Lisa Portes Joins Theatre Communications Group Board of Directors

Lisa Portes Joins Theatre Communications Group Board of Directors

Chicago director and educator Lisa Portes was named one of six new members to the Theatre Communications Group (TCG) board of directors.

Portes, director of the MFA program at DePaul and Artistic Director of Chicago Playworks for Young Audiences. has an extensive directing resume with recent projects including the world premieres of GHOSTWRITTEN by Naomi Iizuka (Goodman Theatre), AFTER 100 YEARS by Naomi Iizuka (Guthrie Theatre), and SKI DUBAI by Laura Jacqmin (Steppenwolf Theatre). Portes is a co-founder of the Latina/o Theatre Commons (LTC) and served as artistic producer of the LTC Carnaval 2015, a festival of new Latina/o plays. Upcoming projects include TRANSit by Darren Canady (American Blues Theatre), DISGRACED by Ayad Akhtar at Cincinnati Playhouse and NIGHT RUNNER by Ike Holter (Chicago Playworks).

Portes is joined by five additional appointees—Kristen Coury, founder and producing artistic director, Gulfshore Playhouse, Naples, FL; Derek Goldman, co-founding director, Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics; Director, Playwright/Adapter, Professor, Georgetown University, Washington, DC; Susan Hilferty, costume and set designer, New York, NY; Eileen J. Morris, artistic director, The Ensemble Theatre, Houston, TX; and Shana C. Waterman, head of television, Universal-based, One Race TV, Los Angeles, CA.

“My faith in our theatre field is annually renewed by witnessing the leadership of TCG’s brilliant body of trustees,” said Teresa Eyring, executive director of TCG. “Year after year, each new class of TCG’s board members brings a diverse and dynamic range of perspectives to help guide our vision of a better world for theatre, and a better world because of theatre.”

In addition to welcoming 6 new board of directors, TCG also announced Kevin Moriarty, artistic director of Dallas Theater Center, as its new board chair, taking over the position from Diane Rodriguez, associate artistic director of Center Theatre Group. Moriarty joins a slate of officers that includes vice chairs Marshall Jones III and Writers Theatre Executive Director Katheryn M. Lipuma, secretary Larissa FastHorse, and treasurer Tim Jennings.

Returning board members include: Christopher Acebo, associate artistic director, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland, OR; Sarah Bellamy, co-artistic director, Penumbra Theatre Company, St Paul, MN; Joseph P. Benincasa,president and CEO, The Actors Fund, New York, NY; Adrian Budhu, New York, NY; Joshua Dachs, president, Fisher Dachs Associates Theatre Planning and Design, New York, NY; Teresa Eyring, executive director, Theatre Communications Group, New York, NY; Larissa FastHorse, playwright and choreographer, Santa Monica, CA; Michelle Hensley, artistic director; Ten Thousand Things Theater Company, Minneapolis, MN; Ed Herendeen, producing director, Contemporary American Theater Festival, Shepherdstown, WV; Chris Jennings, executive director, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Washington, DC; Tim Jennings, executive director, The Shaw Festival, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON, Canada; Marshall Jones III, producing artistic director, Crossroads Theatre Company, New Brunswick, NJ; Max Leventhal, owner’s representative, The Woodruff Arts Center, Atlanta, GA; Kathryn M. Lipuma, executive director; Writers Theatre, Glencoe, IL; Kevin Moriarty, artistic director, Dallas Theater Center, Dallas, TX; Meghan Pressman, managing director, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Washington, DC; Heather Randall, actor, producer, trustee at New York Theatre Workshop, New York, NY and Los Angeles, CA; Francine T. Reynolds, artistic director; New Stage Theatre, Jackson, MS; Ellen Richard, interim executive director, Laguna Playhouse, Laguna Beach, CA; Blake Robison, artistic director; Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cincinnati, OH; Eric Rosen, artistic director, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Kansas City, MO; Michael S. Rosenberg, managing director, La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego, CA; Nikkole Salter, actress, playwright, educator, and arts advocate, Bloomfield, NJ; Tim Sanford, artistic director, Playwrights Horizons, New York, NY; John Douglas Thompson, actor, New York, NY; Meiyin Wang, director, Los Angeles, CA; Robert P. Warren, president, The William & Eva Fox Foundation, Bethesda, MD; and Harold Wolpert, managing director, Roundabout Theatre Company, New York, NY.

Members of Theatre Communications Group board serve three two-year terms. Board officers serve terms of one year. Learn more about the TCG Board here: http://www.tcg.org/about/board.cfm.

 

About author

Abigail Trabue

Abigail has worked as an actor/director in Chicago for over ten years, and along with husband Jason Epperson founded Lotus Theatricals in 2015, and PerformInk Chicago and Kansas City in 2016 (where she serves as Managing Editor of both publications). When not talking shop, Abigail is raising three padawans with Jason, drinking lots of coffee, converting school buses into RV's, and eating all the foods at Disney World. You can find her on Twitter @AbigailTrabue