The ITO took on D.C. a week ago, advocating for the arts like never before! Arriving the morning of March 19, we gathered at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, the beautiful facility Americans for the Arts had the 2017 National Arts Advocacy Day hosted at. After a quick bite to eat and some time exploring museums on the national mall, all of the EdTA attendees gathered at La Tomate for a dinner together, celebrating such a strong commitment to arts education and planning for the two days ahead. It was wonderful to see so many student representatives actively attending this year, including Lance Junck (the Democracyworks Essay Contest winner), most of the Colorado State Thespian Officers, and even former ITO alums and EdTA representatives. After dinner, most of us headed back to the hotel to get a good night’s rest, but a few of our board members snuck down to see the Washington Monument and other historic D.C. landmarks before returning to bed!
Monday morning had everyone up bright and early, ready to learn the basics of arts advocacy training. Americans for the Arts representatives as well as congressional speakers kicked off the event. The morning split up our group from novice to experienced advocacy training, and by noon our heads were filled with so many new facts! Lunch ended in great conversations and breakout sessions about specific domains of arts advocacy (ranging from wireless microphones to arts in infrastructure.) I had the opportunity to present, along with other student advocates and voices, about the importance of the student role in a national arts advocacy environment and how ITS and EdTA are apart of making easy grassroots efforts accessible to kids. After this panel presentation, the attendees divided up into state delegations, creating a game plan for the big day ahead of them tomorrow. With a few minutes between the end of our training and our next event, all the ITO bolted to their hotel rooms to change and quickly made it back to the shuttle buses, sending the delegates over to the Kennedy Center for the Nancy Hanks lecture. The speaker this year, Darren Walker, talked about the necessity of arts education and the integration of public policy and arts advocacy into all of our lives. His message resonated with all the attendees and certainly shed a bright light on the issues in our current political system. The evening came to a close with one final group dinner as ITO, and then anxious preparation for our congressional meetings the next day.
On Tuesday, EdTA board and staff members headed down to Capitol Hill bright and early, grabbing breakfast and kicking off the day with celebrity Brian Stokes Mitchell and congressional representatives. Meetings with House and Senate members started as early as 8:30. Each ITO was present at anywhere between three and seven meetings, and the over 700 delegates worked hard, representing the millions of Americans who support the NEA and federal funding for the arts. Much of the event and my personal experience was covered by major news outlets, including the New York Times, which you can read about here: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/21/arts/if-you-like-the-arts-save-the-nea-advocates-tell-lawmakers.html?_r=0. After our meetings, the ITO headed separate ways back home, not to meet again until International Thespian Festival in June. We had an amazing experience at the 2017 National Arts Advocacy Day, and are excited to continue to use our voices in support of the arts on such important platforms!
Keep following the ITO travels and educational theatre events throughout the rest of the 2016-2017 term by following our social media channels (@internationalthespianofficers on Instagram, @ITOOfficial on Snapchat, The International Thespian Officers on Facebook, @ITOChair on Twitter.)