fbpx Is Black Theatre Sustainable? at the National Black Theatre Public Summit | HowlRound Theatre Commons

Livestreamed on this page Thursday 7 August at 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. EDT.

New York, NY, United States
Thursday 7 August 2014

Is Black Theatre Sustainable? at the National Black Theatre Public Summit

Produced With
Thursday 7 August 2014

The National Black Theatre presented their Public Summit, Is Black Theatre Sustainable?: From Sustainability to Collectivity, livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 7 August at 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. EDT.

 

 

Is Black Theatre Sustainable?: From Sustainability to Collectivity
This Public Summit will feature a panel discussion exploring how to collectively activate resources and partnerships to thrive as an artistic community. Moderated by Dafina McMillan, (Theatre Communications Group's Director of Communications, Conferences and TCG's Diversity & Inclusion Initiative), featured panelists include:

  • Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Director/Actor/Producer
  • Alia Jones-Harvey, Broadway Producer
  • Kwame Kwei-Armah, Artistic Director, CenterStage
  • Carmen Morgan, Catalyst Co-Core Facilitator
  • Bridgit Antoinette Evans, Arts Activist/Playwright

The Public Summit is open to the general public ($10 suggested donation) and will be held in New York City at the National Black Theatre (2031 National Black Theatre Way) in the Temple Space. There will be a wine reception immediately to follow.

 

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Is Black Theatre Sustainable? is the culminating event of the National Black Theatre’s Catalyst: Moving the Black Theatre Legacy Forward, a four-day intensive with twenty of the nation’s leading Black theatres where they will be tackling the financial and structural crisis Black theaters face nationwide. For more information on Catalyst go here.
 

About HowlRound TV

HowlRound TV is a global, commons-based peer produced, open access livestreaming and video archive project stewarded by the nonprofit HowlRound. HowlRound TV is a free and shared resource for live conversations and performances relevant to the world's performing arts and cultural fields. Its mission is to break geographic isolation, promote resource sharing, and to develop our knowledge commons collectively. Participate in a community of peer organizations revolutionizing the flow of information, knowledge, and access in our field by becoming a producer and co-producing with us. Learn more by going to our participate page. For any other queries, email [email protected], or call Vijay Mathew at +1 917.686.3185 Signal/WhatsApp. View the video archive of past events.

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How do you build?

You collaborate as one unite. The international Black Theater Collective

You survey the needs of the theater

You survey the needs of the actors

You survey the community that you serve find out what the understand and don understand about Black theater

You hire theatrical and entertainment interns

You solicit the help from a Marketing Director and Business Developer

As a collective you find the results and work from the no. down each year solve the one problem or every 6 months.

In the mean time Area based theaters work in team. Theaters in NYC, Theaters in NJ, Theaters in MA & DC, etc. Create a collective group and advertise on one ticket. Advertise all the shows for the year and share in the financial cost. Give the community a chance to save and buy in. Place donation buttons with in your YT video about the theater. Share your story via your cell phone video posts. Hire an intern from internship.com to do your social media blasts.

Intern graphic designers to create your artwork. Intern a masters in marketing to convey your vision. One voice one vision. To many cooks spoil the broth. Make sure the roles have boundaries and remove all emotions at the door when meeting.

Partner with independent media companies, like myself. I am offering publicly to sit and discuss my collaborative strategies. http:///www.full5media.org. Affordable monthly fees that could be shared. With just $45.00/month you can get a radio segment with in a fiscal quarter and Social Media posts. Do that for the year and you would have been heard 4 time to over 250K people. Tell the public what you want and need. The collaborative of independent digital media that has the viewership of the diverse Black and Latino community via radio, video and magazine. As a collective reaching over 250K.

Go to http:///DPVN.net to see our Docu-News of the Cameroon Ballet, Holla If Ya Hear Me and Romeo n Juliet and soon to come Harlem 9.

Start thinking branding. Create a brand create a brand. You already know the brand of broadway. What you all spoke about can be created for you with in a 9 month span. Create and develop a consistency, a key element in marketing. With out altering your creative talent you can offer corps what they need but a foundation has to be created. In the off season discuss the pros and the cons. Write them down, ingest the issues before discussing them, write down some of the solutions. Rate them on a 1 to 3 scale of what can be done now and what can be down later. the develop and execute the plan.

Black Theater is about knowing the Black issue. Make the Tickets mean something and you will draw a diverse audience. Again the solution was partially solve with in the firs 10 min. Collaborate. Strength in numbers the game has not changes just the tools that make the game work.

1:13 Rubin was given the answer which I too have overed, and he missed it. The young brother created about 5 or profit producing products to fund the infastructure of Black theater. So often we ask how and fail to hear and acknowledge the answer and it is ok. Bring down the defenses is the other thing the Black community must learn. Internally ask what is he saying? Then ask do I understand it? If not ask the question, how does this apply to me or how can I apply what you are saying to my career?

(1:22:49) my brother again speaks depths into columns. I asked to bring my cameras in to the anniversary and I believe birthday party for Woody King so I could document the great history of this legend and was turned down. I went as a gift and MY GOD if the world could have been there. Reaching at that time 78k people world wide I could have imagined the viral feeds, developing interest in knowing. I could have reached Shauna, the Amy Ruth's, the Michael Jordan's, the Johnson's around the way as well as those in the 21 countries that are seeking cultural Black art.

Collective works again. We have been doing theater before the Greeks. I believe amphitheater was developed prior. Even Jesus spoke on the mountains n in the valleys to many, why, because his voice could travel.

About film and theater the young lady is right there are opportunities. As much as I hear the language of ownership it is balanced with the language of going to broadway or Hollywood. Blacks have to choose between freedom and their right to create or be subjected to those that fund the creation. 2008 that law of money control changed hand to the creator. Billions of dollars have been exchanged since then to the creators because the creators attract the audience. How? Through marketing plans.

(1:09:23) I was waiting for the marketing piece. I hope that something is manifesting with her and her offer. Bringing, 10 years ago or more now, marketing to the HAA was key then when technology was just starting, but more so now the ways to attract are affordable and mobile. My thing is she used her skills to sell her in just a few sec. A 30 sec pitch. she kept it brief and did not expand on what she could do or how but presented the results, knowing her worth. We as a people always hear the money n she used that as her advertisement to draw in her potential new client. So she is showing you that she knows her audience.

41:45 so far you are acknowledging universal law. Participate in what you want to attract. The passion of being and supporting what is likened to you will draw unto you the same. Bravo so far on the footage.

Has any one in the Black theater reached out to Black Philanthropist organization, frays and soros, these community institution that were created to support culture. Art being an education tool for all people, these historical organization should be asked ant tested.

OMG. (AT 26:37) this brother hits it on the head. I am not a stranger to the topic but I have been saying this too for 15 years. Collective works is now the strongest tool that you can have with in the technical age. I mention technical bc your sponsors are looking for that strong platform to reach the community. Knowing the wants of the financial supporter and the need of the ticket holders is key as well.