Schedule

7:15 am - 8:00 am

Pre-Conference Theatre Ramble Registration & Breakfast

8:15 am - 5:15 pm

Pre-Conference Theatre Ramble  - SOLD OUT!

The waitlist is also now full.

Optional Event - Requires Additional Fee

Tours will include:

• Row House - Hollywood Theater - Dormont
• Casino Theatre - Vandergrift
• Palace Theatre - Greensburg
• Westinghouse Arts Academy Theatre - Wilmerding

One additional venue will be announced soon.

11:00 am - 6:00 pm

Conference Registration

1:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Early Bird Education Session #1

Historic Theatre Renovation 101: A Framework for Planning Successful Projects

2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
(tentative)

Early Bird Education Session #2

Fundraising: Navigating the Game of Giving

This session is now Full. Please email info@LHAT.org to be added to a waitlist.

6:15 pm - 8:15 pm

Opening Cocktail Reception & Welcome Dinner

8:15 pm - 9:00 pm

2025 Awards for Excellence Ceremony

Awards Ceremony Sponsor:
Kotobuki Seating

9:00 pm - 9:30 pm

First Timer's Orientation

9:00 pm

Evening on Your Own
  (Suggested: Cocktails & Networking in the Omni Palm Court / Tap Room Bars) 

7:30 am - 3:30 pm

Registration

8:00 am - 9:00 am

Eye Opener Breakfast: Peer Discussions and Networking

9:00 am - 10:00 am

Plenary Session: Behind the Scenes at the Pittsburgh Cultural District

Get ready for an unforgettable conversation with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust— powerhouse behind Pittsburgh’s vibrant Cultural District, home to four of Pittsburgh’s historic theatres!

10:00 am - 11:15 am

Facilitated Networking Breakouts

We'll kick off the first full day of the conference by doing what LHAT does best: sharing best practices from around the nation. We learned during the pandemic that LHAT Happy Hours were a way to stay connected and hear what others were doing to remain relevant in their communities. After a quick introduction, we'll divide into 4-5 smaller groups based on theatre demographics (TBA), so you can take a deep dive into any topic desired. Share things you have learned since the Milwaukee conference or ask questions about topics that are most important to your theatre's future success. Think of it as an in-person LHAT-CHAT Network!

11:30 am - 12:45 pm

T&T Segment 1 Sponsor:
ETC

Tools & Techniques Segment 1

• Clear Vision and Good Governance
• From Catching the Car to Commanding the Stage: A Leadership Journey in Theater
• Getting Ready to Get Ready: Preparing for a Fundraising Campaign
• Historic Building Envelopes: How to Approach Maintenance + Repair + Restoration
• Preventing Chargebacks, Hacker Attacks, and Identity Theft
• Theatre’s New Act: How to Attract Younger Audiences to Your Venue

12:45 am - 2:00 pm

Lunch on Your Own

12:45 pm

Exhibitor Setup Begins

2:15 pm - 3:30 pm

Tools & Techniques Segment 2

• A Celebration of 30 Successful Years!
• A Work in (Political) Progress: How to Ensure (Ongoing) Funding for your Theatre
• From Bread to Broadway & Pews to Performances: Revitalizing Historic Spaces for the Arts
• Movies are Medicine: Engaging Audiences & Unseen Benefits
• The Show Starts on the Sidewalk, or How to Get People Out of the Street and Into Your Seats

3:45 pm - 6:15 pm

Meet the LHAT Service Providers EXPO & Reception

6:15 pm

Evening on Your Own

6:15 pm - 7:15 pm

Exhibitor Teardown

7:45 am - 3:30 pm

Registration

8:00 am - 9:00 am

Eye Opener Breakfast: Peer Discussions and Networking

Tuesday Breakfast Sponsor:
Series Seating

9:15 am - 10:30 am

Tools & Techniques Segment 3

• Beyond the Ticket: How Theatre Marketing Must Evolve from Transactions to Transformative Experiences
• From Restoration to Resilience: Sustaining Your Historic Theatre for the Future
• How to Have a Successful HR Strategy without Having a Dedicated HR Professional on Staff
• My Past is Catching Up with Me: Understanding the Newly Historic, Modern Theater
• Managing Your Theatre's Risk… and Other Insurance Issues
• The Future-Proof Theatre: Leveraging Technology for Operational Efficiency

10:30 am - 11:00 am

Networking Refreshment Break

Networking Refreshment Break Sponsor:
Gala Systems

11:00 am - 12:15 pm

T&T Segment 4 Sponsor:
Stages Consultants

Tools & Techniques Segment 4

• ADA Planning for your Historic Theater
• Building a Strong Donor Pipeline: Strategies for Sustainable Fundraising
• Cinematic Bragging Rights = Free Marketing
• Marketing Insights for Executive and Artistic Leaders
• Navigating Health Plans for Your Employee Benefit Package

12:15 pm - 1:30 pm

Lunch on Your Own

1:45 pm - 2:30 pm

Theatre Tour 

Walk six blocks from the hotel

• Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts

2:45 pm - 4:00 pm

Tools & Techniques Segment 5

• From Stage Lights to Search Engines: AI, SEO & Branding Secrets for a Full House
• Preparing for Retirement: From the Practical to the Mental & Emotional Transition
• Upgrading Projection Systems in Historic Theatres: Lessons Learned from the Cabot, Colonial, and Belcourt Theatres
• Whose Show is it Anyway? A Panel Discussion on Venue Rentals
• You've Raised 80%, Now It's Time to "Go Public!"

4:15 pm - 5:15 pm

Facilitated Networking Breakouts

We will divide into five rooms with LHAT Board Members and other volunteers to facilitate each group for a lively, anything goes conversation based on topics that you will be asked to suggest!

5:15 pm - 6:15 pm

Cocktails & Networking

Cocktails & Networking Sponsor:
ATG Entertainment

6:15pm-ish

Evening on Your Own

Optional: Pittsburgh Pirates Baseball Game  (6:40 pm first pitch) - requires advance ticket purchase

7:45 am - 8:45 am

Registration

7:45 am - 8:45 am

Eye Opener Breakfast: Peer Discussions and Networking

8:45 am - 9:30 am

LHAT Annual Membership Meeting

Membership Meeting Sponso:r
OTJ Architects

9:45 am - 11:00 am

Tools & Techniques Segment 6

• Beyond the Noise - Three Pillars that Drive Success
• Development Directors Roundtable
• Orpheum Re-Imagined: Renovating a Historic Theatre Using Modern Technology to Create a ‘Show Before the Show’
• Where the Cool Kids Hang Out: Building and Maintaining a Dependable Tech Crew

11:00 am - 11:15 am

Check out of Hotel

Store Bags in Ballroom (if applicable)

11:15 am - 12:45 pm

Theatre Tours 

Walk five blocks from the hotel

• Benedum Center for the Performing Arts
• Byham Theater

12:45 pm - 1:45 pm

Closing Party

  Greer Cabaret Theater

Closing Party Sponsors:
DLR Group &
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

1:45 pm - 2:00 pm

Return to Hotel - Conference Ends

Afternoon & Evening on Your Own