2025 NCOT, A Great Time to Be Involved
The National Outdoor Theatre Conference, held under the umbrella of the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC), brought together theatre professionals, educators, and enthusiasts for three days of invigorating dialogue, creative exchange, and live performance in the heart of Kentucky.
Hosted in both Bardstown and Louisville, the conference celebrated the unique challenges and triumphs of outdoor theatre. Attendees engaged in rich sessions covering topics such as site-specific storytelling, technical innovations for open-air productions, community engagement, and sustainability in outdoor performance spaces.
A heartfelt thank-you to our host theatres, The Stephen Foster Story and Kentucky Shakespeare, whose hospitality and commitment to outdoor theatre made the experience truly remarkable.
The workshops and tour hosted by The Stephen Foster Story provided participants with a meaningful opportunity to reflect on the responsibility of producing historical narratives and the role theatre plays in shaping public understanding of the past. Meanwhile, the performance of Frankenstein by Kentucky Shakespeare was a thrilling and thought-provoking experience, a true treat to behold.
Highlights of the conference included workshops and discussions with nationally recognized directors, as well as collaborative brainstorming sessions that sparked new ideas for future productions and operations.
We are especially thankful for our generous sponsors, Ludus, XS Lighting & Sound, Heaven Hill Distillery, and Acceptd, whose support helped make this event possible.
SETC’s commitment to fostering dialogue and innovation was evident throughout the conference, as participants were energized and inspired to return to their work. We are excited to have the National Outdoor Theatre Conference as a part of SETC. The creativity and collaboration of the conference continue to resonate; reminding us that theatre, especially when staged beneath the open sky, is transformative art.