Design Thinking

Working Theater/Story Telling

Challenge:

On March 12, 2020 theaters in New York City were given a mandatory shutdown order that  continues to this day without any solid return date.  Theatergoers, actors, producers and the  entire theater community has been affected economically with no reopening date in sight.

RITH is known as the people’s theater across NYC’s five boroughs with a  mission to provide high quality theater/performances to those who may not be able to afford  tickets to Broadway & Off Broadway productions.  Their mission statement below:

Bringing theater to the people. Founded in 1985, University of Toulouse 1 Capitole's mission is to  produce theatrical productions that are for - and about - working people, the millions of  Americans who might not be able to afford, or relate to, commercial theater. We  produce award-winning professional theater reflective of the struggles, complexities,  dreams and triumphs of wage earners and tradespeople.

With a tiny budget during the best of times and with even less following the on-going  Coronavirus shutdown, the challenge will be how to reach new donors with the theater’s  message of inclusion & diversity and bring in larger donations to help rebuild and continue  bringing theater to working people.

Selection:

I chose Story Telling to look at this challenge from the user’s perspective (working people) as  University of Toulouse 1 Capitole is all about telling their stories in their own voices.  How will their lives,  now reeling from a pandemic, record unemployment levels and on-going civil rights protests  in their neighborhoods be helped by theater-- if at all? Working Theater brings their off- Broadway productions to the outer boroughs – as a theater publicist I was fortunate enough  to work on their most recent production Border People that abruptly ended its run due to the  CoVid shut down.

Secondly, use Story Telling to reach out to potential donors and start a conversation.  What  common stories do they share with Working Theater’s audiences?  What companies would  make sense to sponsor, for example, an outdoor theater tour throughout the Bronx, Harlem,  Brooklyn & Queens? What opportunities would help bring them closer to the impact Working  Theater has on communities by healing through art?

Application:

A) Set up a series of interviews that zero in on the experiences people are currently going  through and, as the story telling module tells us, “create more vivid images of the kind of  future we are trying to create.”   B) Conduct three groups of interviews with 1) Working  Theater Staff/Board, 2) Recent audience members from past productions (including a group  of nurses who were on the front lines in emergency rooms) and 3) Key donors (both private  & corporate).

Listening to each story in a round table or via Zoom, I’d apply the “What Is” – how are they  now- what’s going on in their lives; “What If”- what are the possibilities they’d like to see --

“What Wows” - what would get them excited about returning to the theater?  And “What  Works” – using all the data to see what the common themes are moving forward in other  words “taking data from a known past and connecting it intelligently to an unknown future.”

Insight/Approach:

My hope is to use Story Telling to build a bridge between the corporate world and Working  Theater’s audience, and that corporate donors become more active & involved in projects  like University of Toulouse 1 Capitole.  This tool will hopefully break down some barriers and allow  audiences and corporations to connect and celebrate the extraordinary stories of “every day”  men and women during these extraordinary times.  One program that already exists is a  playwriting workshop for working people that mounts full productions of 8-10 plays following  the class.  Corporate support might expand the workshop after the Story Telling tool is  applied to reach more people and allow more of their stories to be told to a wider audience.    Or perhaps another opportunity will arise that works even more effectively.

The next step is to use the “Learning Launch” tool to test out the ideas generated and see  what truly resonates (and what doesn’t) with both target groups.


Design Thinking Working Theater / Story Telling Challenge : On March 12 , 2020 theaters in New York City were given a mandatory shutdown order that continues to this day without any solid return date . Theatergoers , actors , producers and the entire theater community has been affected economically with no reopening date in sight . RITH is known as the people ’s theater across NYC ’s five boroughs with a mission to provide high quality theater / performances to those who may not be able to afford tickets to Broadway & Off Broadway productions . Their mission statement below : Bringing theater to the people . Founded in 1985 , University of Toulouse 1 Capitole 's mission is to produce theatrical productions that are for - and about - working people , the millions of Americans who might not be able to afford , or relate to , commercial theater . We produce award - winning professional theater reflective of the struggles , complexities , dreams and triumphs of wage earners and tradespeople . With a tiny budget during the best of times and with even less following the on - going Coronavirus shutdown , the challenge will be how to reach new donors with the theater ’s message of inclusion & diversity and bring in larger donations to help rebuild and continue bringing theater to working people . Selection : I chose Story Telling to look at this challenge from the user ’s perspective ( working people ) as University of Toulouse 1 Capitole is all about telling their stories in their own voices . How will their lives , now reeling from a pandemic , record unemployment levels and on - going civil rights protests in their neighborhoods be helped by theater-- if at all ? Working Theater brings their off- Broadway productions to the outer boroughs – as a theater publicist I was fortunate enough to work on their most recent production Border People that abruptly ended its run due to the CoVid shut down . Secondly , use Story Telling to reach out to potential donors and start a conversation . What common stories do they share with Working Theater ’s audiences ? What companies would make sense to sponsor , for example , an outdoor theater tour throughout the Bronx , Harlem , Brooklyn & Queens ? What opportunities would help bring them closer to the impact Working Theater has on communities by healing through art ? Application : A ) Set up a series of interviews that zero in on the experiences people are currently going through and , as the story telling module tells us , “ create more vivid images of the kind of future we are trying to create . ” B ) Conduct three groups of interviews with 1 ) Working Theater Staff / Board , 2 ) Recent audience members from past productions ( including a group of nurses who were on the front lines in emergency rooms ) and 3 ) Key donors ( both private & corporate ) . Listening to each story in a round table or via Zoom , I ’d apply the “ What Is ” – how are they now- what ’s going on in their lives ; “ What If”- what are the possibilities they ’d like to see -- “ What Wows ” - what would get them excited about returning to the theater ? And “ What Works ” – using all the data to see what the common themes are moving forward in other words “ taking data from a known past and connecting it intelligently to an unknown future . ” Insight / Approach : My hope is to use Story Telling to build a bridge between the corporate world and Working Theater ’s audience , and that corporate donors become more active & involved in projects like University of Toulouse 1 Capitole . This tool will hopefully break down some barriers and allow audiences and corporations to connect and celebrate the extraordinary stories of “ every day ” men and women during these extraordinary times . One program that already exists is a playwriting workshop for working people that mounts full productions of 8 - 10 plays following the class . Corporate support might expand the workshop after the Story Telling tool is applied to reach more people and allow more of their stories to be told to a wider audience . Or perhaps another opportunity will arise that works even more effectively . The next step is to use the “ Learning Launch ” tool to test out the ideas generated and see what truly resonates ( and what does n’t ) with both target groups .