Art can be dangerous, especially when the voices of artists express views contrary to their country’s leadership. Many have been silenced, but others have overcome oppression and managed to be heard and sometimes listened to. We will look at how art is perceived, respected or repressed in various countries, and the part it plays in the lives of the communities which it serves. Are there ever ways for getting those in power to listen? Or is the better tactic to engage the population and inspire them to raise a unified voice?  We will look at the impact theater in particular has had in effecting social change around the world, including our own country. Among many Americans, there is concern today that their voices are not being heard, and their needs are being ignored. Can art illuminate issues in ways that can generate greater understanding? Can theater be an effective tool for voicing concerns and stimulating discussion, and perhaps change? Is it even possible to get those who disagree with you to consider your viewpoint? And how do you do that?

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  TERESA EYRING

  joined TCG as executive director in March 2007. Ms. Eyring has been an executive in theatres around the U.S. for over twenty years. Prior to joining TCG, she served as managing director of the Children’s Theatre Company (CTC) in Minneapolis since 1999. Eyring began her theatre career as director of development for the Woolly Mammoth Theater Company in Washington, D.C. in 1983. She completed an MFA in theater administration at the Yale School of Drama between 1986 and 1989. From 1989-1993, she was assistant executive director of the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, where she handled artist contracts, play commissions, and oversaw a $5 million theater renovation project . From 1994-99, she was managing director of the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia, where she spearheaded completion of an $8 million capital campaign and oversaw the construction and transition to a new 24,000 square foot theater facility on Philadelphia’s Avenue of the Arts. She was named a ‘Woman to Watch” by the Twin Cities Business Journal in July 2005. Eyring’s past affiliations include service as chairwoman of the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, board member of WYBE-TV, executive committee member of the League of Resident Theaters; board member and Treasurer of Minnesota Citizens for the Arts; and board member of Intermedia Arts. She currently serves on the boards of the Performing Arts Alliance and The Actor's Fund. Eyring holds a BA from Stanford University and an MFA from Yale School of Drama.
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  PHILIP HIMBERG

  has been the Artistic Director of the Sundance Institute Theatre Program for the last 17 years. Under his aegis, since 1997, Sundance has shepherded hundreds of plays by emerging and established American playwrights that have subsequently been produced all over the U.S., on Broadway, off-Broadway and in Regional Theatres, as well as internationally. Many of these plays have won Tony and Obie Awards and the Pulitzer Prize. He initiated the Sundance Institute East Africa Initiative, now in its second decade, which supports theatre makers in Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda, as well as residency labs in Africa each year. Two new initiatives began in 2013: the Sundance Institute | LUMA Foundation Theatre Directors Retreat at Domaine de l’Armellière, and a burgeoning cultural exchange with Arab playwrights in North Africa and the Middle East. Mr. Himberg received his B.A. in Theatre Arts from Oberlin. He was co-artistic director of Playwrights Horizons in New York, in the theatre’s most formative years. He is a recipient of the Theatre Communications Group/National Endowment for the Arts Artistic Fellowship. He was Staff Producer for the Mark Taper Forum’s Improvisational Theatre Project (I.T.P.), a resident touring ensemble that created and performed new work for young audiences. He is past president of the Board of Trustees of TCG (Theatre Communications Group). He is currently a member of the Tony® Awards Nominating Committee. In addition, Himberg holds a degree as a doctor of Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture since 1985.
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  MARK RUSSELL

  is the Artistic Director of the Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival. Russell founded the festival in 2004 and moved it to the Public in 2006 where it became a core program of the theater. From 1983-2004 Russell was the Executive Artistic of Performance Space 122. He also was the guest curator of the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art – Time Based Arts Festival from 2006-2008. Interested in audience engagement with contemporary live artists, Russell has worked with the RSC, The Apollo Theater, the University of Texas, the Andy Warhol Museum and the Segerstrom Center for the Arts.