Fall Conference 2019

Sponsored by Ogunquit Playhouse & Seaview Productions

A NAMT ice-breaker tradition! Come prepared with a story you want to share from your organization from the past year — but keep it quick!

Sponsored by TheatreWorks Silicon Valley & Universal Theatrical Group

Presenting shows and collaborating with writers from abroad have special challenges and rewards. Learn how NAMT members have successfully bridged the gap.

Moderated by Marsha Brooks (Brooks & Distler), with Scott Gilmour (writer, Hi, My Name Is Ben/Royal Conservatoire of Scotland), Donna Lynn Hilton (Goodspeed Musicals) and Kumiko Yoshii (Gorgeous Entertainment).

Each year, Red Mountain Theatre Company hosts a festival of powerful work that inspires, engages and transforms audiences. Learn how this program came to be, and how it integrates community engagement and new musical development.

Moderated by Jennifer Jaquess, with Keith Cromwell, Cheryl Davis, Trey Mitchell and Matt Schicker.

How can you bring risk-averse board members around to the idea of adding new or more challenging musicals to your season? Bring your questions and success stories to this session for some sharing and brainstorming.

Moderated by Mark Fleischer (Pittsburgh CLO), with Michael Baron (Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma), Robb Hunt (Village Theatre) and Anthony Rodriguez (Aurora Theatre).

Have a favorite show from your theatre that’s looking for its next steps? Looking for your next musical that already has a track record with other NAMT members? Share and learn about new musicals beyond the Festival here.

Moderated by Ciera Iveson (NAMT)

Some new musicals push buttons…and everyone’s buttons are different! How can you prepare your subscribers and donors for a show you believe in that may ruffle some feathers? And how can we get past our own biases about what those feathers are?

Moderated by Adam Grosswirth (NAMT), with Michael R. Jackson (writer, A Strange Loop), Ann-Carol Pence (Aurora Theatre), Kyle Sircus (Playwrights Horizons) and Ashley Wells (Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma).

Experts will share best practices on starting and maintaining a writer residency program at your theatre.

Discussion led by Karin Nilo (NAMT), with Brannon Bowers (American Music Theatre Project), Stephen Brotebeck (SDSU MFA Musical Theatre Program) and Anika Chapin (Goodspeed Musicals).

Taking shows from the U.S. to international audiences poses its own challenges. Another panel of experts will share tips!

Moderated by Pam Adams (Atlantic Theater Company), with Felipe Gamba (Disney Theatrical Productions), Søren Møller (Fredericia Theatre), Lisa Dozier King (General Manager, Be More Chill) and Ava Zhou (Harmonia Holdings).

Commercial/non-profit partnerships have become standard across much of the industry, but where do you start if you’ve never done one before? Or how can you take yours to the next level? Hear best practices and ask questions, and learn how to leverage your NAMT relationships further.

Moderated by Elisbeth Challener (ZACH Theatre), with Margot Astrachan (Margot Astrachan Production), Ken Davenport (Davenport Theatricals), Nancy Gibbs (321 Theatrical Management), Brad Kenney (Ogunquit Playhouse) and Marc Seriff (Seriff Productions).

Sponsored by Theatrical Rights Worldwide

Equity, diversity and inclusion involve an entire organization, and touch staff and patrons alike. Reynaldi Lolong will share how The Public Theater’s marketing and press departments led the way in making the theatre more welcoming to new audiences.

Presentation by Reynaldi Linder Lolong (The Public Theater)

Share best practices, success stories and ask questions about co-productions. Maybe even find a producing partner or two!

Moderated by Phil Santora, with Bill Berry (The 5th Avenue Theatre), Curt Dale Clark (Maine State Music Theatre) and Marc Robin (Fulton Theatre).

Developing a new musical in an academic setting can be a great step for writers, commercial producers or non-profit theatres, and of course has great benefits for students as well. Learn more about NAMT members’ successful programs and partnerships, and how you can join them.

Moderated by Michael Rubinoff (Sheridan College), with Margot Astrachan (Margot Astrachan Production), Scott Levy (Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center Theatre Company at Colorado College), Carolyn Miller (CREO) and Amy Rogers Schwartzreich (Pace New Musicals).

How does American musical theatre echo or relate to other musical theatre traditions around the world? How is community engagement linked to honoring non-Western traditions? Does our relative unfamiliarity with approaches from other cultures limit our reception of new work that breaks with the traditions we’re used to?

Moderated by Orlando Morales (The 5th Avenue Theatre), with Thembi Duncan (Shea’s Performing Arts Center), Cheeyang Ng (writer, Eastbound), Helen Park (writer, KPOP) and Daniel Yu (New York Chinese Opera Society).

Break out by size/type to discuss topics relevant to organizations like yours.

Imogen Lloyd Webber talks to David Zippel about the reworked version of The Woman in White, which recently played in London and will soon be released—for the first time—to professional theatres in North America.

NAMT members who are new to their leadership roles will share what they’re learning as they steer their organizations through change — their own new starts and inherited changes at their organizations — in what we hope will be a lively discussion among everyone in the room about lessons learned, good advice, and guaranteeing thriving futures for our organizations.

Moderated by Michael Murphy (Shea’s Performing Arts Center), with Hope Chavez (Long Wharf Theatre Company), Jerry Dixon (Village Theatre), Kate Galvin (Cardinal Stage) and Susanna Gellert (Weston Playhouse).

Sponsored by Concord Theatricals & Pittsburgh CLO

New members, first-time attendees, or anyone else with questions about membership, stop by the Soho room (on the upper level, right next to the check-in desk) during breakfast to meet each other, and ask Member Services Director Adam Grosswirth any questions about your member benefits.

Breakfast sponsored by The 5th Avenue Theatre & Disney Theatrical Productions

In her work and travels, Seena Hodges (Founder + CEO of The Woke Coach™) often hears people say things like, “I want to better understand how racism continues to erode the fabric of this country,” “I want to be a better, more inclusive organizational leader,” or “I want to know more about how I can make a difference through my organization.” Then, they all end with the same sentence: “But… I don’t know where to start.”

Join The Woke Coach™ for an engaging interaction that challenges all of the excuses that keep us from creating more inclusive organizational practices and being more intentional with our allyship. Participants will leave the session with a plan for executing the work that an authentic commitment to inclusion requires.

About The Woke Coach™
At The Woke Coach™, because we believe that racial equity is the defining issue of our time, we help clients move from ally to accomplice. We do this work by helping humans deepen their analysis, and develop an understanding around issues of racism, bias, allyship, and injustice in order to become the best, most understanding, empathetic version of themselves.

Because we are passionate about progress—and know that it is possible for everyone—we facilitate conversations and build bridges to civil engagement one interaction at a time. 

Sponsored by The Marriott Theatre & Ticketmaster

Learn about the Public Works community engagement program, and how NAMT members are adopting and adapting this exciting model around the country.

With Hattie Andres (Seattle Rep), Wayne Bryan (Music Theatre Wichita), Megan Larche Dominick (Theatre Under The Stars) and Laurie Woolery (The Public Theater).

We tend to think of viral success as a modern phenomenon, but blockbusters and youth-oriented shows existed long before social media. The frontier has changed, but the idea hasn’t. How can you harness audience excitement to make a hit? 

Moderated by Anika Chapin (Goodspeed Musicals), with Sean Flahaven (Concord Theatricals), Cody Lassen (Cody Lassen & Associates) and Jennifer Tepper (Theatre Historian).

Learn about new work development specifically aimed at young audiences and how you can be a part of it.

Moderated by Dan Murphy (Broadway Rose Theatre Company), with Sean Cercone (Stageworks Media/Broadway Licensing), Nat Miller (ZACH Theatre), Barbara Pasternack (TheaterWorksUSA), Greg Reiner (The National Endowment for the Arts), Rob Rokicki (writer, The Lightning Thief) and Dave Steakley (ZACH Theatre).

“Immersive” theatre is all the rage, but how do you define it? And how can these often complicated productions work for musicals? We’ll hear from NAMT members who have been blazing a trail.

Moderated by Mitchell Marcus (The Musical Stage Company), with Carlos Armesto (Theatre C), Jason Eagan (Ars Nova) and Matthew Schneider (CREO).

Sponsored by The Hollywood Pantages, Music Theatre International & Shea’s Performing Arts Center

Bringing theatre directly out into your community is as challenging as it is rewarding. Learn how some NAMT member theatres have made it work.

Presentation by Aislinn Frantz (Chicago Shakespeare Theater)

Learn about new technologies that can help you create and collaborate — and even whole new ways of presenting musical theatre.

With Alex Coulombe (Agile Lens), Tim Kashani & Pamela Winslow Kashani (Apples and Oranges Arts) and Brandon Powers (Freelance Director/Choreographer & Musical Theatre Factory)

As theatre-makers, we are charged with the task of telling many different kinds of stories. How do we, in the #MeToo era, responsibly navigate story-telling without discarding the musical theatre canon which contains an abundance of potentially questionable content?

Presentation by Karin Hendricks (California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo)

For years, millennials have been viewed as the silver bullet in audience development to offset declining sales and donations. While it’s true that engaging millennials is important, it’s only one part of a strategy. To really succeed, arts and culture organizations need to engage audiences that reflect a broad range of demographic and psychographic profiles. Eric Nelson (TRG Arts) will help you learn more about how to understand your organization’s market potential, how to set realistic benchmarks and budgets, and how to build loyalty with new audiences, by sharing case studies of how organizations are approaching audience growth and how they are succeeding.  

Our chance to come together as a group after two days spent on separate paths, to share what we’ve learned and what actions we’ll take back to our theatres.