StageSource Conference coming up

If you're involved in theatre in Boston, in any way (actor, designer, playwright, director, stage manager, producer, etc.), you should plan to attend next weekend's StageSource 2011 Boston Theatre Conference, which runs March 27 and 28, at the Paramount Theatre (and other venues).  It's cheap ($40 for members, $50 for non-members, for both days), and provides a great way to interact with other members of the Boston theatre community.  This year's theme, Home Grown, uses the local/slow food movement to look at what we're up to, theatre-wise, in Boston, and how that relates to the community as a whole. 

I've been to the conference in past years and it's a fantastic way to take some time to meet other Boston theatre folks and think and talk about the issues confronting our artistic community (and learn something in the process).  If you're a playwright, you'd be a fool to skip this conference.  There's no better networking opportunity in town. 



Seriously.  I'll repeat this:  if you're a playwright, get your ass over the Paramount on the 27th and 28th.  The topic of the conference is Home Grown--this is our topic.  If you want more theatres to produce your work, you need to be engaged in this conversation.  The more playwrights who attend this conference the better.


Sign up here.
Here's the basic write up:

The Boston Theatre community is made up of artists, organizations, and enthusiasts united by the desire to provide and experience exceptional performances, inspired programming and unforgettable events. As a community we have grown and been strengthened through our ongoing engagement with each other, our diverse perspectives and our interest in dialogue.  

On February 27 and 28 we will convene the New England theatre conference, Home Grown and come together to talk about:  How the Boston theatre scene has taken root, grown and flourished. And what steps do we take to keep it alive and growing

With inspiration provided by our keynote speaker, Barbara Lynch (Founder of The Barbara Lynch Gruppo http://barbaralynch.com), our panel of theatre innovators will comment on parallels with the Slow Food movement (local, fresh, sustainable http://www.slowfoodusa.org). Over the last twenty years, the slow food movement has organized, educated and nurtured our appreciation of local food.  We think we can learn from the movement how to nurture our community.
Who is the Boston Theatre community? Huntington Theatre Company, Managing Director Michael Maso reflects on the changes he has seen in New England theatre during his tenure. As we define ourselves, how do we engage with the community at large? What role does the theatre community play in both mirroring and shaping our multi faceted society? The Boston Theatre Conference aims to engage all theatre practioners, including actors, directors, designers, technicians, dramaturgs, administrators, board members, educators and audience members in tackling these themes.

We invite everyone who has an interest in theatre to join in this year’s conversation.  Taking a lesson from the slow food movement we want to grow our local theatre community by bringing everyone around the table.  During workshops, performances, and panels we want to encourage relationships between the creators of the art and those who enjoy it, cultivate an appreciation for theatre by changing societal values towards the art and by examining alternative ways for people to engage and participate.  Virtually we will work through the bostontheatreconference.wordpress.com blog to define Slow Theatre for Boston in preparation for the conference.