Taking The Leap - Breakout Sessions

Tuesday November 19, 2024
3pm-6pm ET

Format: In Person
Location: A.R.T./New York Spaces@520 // 520 8th Avenue, 3rd Floor, New York, NY

Whether you’re attending the Forum as an individual or as a representative of an organization of any kind, this is an opportunity to think about your next leap and to leave with tangible resources that will help make it possible. With three distinct rooms to choose from, you should prepare to bring your own unique perspective to a highly participatory session centered on learning from session leaders and your peers!

Room A: In Formation: For individuals or collectives whose next ‘leap’ is about forming a new organization and/or articulating the basic structure of one that is newly formed. 

In this session, we’ll explore the building blocks of organizational structure and build an understanding of the key components needed to communicate and support the work of a new theater company. There is no one way to produce work, but the answers to some key questions can help any new organization articulate what makes them unique.

Key topics will include:

• What makes us an organization?

• Articulating your ‘why?’

• Identifying your place in the market

• Who’s in your corner?: Identifying existing circles of support

• Accessibility planning from the start

Lead by Amy Fiore, featuring Beth Prevor of Hands On

Room B: What’s Next? For those whose next “leap” is about addressing a key turning point for an established organization.

In this session we will build an understanding of the current context driving change and empower existing and established organizations to embrace and navigate the leaps they need to make to support their mission and goals in this volatile environment. Anne Dunning of ARTS Action Research will introduce the concept of Dynamic Balance and how theatre practitioners can harness the power of self-organization, adaptation, and continual assessment using a variety of planning, organizing and decision-making tools and practices.

Key Topics Include:

• Understanding the drivers of change in the current theatre environment

• Changing our mindset from seeking stability to embracing Dynamic Balance

• Engaging effective tools & practices to navigate a changing environment

• Centering Access planning in future plans

Led by Anne Dunning of ARTS Action Research, featuring Beth Prevor of Hands On

Room C: Leaps + Bounds: How To Dream Big in Small Steps:For individual artists, producers, and makers whose next ‘leap’ finds them asking any version of the following:

• How can I get recognized more for my projects and less for my wage job?

• How do I choose which of my ‘hyphens’ to prioritize?

• How much of my life do I want to pay for with my art?

• How can I advocate for my needs on my way to achieving my goals?

As an individual artist or maker, it can feel impossible to level up your career, especially if you don’t have the team and resources of a company behind you…but your dreams are just as achievable! Join FORGE as we envision our next big leaps together, and learn the tools that can break down 2028’s audacious aims into a set of simple tasks that we can tackle today. Along the way, we’ll see how “no” can become the key to reaching “YES” and discover how our separate paths can converge in a more equitable community for us all.

Led by Chie Morita & Greg Schicker-Taubman of Forge NYC, featuring A.R.T./New York’s Ashley J. Hicks

CART captioning services is available for this event.You may request additional accommodations directly on the registration form, or by contacting Ashley J. Hicks at [email protected]. The deadline to request additional accommodations is Tuesday November 12. If you have questions or if there is anything else we might be able to provide in order to make our programming accessible to you, we’d love to hear from you.