THE INTERNATIONAL BLACK THEATRE SUMMIT:
SATELLITE EVENT
Black Theatre Forever
July 23 - 24, 2023
St. Louis, Missouri
Hyatt Regency St. Louis at The Arc
(with funding from The Black Seed)
The International Black Theatre Summit registration is live! We are honoring BLACK THEATRE FOREVER!
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Drawing upon our histories, cultures, knowledge and experiences as a field, IBTS participants will collaboratively identify and use our shared strengths to help stabilize and secure the future of Black Theatre.
Together, we will strategize collective actions and implement sustainable local, regional, and national models and infrastructures with stakeholders across platforms. We welcome all participants seeking to actualize our aspirational visions throughout the ecosystem of Black theatre, forever.
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IBTS Satellite Event facilitators will work collaboratively with attendees and members of CRAFT's national and global networks to coordinate local, regional, and national efforts to help stabilize and secure the future of Black Theatre domestically and abroad.
SCHEDULE
SUNDAY, JULY 23, 2023
4:30pm to 5pm - Registration on the 2nd floor of the Hyatt Regency
5pm to 6:30pm - IBTS/BTN “Every Ending is a New Beginning” Welcome Mixer (with Cash Bar)
A meet and greet celebrating the end of BTN and the beginning of IBTS with drinks and light refreshments. Includes an introduction to IBTS and the goals for the next day’s activities.
MONDAY, JULY 24, 2023
8am to 9am - Registration
8:15am to 8:30am - Ancestors & Meditation(s)
A morning gathering to welcome the day and harness the energy acknowledging those who have paved the way for the present and future.
8:45am to 9:45am – Breakfast
Mingle and enjoy a meal in community with IBTS participants.
10am to 12:15pm – Our VALUES, OUR Value
Facilitators: Dr. Monica White Ndounou and Dr. Eve Graves
An interactive strategy session on the financial future of Black Theatre. Topics include institutional wealth-building for Black Theatre institutions and the financial health and wellbeing of Black theatre community members. Framed by brainstorming strategy sessions with participants who will also be provided access to financial health resources through The CRAFT Institute.
This session also includes a virtual funder conversation with:
Olivia Malabuyo Tablante, Program Manager, Gerbode Foundation
Michael J. Bobbitt, Executive Director, Mass Cultural Council
Caroline Taiwo, Program Officer, Arts & Culture, McKnight Foundation
12:30pm to 1:30pm - Lunch
Mingle and enjoy a meal in community.
Alive, Vital, Vibrant…Black Theatre Forever!
1:45pm to 2:35pm - The Vitality of Black Theatre
Facilitator: Dr. Monica White Ndounou
Opens a series of interactive sessions with a focus on emphasizing the vitality of Black theatre. This session embraces the importance of Black theatre legacies and ongoing fieldwide initiatives with the potential to help stabilize and secure the future of Black theatre institutions. Participants will learn more about how to participate in Black Theatre Day, the developing Black Theatre Museum, and other Initiatives and effective strategies that build upon Black theatre’s strengths (sponsored by CreateEnsemble.com)
2:35pm to 3:25pm - New Work NOW!
Facilitators: Dr. Monica White Ndounou, Dr. Eve Graves
An interactive strategy session focusing on the rewards and challenges of developing and getting new work at Black theatres. Participants identify and explore existing and emerging pathways that can potentially serve as cornerstones for the infrastructure of a collective effort (sponsored by the African Diasporic Network)
3:25pm to 4:15pm - We Out Here…
Facilitators: Ciara Diane, Joshua Robinson, Deen Rawlins-Harris
This interactive session will encourage participants to value intergenerational leadership and allocate the resources necessary to invest in the professional growth of young Black theatremakers. In this “think tank,” you’ll have the opportunity to discuss some of the barriers young Black artists currently face and ideate on ways to support them and their work to build a more robust Black theatre community. (Sponsored by The CRAFT Institute)
4:30pm to 6:00pm – “Black Theatre Forever” Mixer
4:30pm to 5pm - Closing Presentation of Findings & Next Steps
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS
ABOUT THE SUMMIT:
The goal of the The International Black Theatre Summit is to maintain and establish more intentional strategies and professional networks, programs and coalitions that capitalize on the links between theatre, film, television and related media platforms with domestic and international connections.