Schedule

National Conference Schedule
Mills + Schnoering Architects, LLC
Official Education Sponsor
2025 National Conference Sponsors

Click on event & session titles in schedule below for more details. All times are Eastern Daylight time.

Questions? Please email us at info@LHAT.org.

All events, days, and times listed below are tentative and subject to change.

Download printable schedule (PDF)

Updated 07.08.2025

Sunday, July 20, 2025

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:

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.

8:15 pm - 9:00 pm

2025 Awards for Excellence Ceremony
Awards Ceremony Sponsor - Kotobuki Seating International Inc.
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) 
Monday, July 21, 2025

7:30 am - 3:30 pm

Registration

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
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

6:15 pm

Evening on Your Own

6:15 pm - 7:15 pm

Exhibitor Teardown
Tuesday, July 22, 2025

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
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
Monday Networking Break sponsor - Gala Systems
Networking Refreshment Break Sponsor:
Gala Systems

11:00 am - 12:15 pm

T&T Segment 4 Sponsor - Stages Consultants
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

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
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

Wednesday, July 23, 2025

7:45 am - 8:45 am

Registration

8:45 am - 9:30 am

LHAT Annual Membership Meeting
LHAT Annual Membership Meeting Sponsor - OTJ Architects
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

12:45 pm - 1:45 pm

Closing Party

  Greer Cabaret Theater

Closing Party Sponsor - DLR Group
Closing Party Sponsor - Pittsburgh Cutural Trust
Closing Party Sponsors:
DLR Group &
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

1:45 pm - 2:00 pm

Return to Hotel - Conference Ends

Afternoon & Evening on Your Own