2 AACT <strong>Spotlight</strong> <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2019</strong>
President’s Letter Carole Ries AACT President AN EXCITING TIME FOR AACT I hope to see all of you in Gettysburg for AACTFest <strong>2019</strong>! You’ll see lots of challenging and entertaining theatre. Five of the twelve companies have already been selected to advance from Region I: Lexington, Massachusetts, Region IV: Wetumpka, Alabama and Pelzer, South Carolina, Region VIII: Chino, California, and Region X: Stuttgart, Germany. Check the AACT website at aact.org/ moving-<strong>2019</strong> or <strong>Spotlight</strong> magazine to see who else will be performing. Along the way, in communities across the U.S., many, many theatres performed at state and regional levels in their bid to be a part of this wonderful celebration of theatre. The AACT Endowment underwrites a portion of the national companies’ travel expenses. Expect to find it challenging to choose among a variety of workshops in the areas of Administration, Education/Outreach, Artistic, Marketing/Development, and Technical/Design. A few workshops already have my attention: Building a Volunteer Army; Broadway Sr.: Transforming Senior Theatre with the MTI Broadway Jr. Series; Put Your Hometown on Stage; and The Zen of Improvisational Acting. Find a full listing of workshops being offered in Gettysburg at aact.org/workshops. And don’t miss AACTChats, a forum of brief discussions focusing on new ideas addressing the needs of theatres. Sharing ideas on a national level is a great way for us to help each other and learn best practices. possible in part by a grant from the Jack K. Ayre and Frank Ayre Lee Theatre Foundation. Youth groups are coming from Richland, Washington (Region IX); LaGrange, Georgia (Region IV); Elkhart, Indiana (Region III); Farley, Iowa (Region V); Ansbach, Germany (Region X); and Willis, Texas (Region VI). We are so proud to be expanding AACT’s focus on our youth, thereby including future leaders, theatre makers, and audiences in our long-standing national celebration of theatre. Currently, one of the most exciting and challenging undertakings is AACT’s Strategic Planning led by AACT Board Member Sara Phoenix and guided by consultant Diana Mataraza. With the assistance of Drexel University, we are creating an Inventory of Theatre in Communities across the nation. Drexel will help us with data collection and management. The AACT Board of Directors spent several hours at our winter board meeting in Salt Lake City brainstorming with Ms. Mataraza, for A National Inventory of Theatre in Communities across America. The inventory is planned to launch by early summer.The AACT board has made a huge commitment to the creation of a long-range plan that we hope will revitalize both our organization and your theatre companies, no matter how you are structured or self-described. More about this initiative in near future. Look for the second national AACT YouthFest, an idea first realized at AACTFest 2017. Six youth theatre companies will perform at Getttysburg’s Majestic Theater. AACT YouthFest <strong>2019</strong> is made For the start of your theatre experience! www.hi Stage.com <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2019</strong> AACT <strong>Spotlight</strong> 3