Let's talk about access. Our field has historically left some people behind---including artists, audiences, and those with accessibility needs. 2020 challenged the field to pivot into digital and remote art-making, and with it a surprising benefit emerged: expanded reach---but who is being reached and how? The COVID moment has forever redrawn the boundaries---opening up entry points at every level. As a return to post-COVID performance draws near, how do we keep the door open?
The Producer Hub is a connective space for independent producers, artists, producing/presenting organizations and other arts workers creating live performance. Our platform is one that focused on future visioning and thought leadership within our industry. During this session, we will introduce ourselves and interrogate how we center access across the field.
ABOUT THE PANELISTS
MARK ARMSTRONG is the Artistic Director of The 24 Hour Plays, which brings together creative communities to produce plays and musicals that are written, rehearsed, and performed in 24 hours. Highlights from his tenure include annual productions of The 24 Hour Plays on Broadway, the Broadway and Los Angeles debuts of The 24 Hour Musicals, the growth of The 24 Hour Plays National Fellows program and The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues, a socially-distanced sensation that has brought over 350 free new theater pieces to global audiences since the March 2020 onset of the coronavirus pandemic. As a director, he has developed and directed plays by Emily Mann, Dan O’Brien, Christopher Shinn, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Jason Kim, Liz Meriwether, Qui Nguyen, Max Posner, Laura Jacqmin and many others in theaters including The Public Theater, Williamstown Theater Festival, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Keen Company and more. Mark previously served as the Director of New Work for off-Broadway's Keen Company and Artistic Director of The Production Company. His writing has appeared in American Theatre, HowlRound and the Brooklyn Rail. Proud member SDC and Ensemble Studio Theatre. Instructor, The New School for Drama.
MICHELLE A. BANKS, a native of Washington, DC, is an award-winning actress, writer, director, producer, choreographer, motivational speaker, and teacher. Former Artistic Director of Onyx Theatre Company for over 11 years in NYC. Her other achievements include the 2017 recipient of Gallaudet University’s Laurent Clerc Award, the 2002 recipient of the Christopher Reeve Acting Scholarship, an Individual Achievement Award from the National Council on Communicative Disorders, and a featured article in the February 1998 issue of ESSENCE magazine. Michelle’s most recent producing/directing credits: a short film of A RAISIN IN THE SUN, Gallaudet University’s A RAISIN IN THE SUN, LOOK THROUGH MY EYES, SILENT SCREAM, Z: A CHRISTMAS STORY, WHAT IT’S LIKE? (One Man Show) and IN SIGHT AND SOUND: DE(A)F POETRY I, II, & III. Her acting appearances include SOLE (TV Pilot), THE C.A. LYONS PROJECT (Alliance Theatre), SOUL FOOD (Showtime Series), STRONG MEDICINE (Lifetime), GIRLFRIENDS (UPN), COMPENSATION (Independent Film), FOR GIRLS WHO CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN RAINBOW IS ENUF) (NY & LA) and BIG RIVER (Mark Taper Forum & Ford Theater). Currently, Michelle Banks is the Artistic Director of VOCA - Visionaries of the Creative Arts, Inc. - www.visionariesofthecreativearts.org.
IYVON EDEBIRI (she/her/hers) is a Nigerian-American independent creative producer, company manager, and dramaturg hailing from Brooklyn, NY. Iyvon is the co-founder, Artistic Director, and Host of The Parsnip Ship. She is a recipient of the Fulbright Scholarship, Gilman International Scholarship, and The DO School’s Future of Audio Entertainment Fellowship in Berlin. Iyvon was the recipient of the 2019 Mark O’Donnell Prize awarded by The Actors Fund and Playwrights Horizons for emerging, anomalous theater artists. Iyvon has worked at Joe’s Pub, Sundance Institute Theater Program, The Public Theater, The Civilians, and as an Associate Producer at ArKtype. She is a proud member of the Creative and Independent Producer Alliance (CIPA), the WP 2020 - 2022 Producers Lab, and is an associate member of Beehive Dramaturgy Studio. B.A. Brandeis University. M.A. Baruch College (CUNY) Arts Administration. @iamiyvon
KATI GIGLER, Ph.D., serves as director of education and community engagement at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and has dedicated her career to education and advocacy. Her graduate work at Northwestern University has provided her with extensive experience in research design and data analysis, including behavioral interventions related to mindfulness and movement in older adults and caregivers. Kati served as executive director of the Women’s Center at Elizabeth City State University and was integral in the formation of the first LGBTQ+ community organization in the region, and has also worked as an educator and victim advocate for both Pittsburgh Action Against Rape and the YWCA of Greater Chicago. She seeks to continue Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s transformative work in community education, accessibility and equity.