Park Square Theater Inc.
Background and Purpose
Park Square Theatre company, (Park Square Theatre) a mid-size professional producing theater, was founded in 1974 in Lowertown’s Park Square Court building. In 1995, the theater relocated to its current 340 seat home in the 7th Place Theatre of the Historic Hamm Building in downtown Saint Paul. Its mission is “to enrich our community by producing and presenting exceptional live theater that touches the heart, engages the mind and delights the spirit.”
The theater’s organizational goals include being an artistic leader by continuously enhancing the quality of its work, collaborating in education by serving students and educators, and being a good neighbor by maintaining a theater deeply rooted in the community. The theater presents European and American works through eight full-scale theater productions annually with an administrative staff of nine led by a 18-member board of directors. With a subscription base of 2,780, Park Square has the third largest theater subscription base in the Twin Cities behind the Guthrie Theater and The Children’s Theatre Company.
The adult audience has grown by 29% over the past three seasons. The theater also offers one of the most complete education programs in the region for grades 6-12, reaching up to 25,000 area students annually. All told, more than 53,000 people attended the theatre in 2007-08.
Current Request
Park Square Theatre’s board and staff have recently begun implementing “The Next Stage,” the theater’s strategic plan for 2008-2011. The plan includes a $2.1 million campaign in order to achieve the goals outlined in four core areas: Artistic Vision; Succession Planning; Financial Stability; and Branding/Positioning/External Relations. Artistically, the theater developed a plan to create a second space and a “third audience” that would add to their current components: the main stage subscription series and their education series for teens. This third offering would target younger adult audiences who are interested in edgier, contemporary plays.
Park Square is planning to build a 150 seat proscenium stage in the Hamm Building. There they would present some of their own work as well as productions from other small theater companies. Succession planning is part of “The Next Stage” as the board wishes to prepare for all the issues involved with a change in leadership. As for financial stability, the theater has had its challenges over the years and is working toward debt reduction and the development of a reserve.
To grow the artistic vision, stabilize the finances, and build individual giving and corporate sponsorship, the board recognized that the theater would require a significantly stronger external relations commitment than was currently in place. Mature leadership guiding fund development, marketing, and external relations was seen as key to achieving the other three prongs of the plan. With help from The Saint Paul Foundation, the theater hired Michael-jon Pease, a seasoned arts administrator to serve as Park Square’s first Director of External Relations. Park Square is now responding to the Foundation’s invitation to return with a request for second year support.