At the end of our conference last year, I told my team . . . “Next year, we’re going to do something totally different!”
Little did I know! 🙂
The theater is a constantly evolving art-form, so it only makes sense that our conference is evolving as well!
What has changed?
First, we’ve got a new name . . . The TheaterMakers Summit! Since our past attendees have included such a mix of Playwrights, Composers, Producers, Investors, Directors, Actors and everyone who makes theater, we wanted to honor them all.
Second, surprise, surprise . . . we’re going virtual!
Our virtual summit will be held on November 14th, 15th . . . and an extra intensive day on the 16th for a select few (More on that in a minute).
Now, look, I’ll admit it. I was a bit bummed when I realized we weren’t going to be able to have our conference in person this year. I even threw a tantrum my two-year-old would be proud of. Here’s how it went down:
We were in the middle of a Zoom last May when I said, “If we can’t have our conference in person, then forget it! I don’t want to do it!”
And I e-stomped off (which means I “booped” out of the meeting).
I e-stumbled back into the Zoom room a few minutes later (my staff was still there . . . they knew I’d be back) and said, “Ok, ok, if we’re going to do it virtually, then we’re really going to DO THIS virtually!”
Once I accepted the cards we were dealt, we spun the negative into a super-duper positive.
And now I am so excited that we’re going to be entirely online. Because we’re going to be able to unite more TheaterMakers from all over the world, with speakers from all over the world . . . without anyone having to travel. The conversations on how to make theater in the new world will be more robust than ever!
And we need those conversations. Because let’s face it. We’ve got some hurdles to overcome.
And the best way to figure out how to solve our problems is to get more and more ideas tossed out on the table by more people.
That’s why I’m going to have leaders from Broadway, Regional Theaters, Foreign Market theaters, Community Theater, High School Theaters and more. We’re going to have experts on all of the subjects facing TheaterMakers today from diversity to streaming to safety in the time of Covid . . . not to mention how to raise money in this craziness, how and where to pivot, what “The Road” is going to look like, and lots more.
And in addition to two days of great content, we’ve added an entire bonus day . . . which will feature more “group thinks” and interactive workshops, for those who want to dig into the issues even deeper.
With the attendance we’ve had in the past, and as accessible as can be since it’s virtual, it could be the biggest public conference of TheaterMakers ever.
Tickets have NOT been on sale . . . until today. (It has taken us some time to figure all this out!)
You can get them here (and you’ll also see the incredible line up of speakers we already have . . . and that’s just a few of them!)
And for those who get a ticket by this Monday at 11:59 PM Eastern, you’re going to get that interactive bonus day for free.
Oh, and expect some other surprises as well.
So yeah, the conference is gonna be different. But I think that’s perfect. Because different is exactly how we need to think right now if we’re going to succeed in getting the theater back to where it was before . . . and beyond.
Learn more and get your tickets for the annual TheaterMakers Summit here.
Looking forward to e-seeing you there.
