Operating Support
ACHF Arts Access
Increase overall attendance in the second season of the Cowles Center for Performing Arts (2012-2013) by at least 10%. With a goal to expand audiences, we track audience attendance and growth. Audience growth in 2012- 2013 indicates an increased level of interest and awareness within the general public. Critical media reviews factor into our evaluation, along with audience feedback and response. Our second season featured multiple sold-out performances, and received coverage in the Star Tribune, Pioneer Press, and other leading print, television, and radio media outlets. We plan to use our new Patron's Edge box office software to incorporate in-depth audience response feedback systems, as well as methodology to track audience demographics, gauge our effectiveness in encouraging the diversification of audience interest over time, and other criteria for evaluation over a long-term scope. On a micro and macro-level, these evaluation assessments are used to make critical decisions as to how to adjust programming from year to year, as well as how to shape The Cowles Center's long-term vision for the future. 2: Diversify and expand the impact of the Cowles Center’s educational program. Present a full schedule of student workshop and matinee programs. Work with eight schools to provide five-day Distance Learning sessions followed by a field trip to Cowles Center for a student matinee featuring either Jason Noer (hip-hop) or Zenon Dance (jazz/modern), a post-performance question and answer session with the artists, and an onstage workshop. Our evaluation methods incorporate feedback from all participants, including Cowles Center teaching artists, school teachers, and students. The methods and materials gather quantitative and qualitative data to evaluate the following: overall program impact and effectiveness, mission fulfillment, participant preparation and interaction, curriculum goal achievement, content, technology, and use of resources.
With 31,424 tickets sold, the Cowles Center's inaugural performance season helped to establish itself as a prominent center for dance and the performing arts on the Twin Cities cultural landscape. One of our primary goals is to grow and develop audiences for dance, and at the close of our second season, we can see that we are fulfilling this goal. Our audiences for the second performance season showed an increase in attendance of 10%, with 34,927 tickets sold. In conjunction with our 2012-2013 Season, we also launched our new Meet the Company: Talk Back Series, giving audience members an opportunity to meet artistic directors and company members in intimate question and answer sessions following select performances. We reached an estimated 1,153 audience members with 17 Talk Backs in the second season. 2: In 2012-2013, the Cowles Center expanded its Arts in Education Programs with the launch of the Student Matinee Program. During the school year, we offered twelve diverse matinees to nearly 5,000 students from 39 schools and 47 home school groups. The Distance Learning Program continues to grow in response to demand. In 2012-2013, we served 1,779 students statewide with 203 workshop sessions, representing a 5% increase in capacity from the previous year. We partnered with thirty two schools, including twelve new partners. In early 2012, with support from the Minnesota State Arts Board, we launched a pilot program that integrated the Distance Learning Program with student matinee performances of productions on our inaugural season. The pilot was a success and we have integrated Distance Learning with performances in 2012-2013 in conjunction with the full launch of the Student Matinee Program. We served students in ten schools with integrated programming in the 2012-2013 school year. In addition to achieving our quantitative goals, qualitative feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. As an example, according to a teacher in Mora, the Student Matinee Program gave students a greater appreciation for an art form they may never have experienced before, saying it was most likely their first time ever [attending a dance performance], given our community distance from a theater like The Cowles. Another shared, the theater experience was new for several of my students and they learned so much! [Witnessing a performance] was entirely new for them and it was an awesome, confidence-building experience.
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