To think – there was actually a time when I was bummed that our 4th Annual TheaterMakers Summit was going to be virtual.

I forgot the golden rule of business/art/life . . . there is always an upside to every situation.

And the upsides to our virtual conference are all over the place!

The most important one?  You can attend from all over the place!  There’s no longer that added expense and inconvenience of travel.

And that’s not just for the attendees.  That goes for the speakers as well.

There’s no way we would have been able to assemble this year’s panelists and speakers if they all had to get to NYC.  That’s why we’ve got everyone from Alan Menken to Jessie Mueller to the heads of the Educational Theatre Association and the American Association of Community Theatre to Charlotte St. Martin, the head of the Broadway League.

And that’s also why we got this year’s keynote speaker . . .

DRUM ROLL PLEASE . . .

Here he comes
Here comes the general
Ladies and gentlemen
Here comes the general
The moment you’ve been waiting for
Here comes the general
The pride of Mount Vernon
Here comes the general . . .

. . .

The Keynote Speaker for the 4th Annual TheaterMakers Summit is . . . Christopher Jackson!

What I love about Chris as our keynote: I’ve watched his career take off from the very beginning.  His first big role out of AMDA was in the Off-Broadway production of Time and The Wind in 1995, the year after I graduated college myself and was making the rounds as a PA and SM.  He went on to appear in The Lion King, Memphis, After Midnight and others, but it was his performance in In The Heights Off-Broadway (which I was lucky enough to see) that started his rocket-like trajectory to the top, culminating in his troop-raising performance as George Washington in Hamilton.

But here’s what you might not have known.  And why I wanted him to speak.

He also writes music.  He’s been nominated for three Emmys and won one.  He’s scripted pilots and more, and appeared in movies, TV (his recurring character on Bull is so fun to watch), and more.

Every time I’ve been around him I’ve been inspired to make more theater.

And I know he’ll inspire you with his story of how he came up through the ranks, how he succeeds wearing multiple hats, and how you can to.

Join Christopher Jackson and all our other amazing panelists and speakers at this year’s all virtual TheaterMakers Summit on 11/14-11/5.

It’s going to be the biggest conference we’ve ever thrown and now you can attend wherever you are in the world.

Our early bird pricing ends TODAY so if there was a time to grab your ticket, it is right now.

See you there.