2022 ASPIRE LORT Leadership Program

The ASPIRE Fellowship Program is designed in partnership between the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) and the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) to cultivate a new generation of artistic and administrative leaders for the American theater with a focus on recruiting Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) as well as people of various identities that are historically underrepresented in executive theater leadership. This diverse national cohort of fellows assembled from all of KCACTF’s eight regions will engage in topics concerning equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism as well as leadership skills building, investigation of institutional challenges, artistic producing, and professional networking opportunities.

In 2022, the eight regions will present centralized ASPIRE programming including workshops and discussions curated by all of KCACTF’s ASPIRE Regional Coordinators, National ASPIRE Chair Stefanie Sertich and the National ASPIRE team.

Regional festivals will still host workshops in arts leadership, but the selection process for this program to attend the National KCACTF Festival will take place through the centralized program.

Students interested in the world of arts leadership are encouraged to register for this program. Whether you hope to become an artistic leader or you are curious about how theaters operate, ASPIRE is a fantastic festival opportunity, and 2022 offers us the opportunity to connect virtually with fellow theater artists and leaders from across the country.

What to Expect
ASPIRE Arts Leadership 2022 will include nine hours of gatherings on Zoom—not counting time participants spend creating their individual final presentations—over three weeks. Regional Coordinators will plan three “homeroom” times discussion and examining assignments.

Schedule

January 22nd from 1:00pm-5:30pm EST
January 29th from 2:00pm-5:30pm EST
February 5th from 2:00pm-3:30pm EST

February 12th and 13th – One 30-minute slot from 1:00pm-6:00pm EST

National ASPIRE Cohort

One fellow from each region will be selected, based on the successful completion of the creative final presentation to a panel of selectors, to join the National ASPIRE cohort in Washington, D.C. for a week-long fellowship. To be considered for the National Fellowship, attendance and participation in the professional development programming, both the synchronous national programming, and at the regional “homerooms” is required. All students will receive feedback on their work from faculty and professional theatre leaders in the third week.

Registration

REGISTER for the ASPIRE Program; no need to prepare a resume or cover letter. You do not need to be nominated by a faculty member to participate.

When you sign up for ASPIRE, you will automatically be registered for your regional festival for participation in other regional programming, at no additional cost.

To learn more, please attend the ASPIRE Information Session on Zoom

Monday, November 29th 8pm-9pm EST

Register here: https://bit.ly/ASPIREInfo22

The National ASPIRE Chair, Stefanie Sertich will moderate an information session, led by former ASPIRE alumnus, Isabella O’Keefe, Nadel Henville and Isha Rao on what interested students can expect!

For questions about the program, reach out to [email protected].