LW RD Lila Wallace- Building Reader’s Digest Fund STORIES FROM December 1997 Audiences AMERICA’S THEATERS

How Theaters Deal With Change In Building, Diversifying Audiences

Building Audiences Is No Overnight Thing

Collaboration Is A Process Of Give And Take

After You Get Them, How Do You Hold On To Them?

Who’s In The House Tonight?

Resources

Building Audiences STORIES FROM AMERICA’S THEATERS

In 1991, the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund launched a $25 million initiative to help 42 nonprofit theaters around the country expand and diversify their audiences. Building Audiences: Stories from America’s Theaters is designed to share lessons from the theaters taking part.

How Theaters Deal With Change In Building And Diversifying Audiences page 2 Introduction Implementing change is a slow process—full of twists and turns, surprises and unexpected results. page 3 The Most Important Lesson Of All Building Audiences Is No Overnight Thing The experiences of Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Second Stage Theatre and Pan Asian Repertory Theatre serve as valuable reminders that patience, an open mind and the ability to apply what you learn as you go along are essential ingredients to successfully building and diversifying audiences. page 7 Getting Past The Roadblocks Collaboration Is A Process Of Give And Take Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s fruitful relationship with Philip Kan Gotanda, which has helped forge new links between the theater and the Asian American community, also has had its share of challenges. page 9 Sustaining A Boost In Audience After You Get Them, How Do You Hold On To Them? Manhattan Theatre Club, Dell’Arte theater ensemble and Pregones Theater all have faced a turn of events that led to a growth in audiences. Here’s a look at how they’re sustaining them. page 15 It’s More Than Just What’s On Stage That Matters Who’s In The House Tonight? Four artistic directors discuss the importance of putting the audience at the center of their work and how that’s changed their approach to programming seasons. page 22 Resources Names and contact information for all theaters participating in the program.

1 Introduction

his marks the third and final issue in the some theaters had successes that created new series “Building Audiences: Stories from demands and pressures they hadn’t anticipated; America’s Theaters.” Earlier issues some theaters discovered that the process of explored different strategies—using new building audiences can lead to new artistic T challenges and an equal number of rewards. work and implementing innovative marketing pro- grams—theaters are implementing to attract audi- What these and other theaters have discovered ences. This time we focus on the process of change about effective audience building echoes one of the at theaters seeking to broaden and diversify their most important lessons learned across all sectors of attendance. the Fund’s grantmaking: there is no magic bullet. No The purpose of these publications has been to one approach will work in all circumstances or for share the experience of the theaters participating in all organizations. The key is understanding how the Fund’s initiative and to give the people chosen strategies will engage audiences and then involved a chance to discuss what they have working those strategies effectively with target audi- learned along the way. The Fund and participating ence groups over a sustained period. theaters have learned a great deal since the initia- The stories in this issue, as in our two previous tive was launched in 1991. Back then we thought monographs, are offered in the spirit of inquiry and that if theaters had sufficient resources in the form continuous learning. We hope they encourage you of funds and talented artists, audiences could be as much they have encouraged the Fund. And we expanded in a relatively straightforward, almost pre- hope they inspire you to spread the word about the dictable, way. Today, we know change is a slow benefits—as well as the challenges—of making the process; it’s full of twists and turns; and there are arts and culture an active part of people’s everyday often surprises and unexpected results. lives. That’s certainly been the experience of the the- aters profiled in this issue. As a result of their efforts to expand and diversify audiences: some theaters’ missions changed in important ways; some leaders’ job descriptions changed substan- tially;

2 The Most Important Lesson Of All Building Audiences Is No Overnight Thing

Although their projects were different, the experiences of Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Second Stage Theatre and Pan Asian Repertory Theatre serve as valuable reminders that patience, an open mind and the ability to apply what you learn as you go along are essential ingredients to successfully building and diversifying audiences.

Berkeley Rep provides a new stage for Asian of Yachiyo, which was staged during the 1995-96 American theater season. Ott calls Ballad of Yachiyo, Berkeley Rep’s seventh collaboration with Gotanda, who is erkeley Repertory Theatre has made great Japanese American, the theater’s “best artistic suc- strides in expanding its Asian American cess with Asian American work.” Co-commissioned audience, which now totals 15 percent for by South Coast Repertory Theatre, where it also B the runs of plays about Asians. Although had a run, the play received critical and audience the theater had originally hoped it could double its acclaim. Asian American attendance for the entire season to During the 1996-97 season, the theater mount- 12 percent in four years, former artistic director ed Mary Zimmerman’s Journey to the West, an adap- Sharon Ott today knows that target was too ambi- tation of the most popular classic of Asian literature tious. and Buddhist religion. In addition, Berkeley Rep “It takes a long time to make the theater seem has co-produced several works with San Francisco’s friendly and for people to feel welcome,” she said. “I Asian American Theater Company, including Chay think it requires 10 to 15 Yew’s A Language of Their Own, and two other years of this work to real- works by Gotanda. Berkeley Rep’s ly be taken seriously by relationship with the the community and earn Collaborations vital to winning trust their trust.” Asian American ffstage, Berkeley Rep has learned other Berkeley Rep’s suc- important lessons about building rela- Theater Company grew cess at audience diversifi- tionships with audiences, artists and from initial skepticism cation has resulted from the community. The theater’s first and mistrust to healthy the development of a O attempt to collaborate with the Asian American body of work that appeals collaborations, such as Theater Company met with skepticism, mistrust to Asian Americans and productions and joint and the perception that Berkeley Rep was an inter- making the theater a loper in the Asian American community. Yet, by subscription packages. home for Asian sticking with it, the two found common ground for American artists. a mutually beneficial relationship. Today, Berkeley Among resident theaters, Rep realizes that its collaborations with the Asian Berkeley Rep has done the most to develop an American Theater Company—from co-productions Asian American canon of plays. to joint subscription packages—were crucial in In the first season of its audience initiative, building a bridge to the Asian American community. 1993-94, the theater created and staged an adapta- Said Karen Amano, former artistic director of tion of Maxine Hong Kingston’s popular and Asian American Theater Company, “We learned acclaimed novel, The Woman Warrior. Later produc- how to build up our production capacity through tions included Alice Tuan’s first play, Last of the co-productions such as Philip Kan Gotanda’s Day Suns, in 1994-95, and Philip Kan Gotanda’s Ballad

3 Standing on its Head. Also, joint marketing and sub- Ott has already seen that the lessons she scription efforts reached many more people than we learned during the years of Berkeley Rep’s audience could have on our own and enabled us to experi- development initiative can work elsewhere. ment with new marketing strategies.” Recently named artistic director of the Seattle Berkeley Rep’s long-time alliance with Repertory Theater, Ott arrived there both with Gotanda, which dates from Ott’s arrival at the the- plans to support the development of Asian ater in the mid-1980s, American works and the knowledge about ways to also has boosted its stand- effectively reach members of the city’s large and The initiative helped ing in the Asian growing Asian American community. Ott said that lay the groundwork for American community as a result of applying many of the strategies she good practices in and helped win the trust tried and refined in San Francisco, “when we per- marketing and of other Asian American formed Gotanda’s Ballad of Yachiyo in Seattle last artists. According to Ott, January, we brought in 3,000 new Asian American outreach that are Gotanda has become a ticket buyers.” expected to continue central voice at Berkeley to serve the theater Rep, informally consult- Second Stage begins work by asking key well. ing on the development questions of new plays and issues of he 1992 grant from the Lila Wallace- diversity. The theater has Reader’s Digest Fund provided both the developed an ensemble of Asian American actors means and opportunity for New York’s that appear in non-ethnic specific productions, such Second Stage Theatre to embark on a as MacBeth and Volpone. Asian Americans also hold T full-scale effort to attract theatergoers ranging in permanent production and administrative positions. age from 11 to 18. But before plunging full-speed Ott feels that the Fund’s initiative helped lay ahead, Second Stage decided it first needed to learn the groundwork for good practices in marketing and more about what youngsters thought about theater outreach that will continue to serve the theater and its relevance to their fast-changing lives. well, including opportunities it was slow to recog- Carole Rothman, artistic director, said one nize, like the potential of group sales. She also wish- practice that proved especially useful was to invite es the theater had budgeted more money for track- teens to take part in focus groups. These sessions ing audiences. “Traditional surveys don’t work with provided Second Stage with valuable insight into our audiences. People have told us they resent being young people’s ticket-buying habits and how the asked about their racial and ethnic backgrounds. process of growing up can affect their relationship We really should have done more focus groups and with the theater. Information learned through focus explored other methods for analyzing and profiling groups and other discussions with members of the our audiences.” target audience helped—and continues to help— Ott believes these lessons will help the theater Second Stage shape decisions about all aspects of its as it reaches out to other audience groups in efforts operations—including what plays to commission, to make the theater a place where people from a how to present them and ways to market them more mix of cultural, ethnic and racial backgrounds feel effectively. at home. She notes, for example, that the theater’s For example, Second Stage learned that teens production of Twilight: Los Angeles 1992 by Anna don’t attend theater alone, but often come with Deveare Smith, which was targeted to African their parents. That discovery made Second Stage Americans, also drew large numbers of Asian aware that it couldn’t focus its outreach efforts Americans. “That’s a testament to the success of the exclusively on teens, but instead also needed to Asian American initiative,” Ott said. “We had the build relationships with parents, teachers, principals most racially mixed audience of any of the cities we and other adult mentors—both because of their toured with this show.” influence and because they’re easier to reach direct- Berkeley plans to continue this cross-pollinat- ly season to season. ing effort with the 1997-98 season premiere of Gotanda’s Yohen.

4 As a result, one successful program the theater ver the three years it participated in started invites parents to buy tickets for themselves the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest and bring their children for free to Family Matinees Theater Initiative, Second Stage that are offered on two Saturdays during the run of reported that total attendance by each show. The theater makes a point of calling O young people had nearly doubled to 1,942. each family before the performance to discuss the Rothman said Second Stage now considers young content of the play and its suitability for different people a permanent part of the life of the theater. ages. Rothman said that 50 to 60 families regularly “We look at every play we consider for the season take advantage of the offer. Second Stage also offers through a teen’s eyes,” she said. “We’ve learned that six to eight free school matinees each season, and it there are a variety of issues kids may be attracted to sells group tickets for regular performances to that we might not have been as aware of before.” schools, community centers and youth organiza- For example, through discussions that followed tions. the 1997 production of Lanford Wilson’s critically To reach teens directly, one of Second Stage’s acclaimed Sympathetic Magic, the theater learned most successful marketing tools was a quarterly that school audiences were drawn into the morality newsletter. Called Scene, it was written by teens and of the play and the questions it poses about our carried feature articles, behind-the-scene profiles place in the universe, what may exist beyond and student reviews about productions at Second human knowledge and how individuals make deci- Stage and other New York theaters. Scene also fea- sions about what to do with their lives. tured a guide to attending theater—including tips Second Stage feels its effort to build a multi- on how to purchase tickets, when to arrive and generational audience is an investment in its future. what to wear—and listings of current plays around Optimism about its growing audience led it to begin the city. Demand for Scene, which was mailed to building a new 299-seat theater, triple its current the homes of teens and capacity—that it expects to move into in time for delivered to schools and the 1998-99 season. Over three years, youth centers, increased young people’s total throughout the initiative. Pan Asian Rep renews its grassroots While Second Stage connection to community attendance at Second couldn’t continue funding Stage nearly doubled, Scene after its grant an Asian Repertory Theatre Artistic and now they are ended, Rothman reports Director Tisa Chang had already begun to considered a perman- that the Theater see glimmers of change in her company when it submitted its proposal to the Lila ent part of the life of Development Fund, a P Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund theater initiative. the theater. New York City nonprofit service organization that The artistically driven theater that Chang founded administers a range of dis- in 1977 had been successful in attracting large audi- count ticket programs, ences for many productions, including the broadly has introduced a similar publication for teens called popular film noir satire Yellow Fever by Rick Shomi, Play by Play, which is modeled on Scene. through positive reviews in the New York Times. But Other ancillary activities that have been ben- Chang had come to realize that the theater couldn’t eficial included the formation of a student advisory get by forever depending on favorable Times’ council and the creation of paid internships. In reviews. It needed to have more of a say about its addition to helping forge and strengthen relation- future. ships with teens directly involved, these efforts pro- Thus, the invitation to participate in the Fund’s vided a valuable link to schools, families and youth theater initiative came at a propitious moment, groups in New York City. Chang said. “I knew we needed time to strategize, learn and plan for the future. I saw the grant offer- ing us that opportunity.”

5 At the outset of the grant no one on the the- hese days, Chang will seize any potential ater’s board or staff was familiar with the intricacies “vote-getting” opportunity that will of audience building. So the company decided to serve the theater’s interest. For example, start with the basics. “We had to ask ‘Who is our in September 1996, she traveled to the audience? How do we relate?,’” Chang said. T annual retreat of the China Institute in Lake As a first step, the company had to overcome George, in northern New York State, to present an the differences in outlook between its artistic and excerpt from Shanghai Lil’s, a new musical by Lilah administrative staffs and make audience develop- Kan the theater planned to premiere in the Spring. ment a central goal for everyone of the theater. “We Chang was joined by Louis Stewart, the show’s could no longer separate audience building from the composer, and three actors. They performed to a art,” she added. “It had to become everyone’s con- captive audience of 250 people—mostly second-, cern and responsibility.” Today, the theater’s artists, third- and fourth-generation Chinese Americans, staff and board share a mandate to strengthen Pan all prime targets for this production about a Asian Rep’s relationship Chinatown restaurant in San Francisco that’s trans- with its audience. formed into a nightclub during World War II. The Today, everyone at Pan Everyone, especially staff following January, Chang appeared at a meeting of Asian Rep, especially members who have direct the Pan Pacific Southeast Asian Women’s contact with the public, Association, attended by women interested in those who have direct is held to the same stan- Asian relations. Chang said these kinds of personal contact with the dards of excellence and appearances are important, because “you never public, is held to the effectiveness as the artis- know how this kind of networking will pay off.” same standards of tic staff. But pay off, they do. Three weeks before excellence as the Pan Asian Rep’s focus Shanghai Lil’s opened, 70 percent of the tickets were on audience led the the- sold. Many were purchased by groups. Before that, artistic staff. ater to take visible steps the theater had little experience—or success—with to demonstrate its con- group sales, something it is much more astute about cern for and commitment today. “We learned that many groups book their to New York City’s Asian American community. As activities as many as six months in advance,” said the theater’s primary representative, Chang attends Chang. “So now, we’re out planting our seeds in a many events in the community, including lun- more timely fashion.” In fact, Chang added, she and cheons hosted by the Chinese American Lions Club company members now make personal appearances, and events to mark the Japanese Day of networking, and other outreach activities part of Remembrance. their jobs. Chang feels that this outward display of interest in the affairs of the Asian community—not only by her, but the theater’s directors, playwrights and actors—is essential to developing, forging and sus- taining relationships. That need to make direct and personal contact with current and potential sup- porters was reinforced watching Clinton and Dole campaigning for votes in the 1996 presidential elec- tion. “There they were out on the stump day after day shaking hands with the voters. I realized we needed to do the same to stay in contact with our constituency.”

6 Getting Past The Roadblocks Some things are worth repeating Collaboration Is A Process Of nother—and perhaps one of the most Give And Take valuable—audience-building lessons that Pan Asian Rep has learned is how Berkeley Repertory Theatre has enjoyed a fruitful relationship with playwright Philip Kan Gotanda, to both capitalize on opportunity and A producing six of his works, including three pre- lead with its strengths. For example, because mieres, and hosting two playwriting residencies. Shanghai Lil’s proved so successful during its previous But the collaboration—which has helped forge new run, and generated such positive word-of-mouth links between the theater and the Asian American attention, the theater community—has had its share of challenges. decided to stage a reprisal Learning how to of it to open its 1997-98 n paper, Berkeley Rep’s resume of work with capitalize on opportun- season. That strategy, Philip Gotanda reads like a match made in ity and to lead with its which the theater has Oheaven. Yet, the relationship between used successfully in the Berkeley Rep and the Japanese American playwright strengths has proven past, also serves another has been built over time and myriad experiences— to be one of Pan Asian goal, which is to find pro- some good, some bumpy. Gotanda has had more work produced by Berkeley Rep than by any other Rep’s most valuable ductions that support single theater. And the theater’s former artistic themselves while they’re lessons. director, Sharon Ott, has been more involved in running. This helps free Gotanda’s work than any other artist’s. Although the theater to raise funds both have demonstrated a solid commitment to the needed instead for development and rehearsal that theater’s goal of expanding Asian American audi- hopefully will produce future successes like Shanghai ences—and the collaboration between the two has Lil’s. been instrumental in making progress toward that Chang, like her counterparts, may have frustra- goal—issues of race and culture and how they play tions about the time it takes to build and sustain out at Berkeley Rep’s programming are still ongoing diverse audiences. But to a person, they know the topics of conversation. future for theater looks much brighter as a result of The fact that Gotanda has become such a fix- their efforts. ture at Berkeley Rep was born out of Ott’s interest in him. Having read some of his work before arriv- ing at the theater for the 1984-85 season, Ott con- tacted Gotanda before any other playwright. At the time, Gotanda was still working primarily with Asian American theater companies. Gotanda says he responded to Ott’s overtures cautiously, although, in retrospect, he praises her for beginning a dialogue before it became “chic” or “financially opportunis- tic” for mainstream theaters to work with ethnic playwrights. Despite interest on both sides, it was three years before Gotanda and Ott agreed on their first collaboration. Gotanda said he would allow Ott to direct Yankee Dawg You Die, a two-character play about stereotypes of Asian Americans that draws on the playwright’s experiences in the theater. However, that agreement came with a condition: to overcome his unease about a non-Asian directing his work, Gotanda made Ott promise that she would take the time to understand his world and the cul- tural vantage point of his work. When the play pre- miered during the 1987-88 season it won critical and audience acclaim there and in subsequent produc-

7 tions in New York City and Los Angeles. Looking Despite his issues with the staging of The back, Gotanda said, “She really did her homework.” Women Warrior, Gotanda tried to balance his sup- Beside rave notices for their work together, port for Berkeley Rep’s audience expansion goals Gotanda said that his first collaboration with Ott with his concern over the growing resentment resulted in other benefits. Traveling with the produc- among Asian Americans. At the Theatre Communica- tion gave the director and playwright each a chance tions Group (TCG) National Conference in Princeton, to get to know the other better and spend time in N.J., in 1994, Gotanda found he could no longer the other’s environment. “Our worlds started to hold his middle ground. TCG had invited Berkeley overlap,” he said. That awareness of similarities, not Rep to present a case study at the conference about just differences between them, left Gotanda open to its production of The Women Warrior. A panel the possibility of working again with Ott. including Ott, Maxine Hong Kingston and scenic hus, when the Manhattan Theatre Club in designer, Ming Cho Lee spoke about the production. New York City and Mark Taper Forum in Los Gotanda publicly challenged one panelist’s T Angeles decided to co-produce a revival of his assertion that Berkeley Rep was the only theater play The Wash, in 1990, Gotanda requested that Ott that had the production resources to successfully direct it. During that production he said he became present the work and that Asian American theaters even more comfortable with her. “She spent a lot of weren’t artistically up to the chore. “I had to say time with me and the actors,” he said, “and I sensed something to dispel any misconceptions about the a shift in her world view.” That same season, on work of Asian American theaters in this country,” Berkeley Rep’s stage, Ott slotted the premiere of Gotanda said. While Berkeley Rep regarded Gotanda’s Fish Head Soup, which Oscar Eustis Gotanda’s statement as a betrayal, the playwright directed. said he felt the theater had no right to think it could In 1993 the relationship between the playwright prevent him from freely expressing personal opin- and theater came under fire. Berkeley Rep received a ions. $1.5 million grant from the Lila Wallace-Reader’s It took some time for tensions between the the- Digest Fund to help it attract Asian Americans. To ater and Gotanda to cool. Ott and Gotanda admit- some—especially smaller Asian American theaters— ted they didn’t even have a common vocabulary for the theater’s plans were viewed as an attempt to talking about these issues of race and culture. In the compete for their audiences. Suddenly, Gotanda, end, though, it was their friendship and trust that who was considered by many as the unofficial brought Ott and Gotanda together again. “We liked spokesperson for Asian American artists, found him- each other as friends, felt we understood each other self in the middle of a brewing feud. as individuals and worked well together,” he said. However, because Gotanda also had a close “We tried to look at things through each other’s relationship with San Francisco’s Asian American eyes and agreed we don’t agree on a lot of things. Theatre Company, Berkeley Rep used that to try to Tension can be a part of the working formula.” smooth over harsh feelings. In early 1994 the two Ott said the period of dissent and estrangement theaters co-produced the West Coast opening of was “extremely difficult, but ultimately beneficial to Gotanda’s Day Standing on its Head, which had pre- Berkeley Rep. We had very different points of view miered several months earlier at the Manhattan on race and culture, but we were able to work them Theatre Club. The play received enthusiastic critical through.” and audience response, and Berkeley Rep felt the co- tt acknowledges that “because Philip is such production was vital to fortifying its relationship a noted presence in the Asian American with Gotanda and the Asian American community. O community, any discussion with him is highly Things didn’t stay quiet for long, however. public. When people saw that we were serious in When Berkeley Rep announced plans to produce a our commitment to Philip and intended to work out stage adaptation of Maxine Hong Kingston’s popular our issues, we achieved a higher level of respect in epic novel The Women Warrior, the Asian American the community. When Philip’s trust in us was community accused the theater of cultural appropri- renewed, it rippled out to other Asian American ation and questioned what Asian American input artists and the community at large.” there would be in the production. When the work Gotanda also agrees the partnership is worth was presented in mid-1994, it drew large numbers of the struggle and effort. “It has to do with living in Asian Americans and criticism from some factions in this world at this moment in time. We’re all strug- the community. Among the dissenting voices was gling with how this thing called America works. The Gotanda’s, who felt Berkeley Rep had shaded its pro- theater happens to be a civilized and contained area duction with “Orientalism,” or playing up certain for working out some of these issues of race and exotic elements of the culture. culture.”

8 Sustaining A Boost In Audience After You Get Them, How Do You Hold On To Them?

Manhattan Theatre Club, Dell’Arte theater ensemble and Pregones Theater differ considerably in size, program and audience. Yet each of these three theaters has faced a turn of events—some planned, some unanticipated—that have led to a growth in audiences. In the process, they’ve not only surpassed their original audience-building goals, they’re handily sustaining them. Here’s a look at their strategies.

Manhattan Theatre Club stretches capacity to establish a cash reserve fund of $500,000. It pro- make room for new audiences posed using the money for extending, or moving to larger venues, plays that appeal to new and diverse anhattan Theatre Club rounded out audiences. What made the idea especially attractive its 20th season in 1990 and found was its built-in sustainability. The theater agreed itself at a crossroads. The theater that any money drawn from the fund would be wanted to diversify its primarily M replenished within 18 months—from box office pro- white, affluent audience of over 50-year-olds by ceeds or from the general operating budget, depend- growing the number of younger and more ethnically ing on the success of the venture. mixed ticket buyers for the company’s productions. Since Manhattan Theatre Club created the But its ability to do cash reserve fund in the 1991-92 season, it has bor- that successfully was rowed from it to extend such hits as Anne Meara’s constrained by two fac- Because of its limited show After-Play and A.R. Gurney’s Sylvia, starring tors. One was that it capacity, Manhattan Sarah Jessica Parker. It also was able to extend could only expand Theatre Club used to Terrence McNally’s Love! Valour! Compassion! audiences so much (which received the Tony Award for Best Play of find itself having to before reaching the the 1994-95 season) and move it to Broadway’s close a production upper limits of its space Walter Kerr Theatre for an open-ended run. John in New York’s City when single-ticket Patrick Shanley’s Four Dogs and a Bone was trans- Center, located in mid- demand was at the ferred to the Lucille Lortel Theater in Greenwich town just a stone’s highest. Village, where it attracted a large number of young throw from Broadway. adults. Pretty Fire and Neat, both by Charlayne And while a move to a Woodard, and Cheryl West’s Holiday Heart, plays by larger home had been and about African Americans, were assured longer contemplated, it was at least several years away. The runs. So, too, were Playland and Valley Song by other constraint was that subscribers already South African playwright Athol Fugard. Most accounted for some 70 percent of each season’s recently, the theater was able to produce the New sales, leaving only a small inventory of single tickets York premiere of August Wilson’s Seven Guitars in to accommodate new buyers. an open-ended run on Broadway. “With our fixed subscription season and large “The success of this initiative has fundamental- subscriber base, we found ourselves having to close ly changed the way Manhattan Theatre Club sees a production just when single-ticket demand was at itself,” said Grove. “We have become the producer its highest,” explained Barry Grove, the theater’s of first resort for open-ended runs.” That, he admits, executive producer. helps attract and maintain the interest of many of To address its limited capacity, Manhattan the high calibre playwrights with whom the theater Theatre Club devised a new strategy. It approached works. the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund for a grant to

9 The ability to seize such opportunities has Since the 1993-94 season, Manhattan Theatre helped Manhattan Theatre Club increase its single- Club has scheduled at least one show each season at ticket buyers by more than 80 percent since the an off-site venue. In the 1996-97 season, for 1991-92 season. Its total annual audience nearly instance, the theater opened Charles Busch’s zany tripled from 90,000 to more than a quarter of a mil- new musical, The Green Heart, at Variety Arts lion. And while subscribers increased by 50 percent Theatre, where it would naturally attract the play- to more than 20,000 in fiscal year 1996, they only wright’s large downtown following. This tactic of represented 35 percent of the audience. The the- producing off-site, combined with an overall growth ater’s extended reach also had an unexpected in audience and box office revenues, has allowed impact on fundraising. From 1990 to 1995, individ- the theater to increase the average length of main- ual giving doubled to $1 million. Grove attributes stage runs from eight to 10 weeks and second stage the expanded donor base to its larger number of sin- runs from five to seven weeks. gle-ticket buyers. Over the past several seasons, Manhattan he influx of single-ticket buyers has also Theatre Club has strengthened and expanded its changed the demographic profile of the marketing infrastructure to sustain the growth in audience, as the theater had hoped. The audience. The theater now produces a marketing T audience is younger and is starting to plan for each production. With its database of diversify racially. African Americans now account 150,000 single-ticket buyers, and access to numer- for 15 to 20 percent of ous outside lists, the theater can finely target its the non-subscription efforts. It offers some single-ticket discounts through Armed with a data- attendees at plays that flyers and print ads, and it has been working to base of 150,000 single- are by or about Africans increase group sales. and African Americans, “Our biggest hurdle with group sales continues ticket buyers and although that number to be a lack of inventory,” said Grove. “Many access to outside lists, continues to include a nights, the most we can make available is 25 seats.” Manhattan Theatre considerable number of However, the theater was able to sell 800 tickets to Club can finely target complimentary ticket groups for the 1997 season’s New York premiere of its marketing efforts. holders. While the the- Nine Armenians by Leslie Ayvazian. “We applied to ater has yet to see much the Armenian community many of the same strate- crossover of African gies we learned working with other communities,” Americans to other mainstage productions, it is explained Grove. “We started six months early talk- encouraged by their growing attendance at the the- ing to churches, other organizations and the press in ater’s literary series, Writers in Performance. the community.” African Americans accounted for 90 percent of the he theater judiciously uses focus groups audience for Alfre Woodard’s reading of The Street prior to launching subscription renewal by Ann Petry, and 10 percent of the audience for campaigns to understand how the audi- Vladimir Nabokov’s novel Lolita, read by Jeremy T ence perceives Manhattan Theatre Club Irons. and to ensure clarity in positioning shows. “This change in demographics has altered audi- Whenever the theater plans to transfer a play, it ence response,” said Grove, who notes that single- also employs focus groups to give direction to an ticket buyers are more responsive to reviews and expanded marketing effort. word of mouth, unlike subscribers who are usually Emboldened by its many successes of the past reached through direct-mail solicitations. “By hav- several seasons, Manhattan Theatre Club is making ing a greater number of single-ticket buyers in the plans to reach an even larger audience, according to audience, we’re getting our subscribers to behave Grove, without compromising the theater’s work. more like single-ticket buyers. They’re even more Those plans include a new home in the near future. emotionally available and intellectually alert now.” The theater has already found new office and rehearsal space in the Broadway theater district and now is actively searching for a performance space

10 that will at least double the capacity of both its which attracted theater artists from around the mainstage and second stage, which currently seat world. But Dell’Arte needed to build a local audi- 300 and 150. ence for its work. Its first efforts were to create tours Poised to unveil a capital campaign to raise and residencies in the immediate five-county area of funds for the new theater, Manhattan Theatre Club northern California, whose population barely reach- will also be seeking funds to double its cash reserve es 500,000. Through community touring, Dell’Arte fund to $1 million. “We want to move more work began to develop a body of work that reflected the to Broadway,” said Grove. “While the cash reserve history, culture and concerns of the region and fund has been a hugely successful idea, it’s not big involved local residents in the creative process. enough right now for us to do all we’d like to.” In 1991, the ensemble created the Mad River Festival to culminate its season of rural tours and Dell’Arte leaves the road behind to discover an residencies. This festival of physical theater is now audience at home an annual event, which includes performances by Dell’Arte and other artists from around the country. ike many artists in rural northern Attendance has grown from fewer than 1,000 in California, actors Michael Fields, Donald 1992 to more than 4,000 in 1996. The festival takes Forrest and Joan Schirle were drawn to place over four weeks in Dell’Arte’s studio theater the area by its natural beauty and lifestyle. L (130 seats), outdoor amphitheater (300 seats) and In 1976, soon after the opening of the Dell’Arte other locations in Blue Lake. School of Physical Theater, they founded the The Mad River Festival is now a primary activ- Dell’Arte theater ensemble in Blue Lake (pop. ity of Dell’Arte, artistically and economically. It has 1,100). But, like other artist neighbors, the successfully captured the imagination and interest of Dell’Arte ensemble had to look beyond this sparsely the local population, even reaching into pockets of populated region for audiences for its work. Most of the region that have never had ready access to live Dell’Arte’s performing was done on the road, with theater before. The audience Dell’Arte attracts to extensive touring in the United States and abroad. the festival is a diverse cross-section of the region’s According to Dell’Arte’s co-artistic director population. Included are loggers and fishermen, Michael Fields, that began to change in the late whose industries once sustained the region, but are 1980s as the founders now beleaguered; a sizable population of Native wanted to spend more Americans; and those Fields calls “aging hippies,” After opportunities to time at home with their who, though well-educated, are underemployed families and become tour around the because of limited job opportunities in the region. involved in their com- country began to According to surveys of the Mad River Festival’s munity. This decision audience conducted by AMS Planning and dwindle, Dell’Arte was reinforced by a shift Research, half of the theater’s audience earns shifted focus and in the touring market. $15,000 or less while holding BA or higher degrees. concentrated its efforts With less funding avail- Since Dell’Arte’s work has always been topical, able to them, presenters on developing local many in the community perceived it as a political were scaling down their audiences, which theater company. According to Fields, that initially seasons and taking kept many local residents away from festival perfor- continue to grow. fewer risks by selecting mances. But the public couldn’t resist any longer work familiar to them when in 1994 Dell’Arte mounted Korbel, a soap and their audiences. opera about their own community. Named for an That increasingly ruled out Dell’Arte, known for its actual town (pop. 50) just up the logging road from original theater works in the physical theater tradi- Blue Lake, Korbel was about the frustrated lives of a tion. lumber family crushed by the region’s economic The ensemble decided to redirect its focus and woes. Admiringly characterized as “crazed and con- create a regional theater center. It already had its voluted” by a local reviewer, the piece is centered school, the only one of its kind in the country, on the funeral of the family’s matriarch, who,

11 despondent about her sons’ disintegrating lives, sion than radio. Luckily, the local television market, takes her own life by putting her head in a based in Eureka, is one of the lowest priced in the microwave oven. Korbel and its two sequels, pro- country. Dell’Arte can purchase ten 60-second spots duced in successive festivals, are full of such situa- for $2,000. The company produces the commercials tions, ranging from outrageous to just plain wacky, in a madcap style, which makes them particularly but always referencing actual issues and develop- effective. It also runs ads on the milk cartons of a ments in local life. “The Korbel pieces have drawn local dairy. And the festival has its own beer, enormous numbers of people to the festival,” said Dell’Arte Dark, which is bottled by the Mad River Fields. “Even though those pieces could touch plen- Brewery. ty of raw nerves, people aren’t offended because the he audience base that Dell’Arte estab- physical style of the work makes them accessible.” lished through regional touring and resi- Besides, everyone is equally lampooned in these dencies has been solidified and expanded plays. T by the Mad River Festival and, in turn, Other work featured in the festival ranges from the festival audience is sustained throughout the experimental to family fare, including clowns, jug- year by the company’s touring and presenting activi- glers, mimes, puppeteers, and music and dance ties in the region. Like Dell’Arte’s work for the fes- groups. To attract local tival, its tours and residencies focus on what Fields Native Americans, calls “theater of place.” For the 1997 season, there are stories and Dell’Arte toured Out of the Frying Pan, a piece that Dell’Arte attributes its songs from the Karuk covers 500 years of regional history through cook- marketing successes people. Adult-oriented ing, and Journey of the Ten Moons, which is based on to learning to avoid work is reserved for local Indian legends and beliefs. During the year, duplication of efforts evening performances the company also completed the first season of and how to do less in the indoor studio Dell’Arte Presents, a series that takes place in a ren- more effectively. space. Prices are kept ovated studio theater and features the work of guest low, never topping $12 instructors and students from the school. Every for a ticket. While event sold out, according to Fields. most events are priced In addition to these activities, Dell’Arte has at $10, admission for family nights is $5, and every helped sustain its audience growth by the depth of festival features at least one free event. There are its involvement in the community. When the com- also several evenings billed “Blue Lake night,” when pany is developing a new piece, it turns to the com- townspeople can attend for half price. munity for feedback. “The audience is a critical In marketing the Mad River Festival, Fields teacher in the development process,” said Fields. says Dell’Arte has learned to streamline its efforts Students at Dell’Arte’s school are required to volun- and not duplicate them. “We’re doing less more teer in the community, and company members regu- effectively and with greater results,” he said. larly attend meetings of Blue Lake’s citizens’ group, Dell’Arte produces a festival poster and brochure, which discusses the future of the town, including which are graphically bold, but clear and unclut- the role of the Mad River Festival. In the past, tered. Large quantities of the brochure are mailed Fields has served on the group’s economic develop- to surrounding communities and followed up by ment committee. Town meetings, he admits, fuel additional mailings of individual flyers for selected ideas for Dell’Arte’s creative work. “That’s where events. The theater works with a few key communi- you learn what makes people mad,” he said. ty organizations, such as a local food co-op, to reach In a larger sense, Dell’Arte’s vision for the their constituencies. Company members also make future also bears the hopes of Blue Lake’s citizens’ promotional appearances at local events leading up group and other planners and dreamers in the area. to the festival, and Dell’Arte consistently secures The theater hopes to greatly expand its audience for extensive coverage in the local press. the Mad River Festival by attracting tourists from Through audience surveys, Dell’Arte learned that its advertising dollars are better spent in televi-

12 throughout the Northwest and even nationally. “No Bronx’s main artery of commerce and government other festival in the country celebrates the art of (shared by Yankee Stadium), which is well served physical theater,” Fields said. One of Dell’Arte’s by public transportation and has undergone revital- goals is to raise the national profile of the festival to ization in recent years. Media coverage of Pregones make it a travel destination. Many in the region increased, too, according to artistic director Rosalba believe that efforts such as these, to promote Rolon. “Critics used to shy away from our old tourism in the area, are what’s needed to help revi- neighborhood,” she recalled. talize the fallen economy. Pregones’ first production of the fall, Fabulas del Caribe (Fables of the Caribbean), sold out three Above all, Pregones Theater prizes intimacy weeks in advance of its opening at Hostos Center with its audience for the Arts & Culture, which seats 367. Audiences for the show, which numbered 2,000, were almost ike Dell’Arte, Pregones Theater began as a double the attendance for the entire 1992-93 sea- touring company. After six successful years son. “Change in location was certainly a big factor on the road, the Puerto Rican ensemble, in our growth,” said Rolon. “But so too was our the- which was formed in 1979, decided it L ater initiative grant, which helped us develop and needed a community base and came home to New carry out strategies to heighten the visibility of York City’s South Bronx. Pregones was invited to Pregones. And we maintained our standards of artis- open a theater in a church in Mott Haven, a sec- tic quality while keeping our ticket prices low.” tion of the South Bronx that is impoverished, heav- For the 1995-96 season, the theater focused its ily hit by AIDS and rife with drug crime. The the- efforts on sustaining the rapid growth of the first ater enjoyed nine more successful years in the 120- two seasons of its audience expansion initiative. seat space at St. Ann’s, producing original theater While Pregones narrowed its search for a home the- works for a loyal following of school and general ater to the Grand Concourse, it again produced part audiences. of its season at Hostos Center for the Arts & In 1994, as Pregones was gainfully completing Culture. Additionally, it presented at Repertorio its first season of audience expansion through the Espanol and the Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre, support of the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund two veteran Latino theaters in Manhattan, which theater initiative, the company changed venues. gave Pregones exposure to other new audiences. Because of an unexpected and controversial change espite its continuing growth, Pregones in leadership at St. Ann’s, the theater decided to became ill at ease with its new arrange- terminate its lease with the church. While Pregones ments. Something was missing. Without began to search for a new home in the area, it made its own space, the theater couldn’t pro- provisional plans to carry out its 1994-95 season in D duce as many plays as it had in the past because of several nearby venues, including the new Hostos the expense of renting Hostos Center. It also felt it Center for the Arts & Culture, the Bronx Museum was losing its connection to its audience by working and Lincoln Hospital. in rented spaces and at host theaters. “In our own The season exceeded Pregones’ wildest expecta- space, the audience would not leave after a show tions. Instead of losing the gains of the previous sea- until they saw the artists and had a chance to talk son because of its lack of a permanent home, the to them,” Rolon explained. “We would let people theater saw a 40 percent jump in audience atten- stay as long as they wanted. It was so informal, we dance over the gains of the previous season, more would often turn on music and there would be than tripling the goal it had set for its three-year dancing,” she added. “We couldn’t do that at other plan to expand audiences. It became immediately theaters.” apparent that the change in venue was not a handi- The ensemble felt more strongly than ever the cap, but an asset to Pregones’ audience-develop- imperative to re-establish its own theater. “We need ment efforts. Audience members—even those from that intimate connection with our audience,” said the old neighborhood—voiced their preference for Rolon. “They nourish our work by informing our the safer locations of the new venues. All are locat- artistic judgment.” ed on or just off the Grand Concourse, the South

13 During the summer of 1996, after failing to find cussed with Repertorio Espanol the possibility of a suitable theater, it came up with another plan. doing another two-week residency there in the Pregones created a small studio theater in one end 1997-98 season. of the ample office space it had been renting since Rolon says Pregones’ collaborations with these 1994 in a furniture warehouse on the Grand theaters has had a positive impact on all the the- Concourse. The following October, Pregones aters and their audiences. The theaters support each opened its new 50-seat theater to school groups and other’s audience-development efforts by regularly in the winter unveiled its first mainstage production exchanging mailing lists and displaying materials for there, El bolero fue mi ruina (The Bolero Was My each other. “Audiences are aware of this cohesive- Downfall), an adaptation of a short story by Manuel ness, this shared sense of purpose,” Rolon remarked. Ramos Otero. Rolon said the space was perfect for “People are starting to perceive a Latino theater this piece, a one-man show running open-endedly. movement growing.” Pregones plans to employ a variety of strategies his perception has been reinforced by to sustain and expand its growth of the past several Pregones’ leadership in creating seasons. It will use its new space for selected main- TeatroFestival, which fills the void left stage productions, for rehearsals, readings and work- T by the demise of the Public Theater’s shops, and for school performances, which Pregones Festival Latino of the 1980s. Pregones produced prefers to do in an intimate setting to give the TeatroFestival in 1990 and 1993 in association with young people the most opportunity to interact with Repertorio Espanol, Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre the ensemble. The theater will continue to mount and INTAR. It will renew this partnership in the its larger productions at Hostos Center for the Arts 1998-99 season to produce a two-week festival fea- & Culture to accommodate larger audiences, and it turing theater companies from the United States, will present there as well. In the 1995-96 season, Central and South America, Europe and Africa. Pregones presented a Chilean production of As Pregones reaches outward with its plans for Pinocchio that played five sold-out performances. In TeatroFestival and its own national touring, its the 1997-98 season, in partnership with Local 1199 appreciation of its audience base at home deepens. of the National Health and Human Services The tiny theater with an annual home audience of Employees Union, Pregones will sponsor a six-week 1,250 in 1992-93 reached 10,000 New Yorkers in residency of Orquesta de Cámara Concerto, Puerto 1995-96, as well as 7,000 others in touring activities Rico’s premier chamber music group, which will outside the city. include performances at Hostos and other locations “The greatest lesson we’ve learned over the in the Bronx. past several seasons is that the audience is the cen- n addition, Rolon says Pregones hopes to fur- ter of everything,” said Rolon. “There must be a ther strengthen its alliances with Puerto Rican direct connection between the artist and the com- Traveling Theatre and Repertorio Espanol. munity. We instinctively knew that before, but now I During the 1996 summer season, it toured El we’ve made it part of all our practices, artistic and Apagón, (Blackout) with the Puerto Rican Traveling administrative.” Theatre. The following summer, Puerto Rican That’s a lesson the theater expects will keep Traveling Theatre presented Pregones’ production paying off year after year. of Baile Cangrejero (Dance of the Cangrejero) an orig- inal show of African-Caribbean poetry, drama and music in 25 outdoor performances throughout New York City’s five boroughs. Pregones has also dis-

14 It’s More Than Just What’s On Stage That Matters Who’s In The House Tonight?

Many artistic directors see their jobs as more than finding a balance between where their dreams take them and what their theater’s budget will permit. They have to make programming choices that will appeal to the audiences their theaters want to reach. Four artistic heads participating in the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund’s Theater Initiative discuss the importance of putting audiences at the center of their work—and what they’ve learned as a result.

Inviting audiences not just to observe, but to theater. “Our productions have no ‘fourth wall,’” participate in creating theater said Dudley Cocke, Roadside’s artistic director. “For Dudley Cocke, Roadside Theater us, the audience is part of the show.” Founded in 1975 in Whitesburg, Kentucky, hen Roadside Theater sets down its Roadside enjoyed an active schedule of national stakes in the small towns and touring by the early 1980s. “We had a successful urban neighborhoods where it con- economy of one- and two-day performance-and- W ducts extended residencies, one of workshop bookings,” Cocke explained. “We could its first activities is to create a story circle. A story have spun off another touring company.” circle is an open event where the people of the But, by the late 1980s, the company became community are invited to share stories about their dissatisfied with touring because the audiences it lives, their ancestors and the history of the place was reaching were predominantly traditional theater where they live. audiences—white, college-educated and affluent— The shape, tone and and not the poor and working class people Roadside content of each story had set out to serve. The company’s genesis had Roadside’s successful circle is unique to a par- extended residency been in the coal fields of Appalachia, where unem- ticular locale, and forms ployment runs as high as 60 percent and only about program grew out of a the basis for all half the population holds high school diplomas. desire to return to its Roadside’s subsequent Even though Roadside was resourceful in working goal of creating a activities while there. It with tour presenters to attract some non-traditional establishes a neutral working class theater. audiences, the theater found it was drifting away ground where disparate from its goal of creating a working class theater. members of a communi- Roadside began investigating ways to make a ty can come together to more lasting impact on local communities and tell their stories, rather than voice their opinions. It experimented with an extended residency program draws individuals unwittingly into “performing” one of several months. Roadside found the Appalachian of the earliest forms of theater. And it lays out the model it developed could be used in its national themes, conflicts and characters the community can touring activities to reach communities of poor and draw on if it decides to take up Roadside’s invita- working class people. In 1992, Roadside was award- tion to develop its own plays. ed a five-year grant of $600,000 from the Lila Roadside, an ensemble of actors and musicians Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund to help support local from central Appalachia, brings theater to rural and national residencies that would engage audi- areas and to poor or working class communities in ences in activities beyond attendance. In the five the city, places often underserved—or not served at years of grant-supported activities, Roadside con- all—by cultural organizations. But when Roadside ducted nearly 100 extended residencies at home and works in a town, it doesn’t want to play to an audi- around the country, some lasting weeks, months or ence of observers. Its goal is to encourage the audi- even years. ence to participate in the ephemeral art of creating

15 he shift, said Cocke, was essential to and toured to communities around the state. Roadside’s artistic vitality. “If we hadn’t “When we began the Choteau project,” Cocke found a way to connect more strongly said, “I asked a group of young people how many of with rural and urban working class audi- them thought they would still be living in Choteau T when they’re 25 or 30. Few raised their hands. But a ences, we would have been cut off from our artistic source,” he explained. year into the project,” he continued, “that changed. Roadside’s work with communities often has an They had begun to see that their locale has advan- enduring effect. Many communities continue to tages and possibilities, and they developed a pride conduct story circles and some have even created and a desire to make it work. It was a very emotion- their own community theaters. In Honaker, Virginia al discovery.” (pop. 1,000), Roadside was invited by the high hoteau has since established its own school to work with two ninth-grade English classes theater company and is at work on its and the drama club to incorporate Appalachian second production, a play about the storytelling and theater into curriculum. The stu- C area’s dryland farmers and ranchers. dents worked with local senior citizens to write a Like many of Roadside’s residencies, the Choteau play about Honaker that they performed for the project came to fruition through the efforts of sever- senior center, their school, a local college and a al organizations and agencies. In addition to the community-wide event town’s Performing Arts League and the American they produced. The Festival Project, funding was provided by the Honaker Story Swap was National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. Roadside’s work in enthusiastically Forest Service. “The U.S. Forest Service got small towns and urban received and audience involved,” Cocke explained, “because they believe a neighborhoods often members stayed on to strong culture holds the community together and has an enduring tell stories, sing songs that helps enrich land use by local residents and and show family heir- preserve natural resources.” effect—with some looms, such as quilts With a decline in public funding for the arts even creating their and photos. The two and social programs and the increased cost of its own community teachers Roadside longer residency model, Roadside is hard-pressed to theaters. worked with continue find adequate funding. Once representing 60 per- to incorporate cent of the company’s expenses, now only 30 per- Appalachian story- cent of the company’s costs are covered by residency telling and theater in their classes and the commu- fees and ticket sales. “We need to identify forward- nity has come to expect an annual production of looking funders who understand how the arts can The Honaker Story Swap and is committed to sup- affect a community,” Cocke reflected. porting it. New non-arts funding partners like the U.S. In Choteau, Montana (pop. 1,700), Roadside Forestry Service point the way and offer hope. So worked with the town’s Performing Arts League and too does the support of the Zuni Tribal Government the American Festival Project, a national coalition in New Mexico, where Roadside has completed the of performing artists to conduct a three-year oral 11th year of a 20-year residency and cultural history project. The project was designed in concert exchange to nurture a Zuni-language theater. In a with an economic development plan to encourage collaborative playwriting project, Roadside and young people to remain in the area. Roadside Zuni artists created Corn Mountain/Pine Mountain. brought together people of all ages and occupations Told from two cultural perspectives and in two lan- to collect and exchange hundreds of stories and guages, the play speaks of a time when everyday life songs. The project culminated in a play written by for Zuni and Appalachian people followed the participants, The Coming Home: The Anniversary, cycles of nature more closely. It suggests to the audi- which was performed by a multigenerational cast ence that a contemporary assessment of some of

16 those traditions might provide some solutions to Producing free Shakespeare in Washington had current social and economic problems. been Kahn’s secret wish since he accepted the posi- The play was enthusiastically received by audi- tion at The Shakespeare Theatre at the Folger ences at the Zuni Indian Reservation and in Library in 1986. But he kept it close to the vest Whitesburg, where it has had lasting effect. The until he had boosted attendance at the 200-seat Zuni artists have formalized a theater group that, theater and achieved other artistic goals, such as like Roadside, draws their original productions from heightening production values and reintroducing their oral, music and dance traditions. The study of non-traditional casting. Zuni language is also being introduced in reserva- In 1990, with the theater running at capacity, tion schools. In Kahn announced plans to move the mainstage sea- Roadside’s own commu- son to a larger space (443 seats) in downtown nity, the benefits of this Washington and to produce free outdoor Seeing communities cross-cultural exchange Shakespeare the following season at the abandoned create their own art have been felt too. Carter Barron Amphitheater in the city’s Rock and develop their Interest has been Creek Park. “Much of the audience I wanted to cultural resources is renewed in the area’s reach couldn’t get into the theater at the Folger,” more than just a Native American histo- Kahn said. The intent of the free outdoor perfor- ry. The local Kiwanis mances was to serve a broader audience more repre- reward—it’s also a Club organized a meet- sentative of the city’s demographics (75 percent of testament to putting ing of regional Indian the population is African American) and reach audiences first. tribes and set up a many people who wouldn’t otherwise be able or museum in a downtown inclined to attend the theater or ever see a storefront to exhibit Shakespeare play. Indian artifacts found in Central Appalachia. In June 1991, The Shakespeare Theatre’s Free Seeing communities create their own art and For All debuted with a production of The Merry develop their cultural resources is Roadside’s great- Wives of Windsor, starring African American actor est reward and just one more testament to putting Paul Winfield. Two weeks of performances drew audiences at the center of their work. 30,000 people and the interest of the Lila Wallace- Reader’s Digest Fund. The Fund pledged to support Reaching new audiences reaffirms the Free For All for the following three seasons, over timelessness of Shakespeare which time audiences swelled to 45,000 for two- Michael Kahn, The Shakespeare Theatre week runs of As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing and The Comedy of Errors. he fall 1994 meeting of The Shakespeare “The audiences we draw for Free For All are Theatre’s board of directors proved deci- completely multiracial, multigenerational and from sive to the future of the Washington, a variety of economic backgrounds,” said Kahn. “A T D.C.-based theater. It could have passed lot of these people don’t normally attend theater.” quickly and quietly, the board easily determining The Shakespeare Theatre estimates that 40 percent that with the end of a three-year grant from the Lila of the Free For All audience comprises target audi- Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund and no new funding ence segments that include African Americans, on the horizon, the theater’s free summer perfor- Latinos, Asian Americans, the disabled, seniors and mances of Shakespeare should be discontinued. young people. The theater’s outreach is accom- However, Michael Kahn said, that meeting proved plished mostly through subway and bus advertising to be one of the board’s most vital conversations in and radio public service advertisements. “We’re try- his eight years there as artistic director. “The board ing to reach an audience that probably doesn’t read decided Shakespeare Free For All was as important the Washington Post,” Kahn explained. to the meaning of the theater as anything else we Although Kahn insists the summer production did,” said Kahn, “even if it costs $500,000 to pro- was not designed to build audiences for the theater’s duce and doesn’t bring in any revenue.”

17 mainstage season at the Lansburgh, there has been a work from the past,” he added. “Properly presented, 5 to 7 percent crossover of the Free For All audi- Shakespeare opens doors for kids to talk about ence members that the theater has managed to events they don’t normally have the chance to dis- solicit by mail. In a special introductory offer, the cuss.” theater extends them a 25 percent discount on tick- Since 1994, there has been what Kahn calls “a ets to the first production of the mainstage season, permanent commitment” to the summer program. as well as discounts on subscriptions, which some To sustain the program over the past two seasons, take. the theater’s board of directors has pledged to raise “I have always believed that Shakespeare’s plays $100,000 annually from its ranks. The theater’s were written for everyone and engage audiences in development staff has cultivated partnerships with ways other plays don’t,” Kahn said. “That belief was corporations and has also started a Friends of Free affirmed for me when I saw the response of the Free For All group to attract individual contributions, For All audiences,” he continued. “No one can tell which guarantee donors reserved seats at the first- me Shakespeare is unworthy of today’s audiences come, first-served performances. In a recent devel- because he’s a dead white European male. opment, the board has begun testing the water for a “Making Shakespeare accessible doesn’t mean $12 million capital campaign. Part of that effort making it dumb and easy,” he commented. In fact, would be to establish an endowment and use the he explained, performing to a large audience in an annual income from it to support Free For All and environment that closely parallels the one for other artistic initiatives. which Shakespeare wrote poses greater challenges “Free For All represents just one-sixth of our to the director and actors. “The actors must speak season and consumes one-third of our audience better and their thought must be richer to create development and fundraising staff time, but it has deeper characters and more complex action.” become central to the mission of The Shakespeare High school students and their families are Theatre” said Kahn. “We are here to present also targeted for Free For Shakespeare’s work in ways that make it accessible.” All. Throughout the year, In 1995, in recognition of The Shakespeare Although the free The Shakespeare Theatre Theatre’s dedication to serving a broad public, it summer performances serves metropolitan area was honored with the D.C. Humanities Award. students with a range of of Shakespeare are programs, including spe- Overcoming bias to create a new, not designed to build cial matinees, touring per- diverse audience audiences for its formances, seminars and Kenny Leon, The Alliance Theatre Company workshops. Text Alive! is mainstage season, the s artistic director of Atlanta’s Alliance theater has experi- a curriculum-partnership program developed by the Theatre Company, Kenny Leon does enced a 5 to 7 percent theater that encourages double time as its ambassador. At lun- crossover. the in-depth study of A cheons, dinners and meetings around Shakespeare’s plays town and in his regularly scheduled Lunchtime with throughout the school Kenny programs, he is the epitome of optimism, tol- year. Through Text Alive!, nearly 2,500 high school erance and perseverance, winning patrons and sup- students annually are offered a variety of opportuni- porters wherever he goes with his charisma and ties to attend performances and rehearsals and talk enthusiasm. His staff follows suit, with never a neg- with company members. The school year culmi- ative word about the challenges of rebuilding the nates with an invitation to The Shakespeare theater’s audience base or a complaint about any Theatre’s Free For All, including tickets for students constituent, past or present. and their families delivered to the schools and buses Yet Leon would have ample reason to feel bat- provided for transportation. Shakespeare’s plays tle weary from time to time. As the first African have at their heart numerous themes that touch the American to lead The Alliance and one of a hand- lives of adolescents regardless of race or culture, ful of blacks to ever head a resident theater in this Kahn said. “They find excitement connecting to country, he has met with plenty of negative reac-

18 18 tions to his position. When Leon was promoted to cent of subscribers and single-ticket buyers. It has artistic director of The Alliance in 1989, he also won back some lapsed older subscribers and announced a platform of inclusiveness and began many new and younger white subscribers. In the programming two works each season by or about 1996-97 season, the subscriber base resurged to blacks to better serve the city’s 60 percent African 18,500 at a time when subscriptions are declining at American population. His first few seasons included theaters around the country. several of August Wilson’s works, as well as other eon has captured public attention at home such nationally known plays as Driving Miss Daisy and nationally with premieres of Atlanta and Miss Evers Boys and the popular Broadway playwright Pearl Cleage’s acclaimed and musical Ain’t L popular works Flyin’ West, Blues for an Misbehavin’. Audience Alabama Sky and Bourbon at the Border. For the Leon says he wants response to Leon’s pres- Olympic Arts Festival in Summer 1996, The everyone in the ence and his play selec- Alliance commissioned Alfred Uhry to write The community to feel so tions was stunningly Last Night of Ballyhoo, which is currently running on closely connected to negative. Within three Broadway and won a 1997 Tony Award for Best seasons, the number of Play. The Alliance that subscribers plummeted But one of the greatest triumphs for Leon is the they’ll say, “This is my from 22,000 to 14,000. audience crossover that’s been achieved at The theater.” (See related articles, Alliance. African Americans can be found at every “Building Audiences: performance throughout the season. “The audience Stories from America’s for Ibsen’s Ghosts this season was 20 percent African Theaters,” August 1996 and January 1997.) American,” he reported, “and the cast was all “I found the racism to be deeper and different white.” than what I thought it would be,” he said. “There When asked how far the theater has come were biases on both sides. Whites thought the pro- since he assumed the helm in 1989, Leon said, “On gramming would be pro-black, political and make a scale of one to 10, we’re at six. We have four more them feel guilty. And blacks dismissed me as just a long strokes to pull.” His goals for the next few sea- token.” sons include further diversifying the work presented ccording to Leon, the board’s commit- on stage to reach the city’s large pockets of ment to diversify The Alliance’s audi- Hispanics, Asian Americans and Native Americans. ence was sustained by national recog- “I want to give a sense of ownership of The A nition of their efforts, including the Alliance to every community,” he said, “so everyone announcement in late 1991 of the Lila Wallace- can say, ‘This is my theater.’” Leon hopes to create Reader’s Digest Fund’s three-year grant to the the- an even greater crossover of African American ater for $1 million. The grant supported the the- audience members by featuring more works about ater’s outreach to new audiences, and it bought the human condition that speak to all cultures, such Leon time to prove the artistic and box office merits as the theater’s highly acclaimed 1994-95 produc- of his vision and rebuild public trust in the theater. tion of Angels in America: The Millennium Through strong programming and strategic Approaches. He intends to identify more playwrights marketing, The Alliance had attracted 2,000 of color who are writing about universal themes. African American subscribers by the end of its audi- Leon says he will have achieved his goals when ence-development grant in the 1994-95 season, audiences embrace the theater’s mission of includ- accounting for 12 percent of the theater’s total sub- ing many different voices and points of view and scribers. (In the 1990-91 season, the subscriber base when they show pride in what’s been accomplished. was 3 percent African American.) In successive sea- How will that be demonstrated? It is already begin- sons, the theater has continued to attract African ning, he said, in the willingness of audience mem- Americans, who currently represent 12 to 15 per- bers to sit next to someone different from them-

19 selves. “Our audience is starting to feel the theater ducted as part of the evaluation of the Lila Wallace- is a safe place to explore issues,” he reflected. Reader’s Digest Fund’s Theater Initiative, Russell “There’s a dialogue going on among our patrons sent a tidal wave through the organization when she that would never have taken place if we hadn’t announced to the staff that the theater’s play selec- stuck with the effort to diversify all these years.” tions did not complement its audience’s interests, nor did its goal to diversify audience make sense at High standards, strong infrastructure that time. (See related article in “Building and bold aspirations Audiences: Stories From America’s Theaters,” Walter Dallas, Freedom Theatre August 1996.) Dallas took her analysis and recommendations ince he arrived at Philadelphia’s Freedom to heart and programmed a season for 1995-96 that Theatre in 1993, Walter Dallas has helped helped further tap what he came to understand was set in motion a series of changes that have Freedom’s core audience: African American women S transformed the African American theater over age 35, college educated, relatively affluent from a grassroots operation to a sharply managed and conservative. Dallas was apparently on target Equity theater with its sight now set on joining the with his selections because the audience for the League of Resident Theaters (LORT). 1995-96 season grew 29 percent to 13,400. Ticket Dallas entered at a time of great promise for sales increased 56 percent, with paid capacity grow- Freedom, which was founded in the mid-1960s, ing from 62 to 75 percent. Income from group sales making it one of the more than doubled, constituting 60 percent of all nation’s oldest African ticket sales. American theaters. A Knowing what the When asked about the artistic limitations of new 298-seat theater programming to suit a particular market segment, audience likes-- was beginning construc- Dallas responded: “It really satisfies my producer’s instead of making tion, and Freedom had hat. Before I was trying to put together a season for programming just been awarded a an audience I didn’t know. I was doing theater I five-year $500,000 liked and guessing what the audience might like. decisions based on grant from the Lila intuition--helps Dallas Now I know the parameters and it’s forcing me to Wallace-Reader’s Digest be creative in new ways.” Fund to diversify its be creative in new he new emphasis on serving audience, audience. Dallas had ways. said Dallas, has helped Freedom’s infra- been a guest director at structure grow “in leaps and bounds.” theaters around the The theater has defined areas of man- country and had just T agement, marketing and sales, and development. As completed a 10-year stint as head of Philadelphia’s those areas have become specialized, the profession- University of the Arts’ theater department. He alism of the staff has grown. So too have systems of brought with him a vision for creating new artistic operation. “We are now a research-based institu- standards of quality for Freedom. tion,” Dallas said, “and when we consider taking on Ironically, Freedom’s growth surged forward projects, we have models for measuring their benefit when the theater decided to rededicate itself to to Freedom.” expanding its core African American audience, As Freedom’s new theater nears completion — rather than trying to reach a more diverse audience. it’s slated to open in winter 1998 — Dallas hopes to In the second season of the audience-development similarly expand and specialize the production staff. grant, Dallas and his board hired a director of mar- Increased revenues are already allowing him to con- keting, Jocelyn Russell, who holds an MBA from sider hiring for the positions of associate artistic Wharton. After reviewing a marketing study of director, staff producer and dramaturg. audiences for Philadelphia cultural institutions con-

20 With an effective infrastructure in place and allas was surprised to also see a strong greater clarity about artistic programming, Dallas response from those he calls has been able to pick “Generation X folks,” who have more and choose what he recently discovered and embraced the wishes to direct in D film, and from people living in the surrounding Pleased with the Freedom’s season and neighborhood who have never attended Freedom response of accept invitations to before. “As I make my way around the community, “Generation X” to direct at other theaters. people who normally don’t come to Freedom tell Cooley High, Dallas In the 1996-97 season, me they’re buying tickets to see Cooley High,” Dallas says his next chal- he directed seven out- said. “I want to know more about these people and side shows, including how we can draw them into something else at lenge is to find ways to the premieres of August Freedom.” That would mark another breakthrough draw them into future Wilson’s Jitney at for the theater. Freedom productions. Crossroads Theatre and, at McCarter Theatre, The Old Settlor, a play by John Henry Redwood he discov- ered at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. Dallas also set the Mark Taper Forum’s production of Having Our Say, The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years and, at the Goodman Theatre, Seeking the Genesis by Kia Corthron. “These are the theaters we want to keep com- pany with,” said Dallas, alluding to his aspiration to make Freedom part of LORT. He admits that oppor- tunities to direct at resident theaters have allowed him to do homework for Freedom. “I want to see how these theaters operate so I can learn how to easily and gracefully move my theater into that league,” he said. “I came home with the confidence that the plays I directed outside this season could have been done at Freedom.” He said the theater is already in line with many of LORT’s salary and contractual requirements. At home, Dallas closed Freedom’s season with his production of Cooley High, the first stage adapta- tion of the 1970s cult movie about the coming of age of five young black men in Chicago. A month prior to the play’s opening, it was sold to 80 percent capacity. Dallas was excited about the breadth of audience that had already responded. He felt assured that the play, which is set in 1964, would appeal to people who had graduated from high school in the 1960s, which includes much of Freedom’s core audience. But it would also have a strong pull on men, further expanding the core.

21 Resources: Contact information for theaters participating in the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund initiative

Alabama Shakespeare Festival Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum State Theatre 135 North Grand Avenue One Festival Drive Los Angeles CA 90012 Montgomery AL 36117-4605 (213) 628-2772 (334) 271-5300 Luis Alfaro & Diane Rodriguez Kent Thompson Directors, Latino Theater Initiative Artistic Director The Cleveland Play House Alliance Theatre Company 8500 Euclid Avenue 1280 Peachtree Street, NE Cleveland OH 44106 Atlanta GA 30309 (216) 795-7010 (404) 733-4650 Dean Gladden Kenny Leon Managing Director Artistic Director Crossroads Theatre Co. American Music Theater Festival, Inc. Seven Livingston Avenue 123 South Broad Street, Suite 1820 New Brunswick NJ 08901 Philadelphia PA 19109 (908) 249-5581 (215) 893-1570 Ricardo Khan Marjorie Samoff Artistic Director Producing Director Dell’Arte, Inc. Arena Stage P.O. Box 816 Sixth & Maine Avenue, SW Blue Lake CA 95525 Washington DC 20024 (707) 668-5663 (202) 554-9066 Michael Fields Stephen Richard Managing & Co-Artistic Director Executive Director El Teatro Campesino Berkeley Repertory Theatre P.O. Box 1240 2025 Addison Street San Juan Bautista CA 95045 Berkeley CA 94704 (408) 623-2444 (510) 204-8901 Luis Valdez Tony Taccone Artistic Director Artistic Director Freedom Theatre Bilingual Foundation of the Arts 1346 North Broad Street 421 North Avenue 19 Philadelphia PA 19121 Los Angeles CA 90031 (215) 765-2793 (213) 225-4044 Walter Dallas Margarita Galban Artistic Director Artistic Director Goodman Theatre Center Stage 200 South Columbus Drive 700 North Calvert Street Chicago IL 60603 Baltimore MD 21202 (312) 443-3811 (410) 685-3200 Roche Schulfer Irene Lewis Producing Director Artistic Director

22 Guthrie Theater Foundation The Mixed Blood Theatre Company 725 Vineland Place 1501 South Fourth Street Minneapolis MN 55403 Minneapolis MN 55454 (612) 347-1100 (612) 338-0937 David Hawkanson Jack Reuler Managing Director Artistic Director

Hartford Stage Company The National Theatre of the Deaf- CT 50 Church Street Five West Main Street Hartford CT 06103 Chester CT 06412 (203) 525-5601 (860) 526-4971 Stephen J. Albert TTY: 526-4974 Managing Director David Hays Founder and Artistic Director Indiana Repertory Theatre 140 W. Washington Street Oakland Ensemble Theatre Indianapolis IN 46204 1428 Alice (317) 635-5277 Oakland CA 94612 Janet Allen (510) 763-7774 Artistic Director Zerita Dotson Managing Director INTAR Hispanic American Arts Center 420 West 42nd Street Pan Asian Repertory Theatre New York NY 10036 47 Great Jones Street (212) 695-6134 New York NY 10012 Max Ferra (212) 505-5655 Artistic Director Tisa Chang Artistic/Producing Director Irish Arts Center 553 West 51st Street Penumbra Theatre Company New York NY 10019 Martin Luther King Center (212) 757-3318 270 North Kent Street Marianne Delaney St. Paul MN 55102 Executive Director (612) 290-8683 Louis Bellamy Jomandi Productions, Inc. Artistic Director 1444 Mayson Street, NE Atlanta GA 30324 The People’s Light & Theatre Company (404) 876-6346 39 Conestoga Road Marsha Jackson-Randolph Malvern PA 19355-1798 Co-Artistic/Managing Director (610) 647-1900 Abagail Adams Manhattan Theatre Club, Inc. Artistic Director 453 West 16th Street New York NY 10011 Perseverance Theatre (212) 645-5590 914 Third Street Barry Grove Douglas AK 99824 Executive Producer (907) 364-2421 Ext. 8 Lynette Turner Producing Director

23 Pregones Theater Seven Stages, Inc. 700 Grand Concourse, 2nd floor 1105 Euclid Avenue NE Bronx NY 10451 Atlanta GA 30307 (718) 585-1202 (404) 522-0911 Rosalba Rolon Del Hamilton Director Artistic Director

Repertorio Español The Shakespeare Theatre 138 East 27th Street 301 East Capitol Street, SE New York NY 10016 Washington DC 20003 (212) 889-2850 (202) 547-3230 Gilberto Zaldivar Michael Kahn Executive Producer Artistic Director

Roadside Theater St. Louis Black Repertory Company 306 Madison Street 634 North Grand Avenue, Suite 10F Whitesburg KY 41858 St. Louis MO 63103 (606) 633-0108 (314) 534-3807 Dudley Cocke Ronald Himes Director Producing Director

San Diego Repertory Theatre, Inc. Theater at Lime Kiln 79 Horton Plaza P.O. Box 663 San Diego CA 92101 Lexington VA 24450 (619) 231-3586 (540) 463-7088 Sam Woodhouse Barry Mines Producing Director Artistic Director

San Francisco Mime Troupe Victory Gardens Theater 855 Treat Avenue 2257 North Lincoln San Francisco CA 94110 Chicago IL 60614 (415) 285-1717 (312) 549-5788 Patrick Osbon Denis Zacek General Manager Artistic Director

Seattle Group Theatre 305 Harrison Street Seattle WA 98109 (206) 441-9480 Jose Carrasquillo Artistic Director

Second Stage Theatre, Inc. P.O. Box 1807 Ansonia Station New York NY 10023 (212) 787-8302 Carole Rothman Artistic Director

24 The mission of the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund is to invest in programs that enhance the cultural life of communities and encourage people to make the arts and culture an active part of their everyday lives.

General Editors: Rory MacPherson and Bruce S. Trachtenberg, Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund; Writer: Kristen Simone; Design: Chris Gorman Associates Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund Two Park Avenue, 23rd Floor New York, NY 10016 Tel: 212 251-9800 Fax: 212 679-6990 www.lilawallace.org