Operating Support
ACHF Arts Access
Open Eye will expand its artistic and community programming to extend and deepen service to a broader segment of the Twin Cities population. A new summer youth program will be launched as well as a performance series for emerging puppeteers; the J-term for Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists students will be hosted at Open Eye; and a new family holiday season show and our annual Toy Theatre after Dark Festival will be widely promoted. Our success was evaluated through customer surveys, a sold out Driveway Tour summer program, and our highest volume of ticket sales. We have also experienced a growth in our subscriber list for eNewsletters. We grew to over 5,000 emails during the fiscal year 2013 operating support year and have continued to grow to now have over 6,500 email addresses. Our Web site was visited 23,548 times with 16,392 unique visits. We have also seen our reach go further than the Twin Cities with the booking of Driveway Tours into the surrounding counties of Anoka, Stillwater, and Washington. We have also reached further into Hennepin and Ramsey counties, not just Minneapolis and St Paul. We had performances in St Bonifacius, New Brighton, and St Louis Park. We also use our theater as a tool for smaller groups and individuals to expand their careers. The theater is a small intimate setting with up to 90 seats available. The perfect setting for a new artist or a known artist trying something new.
Open Eye was successful at expanding its artistic and community programming. The Driveway tour expanded our reach by adding a third show, which allowed us to perform 118 shows last summer. These shows went from backyards, to parks, to community centers, and also into nursing homes and help centers. The J-Term for Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists introduced puppetry to high school students at our theater. The students were able to create puppets and learn the art of puppetry. The Toy Theatre After Dark Festival with ten artists and twelve performances played to over 550 audience members, the festival included a cabaret, a panel discussion and three workshops to reach artists and community members for intimate discussion and training on puppetry. The new holiday show has been postponed until 2014. The youth summer program was launched in summer 2013. We also provided a venue for emerging and upcoming artists by renting to artists such as Claudia Schmidt, Barbara Meyer, Fortune Fools, and Tim Miller. And our season ended with the ever popular artist Kevin Kling in Politico, a work created jointly by Kevin Kling and Michael Sommers.
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