Why Thr!ve….
Remembering back to 1987 when we launched First Stage Children’s Theater, one of the smarter choices made was to begin attending various conferences that could have a positive impact on how we can better achieve our personal and collective mission of creating and using theatre to strengthen children, families, and the community. The wisdom, insights, systems and professional contacts brought back to the company outweighed the resources spent attending a conference 1,000 to 1. At first it was AATE, then ASSITEJ (now TYA-USA), and TCG. All are national theatre conferences gathering people from different companies, different parts of the country, different areas of expertise and need, but all sharing some common thread strong enough to bring them all together in the same place at the same time to share themselves and their ideas in order to glean some gem of an idea from each other that would excite and rejuvenate them to continue the glorious and challenging struggle the arts demand of each of us.
The THRIVE conference on arts education continues that tradition, but takes it a step further. Understanding that arts education is a key part all performing arts disciplines, and that the innovation developed in one discipline can help generate success in another, THRIVE brings together experts from theatre, music, dance and singing under one roof. But to enrich the field even more THRIVE is focusing on the power of innovative, successful collaboration as an extraordinary means to helping us achieve our missions. I am personally very excited to be attending and eagerly anticipating the new ideas that will be shared and conceived at the conference. The expertise of the keynote speakers is stellar and the experience and knowledge of those attending and serving on panels or as speakers is truly outstanding. Check out who they are: www.tiny9.com/u/Keynotes
These are challenging times, but in fact, I cannot remember a time that wasn’t. The challenges change, the times change, but the truth that arts education is essential to positive growth in children, families, and communities has not changed. Our need to gather together to share wisdom, insights and friendship in order to better achieve our mission also has not changed. See you in Milwaukee!
Rob Goodman
Founder and Managing Director
First Stage Children’s Theater