiter Lê, Membership Assistant

Institutional Philanthropy

Danika Tablante, Institutional Philanthropy Manager

Individual Giving

Lisa Patterson, Director of Individual Giving

Lisa Purrone, Individual Giving Manager

Leah Gabriel, Individual Giving Associate

Finance & Administration

Jessica Adler, ArtsFMS, Financial Management Services

Angela Lam, Controller

Danelsi De La Cruz, Finance Associate

Vatey Vasquez, Finance Associate

Operations

Oscar Cabrera, Manager, Office and Technical Support

Advocacy

Laurie Baskin, Director of Advocacy

Grantmaking Programs

Emilya Cachapero, Director of Grantmaking Programs

Raksak (Big) Kongseng, Assistant Director of Grantmaking Programs

TCG Books

Terence Nemeth, Publisher Emeritus

Erin Salvi, Co-Publisher

Kathy Sova, Co-Publisher/Editorial Director

Emma Walsh, Senior Managing Editor

Andy Boyd, Marketing Coordinator

John Petrie, Publications Manager

Veronica Diaz, Assistant Editor

Advertising (American Theatre, ARTSEARCH & Digital)

Carol Van Keuren, Director of Advertising

Donna Villella, Advertising Sales Coordinator

American Theatre

Rob Weinert-Kendt, Editor-in-chief

Kelundra Smith, M anaging Editor

Alexandra Pierson, Associate Editor

Gabriela Furtado Coutinho, Chicago Associate Editor

Jerald Raymond Pierce, Chicago Editor

TCG Board Officers

Harold Steward, Chair; Executive Director, New England Foundation of the Arts, Boston, MA

Hana S. Sharif, Vice Chair; Artistic Director, Arena Stage, Washington, D.C.

Merrique Jenson, Vice Chair; Director of Transformations Organization, Kansas City, Mo.

John Fontillas, Vice Chair; Planner, Architect, Partner; H3, New York, NY

Angela Gieras, Treasurer; Executive Director; Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Kansas City, Mo.

Board of Directors

Jennifer Bielstein, (LORT Liaison)Executive Director, American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco, Calif.

Jeremy B. Cohen, Producing Artistic Director; Playwrights’ Center, Minneapolis, Minn.

Kelvin Dinkins Jr., Executive Director, American Repertory Theatre, Cambridge, MA

Nataki Garrett, Independent Artist; Fairfield, Calif.

Hanay Geiogamah, Professor of Theater/ Professor of American Indian Studies, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, UCLA American Indian Studies University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA and Artistic Director, The American Indian Dance Theater, Los Angeles, Calif.

Qween Jean, Founder, Black Trans Liberation, New York, NY

Laurie McCants, Co-Founder; Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble, Bloomsburg, PA

National Council for the American Theatre

TCG is grateful for the generous support of the members of the National Council for the American Theatre (NCAT). Founded in 1997 and comprised of leading trustees from member theatres across the country and other theatre supporters, NCAT guides TCG’s programs on governance and board development and serves as a “brain trust” for the organization. For information on joining the National Council, please contact Lisa L. Patterson, Director of Individual Giving, at lpatterson@tcg.org.

Judith O. Rubin* Council Co-Chair, Playwrights Horizons (New York, NY)

James L. Chosy Council Co-Chair, Guthrie Theater (Minneapolis, Minn.)

Eve Alvord* Seattle Children’s Theatre (Seattle, Wash.)

Jeffrey D. Bores Playwrights’ Center (Minneapolis, Minn.)

Michelle Branch Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture (San Francisco, Calif.)

Ralph Bryan La Jolla Playhouse (La Jolla, Calif.)

Bunni Copaken Kansas City Repertory Theatre (Kansas City, Mo.)

Sophie Cripe South Coast Repertory (Costa Mesa, Calif.)

Brad Edgerton Oregon Shakespeare Festival (Ashland, Ore.)

Ruth Hendel Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center (Waterford, CT)

Cynthia Huffman ACT Contemporary Theatre (Seattle, Wash.)

Bruce E.H. Johnson Seattle Repertory Theatre (Seattle, Wash.)

Myla Lerner Lean Ensemble Theater (Hilton Head, SC)

Lynelle Lynch La Jolla Playhouse (La Jolla, Calif.)

David Moore, Jr. Guthrie Theater (Minneapolis, Minn.)

Julie Morris PlayMakers Repertory Company (Raleigh, NC)

Eleanor Cook Nolan* Seattle Children’s Theatre (Seattle, Wash.)

Betsy Pitts Atlantic Theater Company (New York, NY)

Toni Rembe* American Conservatory Theater (San Francisco, Calif.)

Rusty Rueff American Conservatory Theater (San Francisco, Calif.)

David E. Shiffrin Arena Stage (Washington D.C.)

Diane Whatton Lookingglass Theatre Company (Chicago, Ill.)

Diane C. Yu Oregon Shakespeare Festival (Ashland, Ore.)

*Founding Member

Performing Arts Alliance

Theatre Communications Group is a proud founding member of the Performing Arts Alliance (PAA). The PAA organization advocates for America’s professional nonprofit arts sector before Congress and key policy makers. Current members include:

Alliance of Artists Communities

Alternate ROOTS

American Composers Forum

Association of Performing Arts Professionals

Chamber Music America

Chorus America Dance/USA

Folk Alliance International

The International Association of Blacks in Dance

League of American Orchestras

National Alliance for Musical Theatre

National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures

National Performance Network

Network of Ensemble Theaters

OPERA America

Theatre Communications Group

To learn more about how TCG advocates for the arts year round, visit tcg.org.

OUR STORIES Falling in Love with Theatre

Theatre is many things to different people. A sanctuary, a home, a soft place to land, a safe space, and a brave one.

By AMERICAN THEATRE MAGAZINE’S EDITORS AND REPORTERS

Throughout the year, American Theatre magazine’s editors and reporters interview hundreds of theatre workers across the country, and many of those people share their earliest memories of our beloved art form. From roles in school plays to family outings and everything in between, here are what some of the brightest stars throughout the nation had to say about how they fell in love with theatre.

RYAN J. HADDAD

“Everything comes back to my family. My family were my first acting teachers. None of them have qualifications to be acting teachers at all, but we did plays together in the backyard, in the living room, starting when I was five—I have a whole cabaret about that. So they were sort of my acting troupe, and they all would dive in and do these plays with me, for almost a decade of my life.”

– Playwright and Performer Ryan J. Haddad, “Not Always a Punchline: Ryan J. Haddad’s ‘Dark Disabled Stories’,” American Theatre, Fall 2023

ESTEBAN ANDRES CRUZ

“I grew up in Cicero, Ill., just on the edge of Chicago. Growing up, it was mostly a Latino community, and poor and troubled. My brothers were all in and out of institutions. So I used Shakespeare as something that I could be like—there was hope for better than this small town. It was kind of my gateway out. I found the gateway drug of theatre when I was in high school at 15. I was actually very shy, if you can believe it—I was a closeted extrovert. So theatre gave me a home and gave me a place where I felt like I could express who I really am.”

– Actor Esteban Andres Cruz, “A Tale of Two Festes,” American Theatre online, June 26, 2023

SARA PORKALOB

“I’m five years old seeing my first live play, The Wizard of Oz, at a community college, and I’m absolutely appalled that the people onstage are celebrating the fact that a whole house just fell on a person and killed them. I loved witches and didn’t understand why anyone would want to kill them—glad to say I feel the same now as I did then.”

– Writer and Performer Sara Porkalob, American Theatre, Fall 2023

Photo by Stephen K. Mack

Photo by Songbird Studios

KATY SULLIVAN

“In elementary school, we went to see a children’s theatre production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It was magical from top to bottom. I just remember wishing there was a way to be a part of a play, and then realized that the little girl playing Violet was a kid I knew from school. I was like, ‘Wait, if she can do this, why can’t I?’”

– Actor and Athlete Katy Sullivan, American Theatre, Winter 2024

LARISSA FASTHORSE

“I truly fell in love with theatre at the first preview of The Thanksgiving Play at Playwrights Horizons. Comedy is so hard because you make it in a vacuum. I remember when the audience exploded into laughter at the first joke, I said to myself, “This is the sound of your life changing.” I had been a playwright for a while by then, but that was the moment I knew that I never wanted to do anything else.”

– Playwright Larissa FastHorse

MARVIN QUIJADA

“There was a production of Cabaret at Columbia College. I had a bunch of friends in it, and I remember seeing it and being like, ‘Holy moly, this is like one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen. What the hell?’ And I’ve always loved my brother, and I always loved sharing with him things that I find cool. I was like, Brian, I need to take you to this show. We went, and the Emcee is amazing. One of the greatest performances I’ve ever seen in my life. I saw that show four times. It was so good. That was the first show I ever saw. I remember that we bought the Alan Cummings soundtrack. We listened to that every night going to sleep. I still consider that show to be one of my favorite shows. I think in a lot of ways that show is the perfect combination of political theatre and theatre that is very musical and entertaining.”

– Clown, Musician, and Digital Artist Marvin Quijada, “Dos Hermanos Sueñan: Marvin and Brian Quijada’s Shared Story,” American Theatre, Fall 2023

Photo by Dirty Sugar Photography

Photo by Brian McConkey

Photo by Conor Horgan

JACKIE TAYLOR

“I was about 10 years old, throwing bricks with my friends at Seward Park near the Cabrini-Green housing projects where I lived. A man came out of the park’s field house and told us to stop. We laughed and ran away, and then the man started chasing us. He caught me. The man’s name was John Houston and he gave me a choice —he could turn me in to the cops for property damage or I could come to his drama class on the third floor of the field house every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday after school. I chose the drama class.

Mr. Houston took me under his wing. He taught me how to love myself, and that made all the difference in the world. In that first drama class, he cast me as a munchkin in The Wizard of Oz, even though I wanted to be Dorothy so bad. As it turned out, the young woman who played the part of Dorothy couldn’t sing very well, so I ended up singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” behind a curtain while the actress playing Dorothy lip-synched. That was my first introduction. I loved it. I loved the spotlight. I loved the positive encouragement. And it changed my life.”

– Founder and CEO of Black Ensemble Theater Chicago Jackie Taylor, “Black Ensemble Theater: The Jackie Taylor Story,” American Theatre online, August 30, 2023

JEREMY B. COHEN

“In the spring of 1991, I was a high school senior, standing at the back rail of Hartford Stage, watching the brilliance of Dr. Endesha Ida Mae Holland’s From the Mississippi Delta play its first performance at the theatre. Among many other brilliant creatives, it featured Cheryl Lynn Bruce and Jacqueline Williams, directed by Jonathan Wilson — all of whom would eventually go on to be some of the most important colleagues and mentors for me in Chicago. My body was electrified by the storytelling—the subject of the play, of course, but also the theatricality, the boldness and watching these brilliant artists do what I never thought possible. Whenever I’m in a moment of doubt about a life in the theatre, I close my eyes and take myself back to what it felt like to be in the room that night—and how I’d spend the rest of my life pursuing that feeling again and again.”

– Playwrights’ Center Producing Artistic Director Jeremy B. Cohen *TCG Board Member

EBONI BOOTH

GRETA OGLESBY

“In ’92 or ’93, I was an accountant for the City of Chicago, and on a break, I was flipping through the Chicago Sun-Times and ran across a little audition notice looking for women who could sing gospel for this little musical called Mens. Well, I sing gospel, and I ended up getting it, and Lord have mercy—I just immediately fell in love with theatre. I couldn’t stop doing it. I was miserable when I didn’t do it.”

– Actor Greta Oglesby, American Theatre, Winter 2024

“When I was young, there was so much volatility at home that my friends and theatre really gave me a new home...I feel like art has taught me how to sort of live with the mess of my life, and not to try to make it neat. I don’t have to keep auditioning for people’s love. For me, the process of making a play is so messy, and filled with so much anxiety and self-loathing and confusion and fear, that making peace with myself through the process, and just being able to say, ‘You don’t have control over everything, here we are, we just have to sort of give over to it night after night,’ has been really therapeutic.”

– Playwright Eboni Booth, American Theatre, Spring 2024

TERRY NEMETH

“My loves were books and how they got made. It wasn’t until I realized that the same words I always loved could also be spoken on a stage with even more power that my love and appreciation of theatre began. Thankfully, I had so many colleagues at TCG who were my teachers and mentors that the unlimited possibilities of putting plays on the page became my love and passion.”

– TCG Publisher Emeritus Terry Nemeth

LILY TUNG CRYSTAL

“I was born and raised in Los Angeles, and my mom, who was a Chinese immigrant, introduced me to old Hollywood movies, and I fell in love with musicals. Our home had an elevated fireplace with a stone mantel. And when I was little, I’d climb onto the mantel, use the chain from the fireplace screen as my microphone, and pretend that I was singing to an audience in my living room. My mom saw me and thought, ‘I need to get that girl lessons,’ so I started taking singing and piano lessons at age seven. Around that time, I saw Annie at the Shubert Theatre where girls my age were performing on stage and I thought, ‘I can do that.’ ” – Artistic Director of Theater Mu, Lily Tung Crystal

Tonight, we salute the honorees

BRIAN ANTHONY MORELAND DAVID ROCKWELL SCHELE WILLIAMS & THE SHUBERT FOUNDATION

And offer our heartfelt congratulations to

TERESA EYRING’S

17 years at the helm of TCG

With love,

JOHN and your friends at

Photo by Marc Safran Photography

THEATRE

COMMUNICATIONS GROUP’S MISSION IS TO… lead for a just and thriving theatre ecology

NETWORKING AND KNOWLEDGE-BUILDING

TCG’s Research programs include long-standing studies such as the Salary Survey and Fiscal Survey, as well as responsive snapshot surveys.

The National Conference is a biennial gathering of theatre professionals to forge connections, address field-wide issues, and celebrate the theatre of the host community.

Theatre for Activism is a series of gatherings to strengthen care, share practices, and forge connections between activists and theatre practitioners.

GRANTMAKING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

THRIVE! Uplifting Theatres of Color provides unrestricted funds for those who have all too often been outside the grantmaking sector’s funding opportunities: Black theatres, Indigenous theatres and Theatres of Color which are closely connected to and have positive impact on their chosen communities.

The Rising Leaders of Color Program forms cohorts of exceptionally talented early-career leaders of color who participate in professional development workshops and events.

The Willa Kim Costume Design Scholarship provides exceptionally talented costume designers who are enrolled in a university or professional training program funds to be used towards tuition, registration, and/or supplies.

A New Era

PUBLISHING

TCG Books is the largest independent trade publisher of dramatic literature in North America with more than 400 volumes in print including 20 winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

For over 40 years, ARTSEARCH® is the essential source for job and talent seekers in the arts, and is now free for all job seekers.

GLOBAL LEADERSHIP AND ADVOCACY

TCG’s art advocacy efforts over the past several years have contributed to the largest federal investment in the arts since the WPA in the 1930s. Other advocacy issues include: tax incentives for charitable giving, improving the visa process for international artists from abroad, and advocating for legislation that protects theatres and their ticketbuyers from predatory and deceptive practices.

Through the Global Theater Initiative, TCG’s partnership with the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, TCG serves as the U.S. Center of the International Theatre Institute (ITI). TCG issues peer consultation letters for international visa petitions and brings delegations of U.S. theatres to international festivals.

I am proud to celebrate Teresa Eyring and her 17 years of dedicated service leading Theatre Communications Group tonight.

lHere’s to the next phase of creative energy you will bring to the world!

Love your Pisces sister, Julie

Congratulations to the honorees, Brian Anthony Moreland, Schele Williams, The Shubert Foundation and our very own, David Rockwell.

We love you.

SCOTT, SYDNEY, CHRIS, AND ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS AT ROUNDABOUT roundabouttheatre.org

UNLOCK THE MAGIC OF TCG BENEFITS

Every role, from theatremaker to audience member to administrator to student, contributes to our vibrant theatre ecology. Membership with Theatre Communications Group supports our entire field and activates an expansive set of benefits to help you in your work.

ONLY $50 PER YEAR.

BENEFITS INCLUDE:

AMERICAN THEATRE MAGAZINE

Individual members of TCG get their own copy of TCG’s own AMERICAN THEATRE, right in their mailbox every quarter!

TCG BOOKS

Save 40% on all TCG books and other distributed titles.

THE CIRCLE

Our dynamic online platform helps members collaborate, share resources, and strengthen their networks.

ARTSEARCH

Your gateway to job opportunities awaits. Membership supports keeping unlimited access to ARTSEARCH free to our field!

TCG EVENTS

Enjoy exclusive programming and special discounts for both virtual and in-person events like our upcoming 2024 TCG National Conference in Chicago.

MEMBERS ONLY EMAILS

Stay updated with regular members-only emails like IM WIRE, NEW@TCG, Advocacy Alerts, and more!

PERFORMING ARTS ALLIANCE

Become a voice for the arts with informative action alerts and reports as a member of the Performing Arts Alliance, the principal advocate representing arts interests and advancing arts support.

…and so much more!

Joe Machota and CAA congratulate our clients

SCHELE WILLIAMS AND DAVID ROCKWELL