PARK SQUARE THEATRE
Programs
General Audience Programming
GENERAL AUDIENCE PROGRAMMING-PARK SQUARE'S MISSION IS TO ENRICH OUR COMMUNITY BY PRODUCING AND PRESENTING EXCEPTIONAL LIVE THEATRE THAT TOUCHES THE HEART, ENGAGES THE MIND AND DELIGHTS THE SPIRIT. NAMED MPLS/ST. PAUL MAGAZINE'S 2012 BEST MID-SIZED THEATRE, PARK SQUARE THEATRE IS THE LARGEST MID-SIZED THEATRE IN MINNESOTA AND THE ONLY ONE WITH TWO STAGES. THE THEATRE GENERALLY SERVES THE MARKET'S THIRD-LARGEST SUBSCRIBER BASE AND AN ANNUAL AUDIENCE OF 82,000. PARK SQUARE THEATRE IS A LEADING PRODUCER OF WORK BY LIVING WRITERS, INCLUDING WOMEN AND PEOPLE OF COLOR, COMMITTED TO CREATING A SENSE OF CONNECTION AND BELONGING FOR THE COMMUNITIES IN OUR AREA. WITHIN DAYS OF THE MARCH 2020 SHUTDOWN ORDER DUE TO THE COVID 19 GLOBAL PANDEMIC, PARK SQUARE PIVOTED TO ONLINE OFFERINGS AND CONTINUED TO OPERATE IN THIS WAY THROUGH THE 2020-2021 SEASON. ONLINE OFFERINGS INCLUDED MONTHLY ENGAGEMENTS OF THE MYSTERIOUS OLD RADIO LISTENING SOCIETY'S ORIGINAL OLD-STYLE RADIO PERFORMANCES AND PERFORMANCES OF CLASSIC RADIO SCRIPTS (INCLUDING "SORRY, WRONG NUMBER AND "A CHRISTMAS CAROL" AMONG OTHERS), A HALLOWEEN-THEMED PERFORMANCE ENTITLED THEATRE OF THE MACABRE AND A FULLY-STAGED FILM OF ANTONIO DUKE'S "TEARS OF MOONS" WHICH WAS OFFERED TO BOTH GENERAL AUDIENCES AND SCHOOL AUDIENCES ONLINE. THE LIVE PRODUCTIONS SCHEDULED FOR 2020-2021 SEASON CONTINUE TO BE RESCHEDULED FOR THE 2021-2022 AND 2022-2023 SEASONS. BEFORE THE PANDEMIC BEGAN, PARK SQUARE BEGAN CONVERSATIONS WITH STEPPINGSTONE THEATRE ABOUT SHARING SPACE AND THOSE CONVERSATIONS MOVED TO DISCUSSION OF A MERGER TO CREATE SAINT PAUL'S "THEATER FOR LIFE SERVING PEOPLE FROM AGE 3 TO 103." IN NOVEMBER 2021, STEPPINGSTONE THEATRE MOVED IN WITH PARK SQUARE THEATRE AND BOTH ORGANIZATIONS BEGAN FINDING WAYS TO SHARE OPERATING COSTS AND STAFF. WHILE BOTH ENTITIES REMAIN SEPARATE AS OF THIS WRITING, BOTH ORGANIZATIONS ARE WORKING TOWARDS A PLANNED MERGER WHICH SHOULD BE COMPLETED BY SEPTEMBER 1, 2022.GeographiesNot indicatedDatesSep 1, 2020 – Aug 31, 2021Source990No causes providedNo populations provided–$398.2KStudent Programming and Immersion Days
STUDENT PROGRAMMING-OUR APPROACH TO STUDENTS IS MISSION-DRIVEN AND TEENS ARE AN ESSENTIAL PARK SQUARE AUDIENCE. BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, PARK SQUARE SERVED ONE OUT OF FIFTEEN 7TH-12TH GRADERS FROM ACROSS A MULTI-STATE REGION. IN ADDITION TO OFFERING REDUCED-PRICE MATINEES FOR SCHOOLS, PARK SQUARE'S SIGNATURE "IMMERSION DAYS" FEATURE ARTIST-LED WORKSHOPS, INTERACTIVE DEMONSTRATIONS, AND POST-SHOW DISCUSSIONS. AFTER THE PANDEMIC SHUTDOWN, FILMED VERSIONS OF RELEVANT PRODUCTIONS HAVE BEEN OFFERED TO SCHOOL GROUPS.GeographiesNot indicatedDatesSep 1, 2020 – Aug 31, 2021Source990No causes providedNo populations provided–$88.6KProgram 1 [2024]
STUDENT PROGRAMMING-PARK SQUARE MERGED WITH STEPPINGSTONE THEATRE (SST) ON SEPTEMBER 1, 2022. STARTED AS A SMALL SCHOOL RESIDENCY PROGRAM IN 1987, SST INSPIRES YOUNG PEOPLE OF ALL AGES TO EXPLORE STORIES, IDEAS, AND CULTURES WITH THEIR IMAGINATIONS THROUGH SUMMER CAMPS, SCHOOL-YEAR CLASSES, COMMUNITY PROGRAMS AND SHOWS STARRING YOUNG ACTORS. SST'S HISTORY OF PRODUCING AWARD-WINNING THEATRE FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES IS ROOTED IN FINDING AND FEATURING DIVERSE VOICES. THE MERGER IS BUILDING ON PARK SQUARE'S STELLAR REPUTATION BY EXPANDING PROGRAMMING, AUDIENCES AND PARTICIPANTS, AS WELL AS ENHANCING OUR ABILITY TO SERVE AN EVEN MORE DIVERSE POPULATION FROM SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS. AS OF SEPTEMBER 1, 2022, SST IS NOW PARK SQUARE'S CREATIVE LEARNING BRANCH. THE NEW ORGANIZATION IS EXPANDING ITS OFFERINGS TO INCLUDE A FULL RANGE OF THEATRE EXPERIENCES THAT WILL ENCOMPASS ALL AGES AND THE BEST THAT BOTH THEATRES HAVE TO OFFER: CLASSES AND CAMPS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE, WORKSHOPS FOR ADULTS AND INTER-GENERATIONAL GROUPS, FAMILY-ORIENTED PRODUCTIONS FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES, AND PARK SQUARE'S MAIN STAGE SEASON. PARK SQUARE TYPICALLY SERVES AN AUDIENCE OF APPROXIMATELY 25,000 TEENS ANNUALLY FROM ACROSS THE REGION. DURING 2022, WE PIVOTED TO ONLINE STREAMING OPTIONS, RESUMING LIVE MATINEES IN DECEMBER 2022. OUR TEEN AUDIENCE TYPICALLY REPRESENTS 1 IN EVERY 15 MINNESOTA 7-12 GRADE STUDENTS (15% URBAN (MPLS/SP), 50% SUBURBAN, AND 35% RURAL). SINCE THE TEEN AUDIENCE IS OUR MOST RACIALLY AND ETHNICALLY DIVERSE (OVER 33% ARE STUDENTS OF COLOR), WE CAST CLASSICS LIKE SHAKESPEARE PRODUCTIONS WITH 30-60% ARTISTS OF COLOR BECAUSE STUDENTS RESPOND DIFFERENTLY WHEN THEY SEE THEMSELVES REFLECTED ONSTAGE. OUR YOUTH AUDIENCE IS TYPICALLY 55% STUDENTS WHO SELF-IDENTIFY AS BIPOC AND, BASED ON SUMMER ENROLLMENT, OVER 50% QUALIFY FOR FREE AND REDUCED LUNCH. IN THE SUMMER OF 2021, 80% OF THE PARTICIPANTS WERE FROM ST. PAUL AND ITS SUBURBS, AND 20% LIVED OUTSIDE THE TWIN CITIES (VIRTUAL CLASSES MADE THIS POSSIBLE). CREATIVE LEARNING HAS BEEN CONDUCTING IN-PERSON CLASSES (WITH COVID SAFETY PRECAUTIONS) SINCE WINTER OF 2022, SERVING 781 YOUNG ARTISTS IN 2022. AFTER THE MERGER, THE NUMBERS WILL GROW TO A PROJECTED 70,000+ YOUTH ATTENDING PERFORMANCES AND PARTICIPATING IN EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES.OUR ADULT AUDIENCE IS SPREAD ACROSS THE GREATER TWIN CITIES AREA (INCLUDING WESTERN WISCONSIN). OUR EFFORTS TARGETING YOUNG ADULTS AND PEOPLE OF COLOR AS A STRATEGIC FOCUS OF OUR WORK HAVE BEEN EFFECTIVE. THE POPULATION SERVED REPRESENTS THE MANY MINNESOTA POPULATIONS: 1% AMERICAN INDIAN, 5% ASIAN, 10% BLACK, 5% HISPANIC/LATINO, AND 79% WHITE. WITH OUR CURRENT FOCUS ON DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES, A GREATER PERCENTAGE OF PERFORMANCE ATTENDEES AND EDUCATIONAL/OUTREACH ACTIVITY PARTICIPANTS ARE PEOPLE OF COLOR.GeographiesNot indicatedDatesSep 1, 2023 – Aug 31, 2024Source990No causes providedNo populations provided–$289.9K
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