The Value of the Ticket
The Power of Artistic Voices
A moderated panel discussion that discusses how artists leave lasting impressions, deepen our sense of empathy, and spark movements for social and structural change in Hartford and beyond.
Wednesday, January 15, 2025
Downtown Hartford Public Library (500 Main St.)
6:30pm Reception, 7pm Panel Discussion
FREE ADMISSION, RSVP Required
Join five of Hartford’s leading arts and culture organizations for an insightful and important community conversation featuring Trudi Lebron, Gilbert McCauley, and Haneef Nelson, moderated by taneisha duggan. Attendees will have the opportunity to attend a reception prior to the panel (catered by Berkins on Main), and participate in a post-panel question and answer session. A performance will also be given by the Hartford Symphony Orchestra String Quartet. The Value of the Ticket will take place at Downtown Hartford Public Library (500 Main St., Hartford, CT – Main Floor, entrance via Arch Street Lobby). Free admission, RSVP required HERE.
Participating organizations include Hartbeat Ensemble, Hartford Public Library, Hartford Stage, Hartford Symphony Orchestra, and TheaterWorks Hartford, five arts organizations who are essential to creating community in the Greater Hartford community and throughout the state of Connecticut.
Schedule of Activities:
6:30pm: Reception
7pm: Moderatedpanel discussion
7:50pm: Musical performance by Hartford Symphony Orchestra String Quartet
8pm: Audience Q&A session
Bios:
taneisha duggan (Moderator) is a producer and director whose work tends towards provocative new works and interpretations of the classics. She is propelled by the belief that the culture we present is the society we become. Select Directing credits: Pass Over (Lost Nation), Bulrusher (Juilliard), Jesus Hopped the “A” Train (University of Hartford), Actually (TheaterWorks Hartford). Select Producing credits: NYTimes Critic pick WALDEN by Amy Berryman and RUSSIAN TROLL FARM by Sarah Gancher. Education: SUNY – Purchase College. She is a 2016 National Arts Strategies Creative Community Fellow, mama of two boys and believer in radical love-filled disruption.
Gilbert McCauley (Panelist) is a masterful theatrical storyteller and a Full Professor in the Department of Theater at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He is an alum of the New York Drama League’s Directors Project and has directed Off-Broadway and at regional theatres around the country. His directing credits include Barbecue by Robert O’Hara; salt/city/blues by Kyle Bass; Athol Fugard’s Master Harold…and the Boys; Lynn Nottage’s Sweat; The Mountaintop by Katori Hall; and several August Wilson classics including Hartford Stage’s upcoming production of Two Trains Running.
Haneef Nelson (Panelist) is a composer/arranger, bandleader, musical curator, and educator based in Hartford, CT. After being introduced to the trumpet at age 12, he’s stuck with it ever since. His earliest education in Jazz came from the Jazzmobile where he studied with Eddie Preston, Cecil Bridgewater, and Donald Byrd among others. He also studied with Dave Burns at the Long Island High School of the Arts and then attended The Hartt School to study with Jackie McLean, Raymond Williams, Steve Davis and Nat Reeves and others. His passion for music has inspired . He has taught at The Hartt School, UMASS Amherst, Amherst College, Keene State College and currently teaches at the University of Rhode Island. In addition to his own groups, he is a long-standing member of several other bands in multiple genres.
Trudi Lebron, MS. (Panelist) author of The Antiracist Business Book, is a speaker, transformational leadership coach, and the Founder of The Institute for Equity-Centered Coaching. Through her writing, mentorship, and institute curriculum, Trudi inspires conversations that confront our ideas of who we are, and how we live, lead and shape the world around us.
ABOUT THEATERWORKS HARTFORD:
Celebrating its 39th season, TheaterWorks Hartford (TWH) produces high quality, contemporary theater and is committed to the power of storytelling in creating community. Founded in 1985, TWH has produced nearly 200 plays and presents approximately 150 performances per season. TWH also owns and manages the historic property at 233 Pearl Street, known as City Arts on Pearl. For updates on TheaterWorks Hartford, visit twhartford.org. Follow on Instagram, Facebook, or Youtube.
TWH PARTNERS:
Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, Greater Hartford Arts Council, Travelers, CT Office of the Arts, CT Humanities, Lincoln Financial Foundation, Richard P. Garmany Fund, Roberts Foundation for the Arts, HSB, RTX, Burry Fredrik Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Cheryl Chase and Stuart Bear Family Foundation, Gawlicki Family Foundation, Nassau, Liberty Bank, Ensworth Charitable Foundation, George A. and Grace L. Long Foundation, William and Alice Mortensen Foundation, The Elizabeth M. Landon and Harriette M. Landon Charitable Trust, The Katherine K. McLane and Henry R. McLane Charitable Trust, M&T Bank.