Project Grant

Through this project, outcomes include: 1) delivering an accessible, affordable, and engaging arts event for our community targeting very young audiences ages 3-12 and their favorite adults; 2) providing local youth artists ages 8-18 the opportunity to achieve greater confidence, speaking skills, teamwork skills, and academic improvement through the production process of auditions, rehearsals, and performances as performers and 3) providing high school artists an outlet for artistic expression through the collaborative process of designing and producing a live theatre production.; Deliver affordable and engaging arts for young audiences, build life skills through quality theatre education for youth performers, and provide high school artists an opportunity to direct and design a show. Reflection and evaluation are central to the work we do at GREAT. We credit the process of asking for and implementing feedback as a major contributor to our growth and continued relevance to our community. Throughout this grant proposal we have included actual quotes from audience members, youth artists, and educators who attended our most recent Youth Artist Project indicating just one of the ways we receive, listen to, and respond to evaluation feedback. We also intentionally seek feedback from the youth artists, asking them to respond/reflect on the process at various points throughout the rehearsal and production period. The project ends with a debrief of youth artists and a debrief session with mentors where we reflect upon the process, our goals and areas for future growth. These surveys and notes from feedback sessions guide our planning, and have directly impacted how we work with youth on this project as we adapt and modify the project every year based on what we have learned. Additionally, GREAT tracks specific indicators of the organization's fiscal health, reviewed monthly by the board or directors. Measured indicators include audience satisfaction, budget vs. actual, days with cash on hand, growth and retention of donors, total contributed revenue, audience retention, growth and retention of season subscribers, and volunteer satisfaction. Our evaluation methods have and will continue to inform our planning, processes, goals, strategies, and programming. ; The project will be evaluated with both qualitative and quantitative data through reflection meetings and surveys with the youth artist team, audience, and volunteers actors.