Operating Support
ACHF Arts Access
Stages Theatre Company advances artistic excellence through innovation and collaboration. In fiscal year 2013, Stages Theatre Company will produce 4 new works that have been commissioned by Stages Theatre Company; produce one innovative piece specifically for a preschool audience; and launch a Festival of New Plays and Youth Playlabs. In order to evaluate our productions, we hire a professional data collection and evaluation specialist to survey staff, patrons, and Board members, soliciting feedback regarding artistic quality, play selection, and appropriateness of material. Production staff, youth participants, and crew of every production also formally evaluate the production process and their experiences. In addition, the director, stage manager, and designers conduct an assessment during a post-production meeting. As a quantitative measure, we monitor attendance totals and adherence to budget. Our training programs are evaluated by feedback from students, parents, and teaching staff, and through periodic classroom observation by department leaders. We quantify outcomes of our school programs and measure their effectiveness through student testing and the use of logic models which articulate desired behavioral and academic performance outcomes. 2: Stages Theatre Company expands outreach and access to underserved communities. In fiscal year 2013, Stages Theatre Company will include a sensory-friendly performance of one production for children on the autism spectrum or with other disabilities; offer selected performances with open captioning; and increase the number of individuals from underserved communities who access Stages Theatre Company programming through the Open Door program by 30% (as compared to fiscal year 2011). In addition to the methods described above that Stages Theatre Company uses to evaluate all its programs, we have begun to explore new ways to measure the improved social functioning of students in its Creative Accepting Sensory-Friendly Theatre program through administration of various autism skills assessments. Stages is working with several partner organizations to develop an evaluation tool that will allow us to see growth in certain basic social skills, including interaction with peers and group participation.
In its 2012-2013 season, Stages Theatre Company presented 8 innovative productions for youth in our community, including 4 world premieres: Duck for President (world premiere); Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (world premiere); Madeline's Christmas; Diary of a Worm A Spider and A Fly; Owl Moon (world premiere); Zen Shorts (world premiere of Theatre for Young Audiences); Cinder Edna; and Disney's Aladdin, Jr. We continue to collaborate with hundreds of schools, social service agencies, and other community organizations to provide high-quality arts programming. Both in our space and out in the community, Stages continues to provide programming that encourages children and youth to reach their full potential both in the classroom and on the stage. We added theatre arts residency programs in kindergarten classes in six Hopkins and two Minneapolis public elementary schools. In total these collaborations allowed us to reach out to over 900 students last year. 2: Stages Theatre Company continues to invest significant organizational resources in its efforts to reach underserved communities, including people with disabilities. Throughout the past year, Stages has 1) added open captioning to two of its 2012-2013 productions; and 2) developed and offered theatre arts classes and a sensory-friendly performance for youth along the autism spectrum. Working with several community organizations and educators in the field of autism, Stages developed a series of classes which were held in fall 2012 and summer 2013 dedicated to creating a safe and welcoming environment for children affected by autism in order to foster self-expression, social engagement, and confidence. Stages also held a sensory friendly performance of Owl Moon on March 9, 2013. During this performance, house lights were dimmed, sound volumes were lowered and audience members were allowed and encouraged to move around the theatre space as needed.
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