American Theatre (magazine)

Theatre Communications Group

Theatre Communications Group Logo
Founded	1961
Type	Theatrical
Headquarters	New York City, New York, United States

Theatre Communications Group (TCG) is a non-profit service organization dedicated to nurturing, strengthening and promoting professional non-profit theatre in the United States. As of 2014, TCG has over 700 member theatres located in 47 states; 172,000 individual members; and 150 University, Trustee and other business affiliates. TCG is currently headquartered at 520 Eighth Avenue in mid-town Manhattan.

TCG offers training, networking and research opportunities to its members, including their annual Fiscal Survey and the resulting publication, the TCG TheatreFacts Report. In addition, TCG awards over $2 million in grants each year to nonprofit theatres and individual theatre artists through philanthropic partnerships, including the MetLife/TCG A-ha! Program.

Each year, the organization hosts a number of events for its members on special topics in the nonprofit theatrical industry, including the Fall Forum for Governance in New York City and the annual TCG National Conference, held in a different American city each year.

The organization also publishes American Theatre magazine and ARTSEARCH, a theatrical employment bulletin, as well as trade editions of play scripts, including ten winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

TCG was awarded Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre in 2005.

Theatre Communications Group was established in 1961 with a grant from the Ford Foundation in response to their then arts and humanities director W. McNeil Lowry’s desire to foster communication and cooperation among the growing community of regional theatres throughout the country. Though initially run as a Ford Foundation administered program, TCG independently incorporated in 1964.

The organization began with a membership of 15 regional and community theatres, and nine university drama departments under the leadership of Pat Brown. In its first decade of operation, other leaders included Michael Mabry, Joseph Zeigler and Hartney Arthur. In 1972, Peter Zeisler was named Executive Director, a position he would hold for 23 years. Under Zeisler’s leadership, TCG created many of its longest-running programs, including annual National Conference, American Theatre Magazine and TCG Books.