Theatre Bay Area Annual Conference 

Theatre Bay Area presented three sessions from their annual conference livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 14 April.

The sessions are:

• What Is the Ideal Theatre Community?
• Technology in/as Theatre
• Playwright Residency Programs

In Twitter, follow @theatrebayarea, and use #tbacon14 and #newplay.

Livestreaming schedule for Monday 14 April:

What Is the Ideal Theatre Community?

9:30 a.m. PDT/ 11:30 a.m. CDT/ 12:30 p.m. EDT/ 16:30 GMT

Andrew Saito is the Playwright-in-Residence at FaultLine Theater through the National Playwright Residency Program, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Find out more  about his residency experience here and learn about the impact of the program at large here.

If we think of ideal as a standard of excellence and not in terms of Plato's expression of unobtainable abstract perfection, what are the components that make up an “ideal” theatre community? Join this discussion with six notable theatre professionals (three expats who return to the Bay Area to discuss what they miss about the Bay Area and what they admire about their current artistic home and three locals who choose to keep the Bay Area their home while also working around the country and internationally) to discuss what it takes to make a region where theatre and theatre makers can truly thrive.

Moderated by:
Brad Erickson, executive director, Theatre Bay Area

Panelists:
Desdemona Chiang, director
Heather Kitchen, Dallas Theater Center
Meredith McDonough, Actors Theatre of Louisville
Rob Melrose, The Cutting Ball Theater
Reggie White, actor
Ben Yalom, foolsFURY

Bread & Circuits: Technology in/as Theatre

1:45 p.m. PDT/ 3:45 p.m. CDT/ 4:45 p.m. EDT/ 20:45 GMT

Technology is changing not only how we choose to tell stories but the very stories we tell. Since so many human interactions are now at least partially mediated (and therefore shaped) by different communications applications, we have developed new ways of relating to others and ourselves that are native to digital environments—with new forms of language, intimacy, humor, emotional distancing, and self-presentation. This panel will introduce you to theatre artists who have used technological approaches to explore these new stories, then will open the room up to a conversation about the digital in/as the theatrical.

Moderated by:
Laura Brueckner, Theatre Bay Area

Panelists: 
Desdemona Chiang, director
Sara Kraft, KraftyWork
David Szlasa, media artist

Taking Arms Against the Sea: Playwright Residency Programs

3:15 p.m. PDT/ 5:15 p.m. CDT/ 6:15 p.m. EDT/ 22:15 GMT

Peter Sinn Nachtrieb is the Playwright-in-Residence at Z Space through the National Playwright Residency Program, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Find out more about his residency experience here, and learn about the impact of the program at large here.

In the wake of 2009's Outrageous Fortune, which exposed tensions in the relationship between playwrights and the companies that produce their plays (or don't), organizations of all sizes have launched programs exploring new ways for theatres and writers to work together. One idea that’s gotten traction on both the national and local levels is the playwright residency; the popularity of residency programs indicates that they offer real benefits to both writers and theatres. At the same time, no two residency programs function the same way; they offer different resources, observe different timetables, and have different goals. So, how do interested theatremakers learn what’s working and share ideas on where to go next? This panel features artistic staff and writers involved in three different residency programs: the nationwide Andrew W. Mellon Foundation residencies, the Playwrights Foundation’s Resident Playwright Initiative and AlterTheater’s AlterLab. Are you a writer considering a playwright residency? Or do you work for a company hoping to develop a residency program? You want to be here.

Moderated by:
Laura Brueckner, Theatre Bay Area

Panelists: 
Ann Brebner, resident playwright, AlterTheater
Jeanette Harrison, artistic director, AlterTheater
Rob Melrose, artistic director, The Cutting Ball Theater
Andrew Saito, resident playwright, The Cutting Ball Theater 
Kate E. Ryan, resident playwright, Playwrights Foundation
Jayne Wenger, former artistic director, Playwrights Foundation
Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, resident playwright, Z Space
Lisa Steindler, artistic director, Z Space

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