Fall Conference 2016

Come early for breakfast (and coffee!) to greet colleagues and visit our exhibitors.

Breakfast sponsored by Marriott Theatre.

Pamela Sneed is a New York based poet, writer and actress. She has been featured in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Time Out, Bomb, VIBE, and on the cover of New York Magazine.

She is author of Imagine Being More Afraid of Freedom Than Slavery published by Henry Holt in April 1998 and KONG and other works published by Vintage Entity Press, 2009 and a new chapbook Lincoln. Her work is included in The 100 Best African American Poems edited by Nikki Giovanni. Recent publications include work in Best Monologues from Best American Short Plays, Future Perfect, and LIU Teaching Narratives with upcoming work in Ping Pong and Cutbank magazines.

Pamela has headlined the New Work Now Festival at Joe’s Pub/The Public Theater and has performed original works for sold out houses at Lincoln Center, P.S. 122, Ex-Teresa in Mexico City, The ICA London, The CCA in Glasgow Scotland, The Green Room in Manchester, England, and BAM cafe. In 2014, Pamela appeared at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, at Long Island University and as a guest performer at the Beechman Theater. In 2013, she performed at Central Park Summer Stage, The Whitney Museum of Art, Columbia University’s “Geographies of Mass Incarceration.” In 2011, she performed in South Africa in collaboration with the women’s organization FEW.

At Sarah Lawrence she teaches Writing for Solo Performance and Solo Performance in Production.

A panel of NAMT members will discuss the benefits of creating a culture of “yes” at their organizations — how being open to new ideas and taking risks can lead to exciting discoveries, opportunities and diverse stories, as well as the challenges that being open can sometimes bring. After hearing from the panelists, all attendees will have an opportunity to explore ways to get to yes in their own companies.

Moderated by Mark Hoebee (Paper Mill Playhouse) and Heather Schmucker (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), with Donna Lynn Hilton (Goodspeed Musicals) Anthony Rodriguez (Aurora Theatre) and Emily Shooltz (Ars Nova).

Lunch sponsored by Disney Theatrical Group.

Developing Sensory-Friendly Performances
Chelsea Room
Learn how your theatre can produce sensory-friendly performances for audience members on the autistic spectrum and their families. Nancy Altschuler (Goodspeed Musicals) and Mary Murphy (Franklin Academy) will discuss those organizations’ new partnership and Goodspeed’s first-ever sensory-friendly performance, produced last month. Lisa Cooney (Paper Mill Playhouse) will share lessons learned from her years running Paper Mill’s groundbreaking program.

Casting A Wide Net
East Village Room
You’ve programmed a show with specific casting needs but your audition pool isn’t meeting those needs. How do you expand your scope? How do you invite other members of your community into your theatre, so that your theatre may better reflect that community? Robb Hunt (Village Theatre) and Paige Price (Theatre Aspen) will lead this discussion, sharing challenges and solutions from their theatres.

Creating A Culture of “Green”
West Village Room
Susan Sampliner from the Broadway Green Alliance will share tips and ideas on how theatres can be better stewards of the environment — and help their communities and save money, too! How can office cultures adopt new, environmentally friendly techniques in an industry that’s known for being slow to change?

New Approaches to Classic Musicals
Madison Room
Michael Ballam (Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre), Ted Chapin (R&H Theatricals) and Sheldon Harnick (Lyrics) will discuss the new version of the Richard Rodgers/Sheldon Harnick/Sherman Yellen musical Rex currently in development.

At the end of last year’s conference session on accessibility and inclusion, one panelist challenged the room: “Between now and next year when you come back, what’s that one thing that you know that can change everything at your theatre company…. When I see you next year I’m going to ask you: what did you do?” So we’re asking! NAMT members will tell us about specific ways they put words into action at their theatres to broaden diversity, accessibility and inclusion. What worked, what didn’t and what impact did it have?

Moderated by Joshua Blanchard (Lake Dillon Theatre Company), with Michael Baron (Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma), Adrian Budhu (Theatre Communications Group), Christine Burke (Woodminster Summer Musicals), Kwofe Coleman (The Muny) and Ryan Norton (Tuacahn Center for the Arts).

Sponsored by Samuel French, Inc. and Pittsburgh CLO

Come early for breakfast (and coffee!) to greet colleagues and visit our exhibitors. (Breakfast will be served until 11:00.)

What sort of barriers to entry do the pay scales of many careers in the theatre create? Do our work environments encourage some and discourage others, either subtly or overtly? How does a lack of access limit the voices in our conversations and the stories we tell? What are the realities facing artists and administrators with families…or who just want to have a life outside of work? We’ll hear from members and Festival alumni who have faced and are facing these issues, as well as preparing a new generation of theatre-makers for the world. Plus, learn about the National Endowment for the Arts’ new report: Creativity Connects: Trends and Conditions Affecting U.S. Artists.

Moderated by Amy Rogers Schwartzreich (Pace New Musicals), with Kent Gash (NYU New Studio on Broadway), Kait Kerrigan (Bookwriter/Lyricist), Kent Nicholson (Playwrights Horizons) and Greg Reiner (National Endowment for the Arts).

A detailed look at the paths two shows have taken from the NAMT Festival to full productions. Was the road smooth or bumpy? Long or short? How did outside factors that couldn’t have been anticipated at the outset affect the writing process and the show’s reception?

Moderated by Branden Huldeen (Barrington Stage Company, former NAMT New Works Director)

Southern Comfort (Festival 2012)
Robert DuSold (Conceiver), Julianne Boyd (Barrington Stage Company), Dan Collins (Book/Lyrics), Maria Goyanes (The Public Theater), Eliza Ventura (CAP21), Frank Ventura (CAP21) and Julianne Wick Davis (Music).

Legendale (Festival 2015)
Jeff Bienstock (Book/Lyrics), Andrea Daly (Music), Soren Moeller (Fredericia Theatre), Kevin Moore (Human Race Theatre Company)

Lunch sponsored by The Hollywood Pantages.

Developing New Works at Colleges and Universities
West Village Room
Hear how some of NAMT’s academic members are developing new musicals both on their own and in partnership with professional theatres — to the great benefit of all, including the students and writers — and learn how your theatre can set up similar partnerships. With Stephen Brotebeck (San Diego State University), Victoria Bussert (Baldwin Wallace University) and Mark Hardy (Montclair State University).

Defining Community Engagement
East Village Room
Community engagement is one of the key tenets of NAMT’s new strategic plan, and one of our first tasks is defining what that means to us and to our members. We’d love your input! Join Executive Director Betsy King Militello to tell us how your theatre defines community engagement and what services you’d like to see NAMT provide in this area.

Get to Know Your NAMT Membership
Chelsea Room
For new members, first-time attendees, or anyone who wants to learn more about NAMT, our programs and services. Membership Director Adam Grosswirth will provide an overview of NAMT’s member benefits, give a hands-on demo of our website and answer any questions you may have.

Broadening Audiences and Blending Media
Madison Room
How can you expand your engagement to include those who have never seen a musical? How can you use up-and-coming technology to widen your audience? A conversation with Marsha Brooks (Brooks & Distler) and game designer James Marion, the creator of the first mobile mini-game musical Peter Panic! about the process of developing a mobile app and how his app has blended the worlds of musical theatre and mobile gaming to create new opportunities for artists and encouraging a whole new audience to become musical theatre fans.

We’ve talked a lot at past conferences about our most dedicated subscribers and donors who have bought in fully to our new works missions — the ones who come to every reading and festival, fill out every feedback form and trust in whatever we put on. But how much do we know about people who only come to the theatre a few times a year? Are there perceived barriers to entry we may not even be aware of in our spaces? What makes people want to see a specific show? NAMT members will talk about their audience development methods, what they’re hearing back from patrons, and TDF’s Triple Play research program.

Moderated by Jeff Loeb (The Hollywood Pantages), with Keith Cromwell (Red Mountain Theatre Company), Peter Rothstein (Theater Latte Da) and Kyle Sircus (Playwrights Horizons).

The official kick-off concert to the Festival of New Musicals, where you’ll get to hear songs that didn’t make the final 45-minute cuts of all eight Festival shows. NAMT members may purchase their tickets when they register for the Fall Conference and/or Festival of New Musicals.