the online Education Survey reporting tool, serves as a resource for theatre .... We are partnered with Mary Baldwin Uni
SPECIAL REPORT ON EDUCATION FEATURING
FIELD REFLECTIONS ON EDUCATION DEPARTMENTS’ ROLES DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION INITIATIVES A N D
F I N D I N G S
TCG EDUCATION SURVEY 2015
IN
EQUITY,
F R O M
AND
TCG FISCAL SURVEY 2015
INTRODUCTION BY LAURIE M. BASKIN DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH, POLICY & COLLECTIVE ACTION, TCG Each year, TCG produces a Special Report on Education (formerly the Education Centerpiece), which is comprised of three sections: a narrative portion that offers voices from the field a platform from which to speak about a specific education-related topic; a presentation of the data from the annual TCG Education Survey, which focuses on programming, demographics served, and staffing; and education-related data from the annual TCG Fiscal Survey, including earned income, contributed income, and expenses. TCG’s Department of Research, Policy & Collective Action hopes that this report provides a wealth of information about education programs across the field and, together with the online Education Survey reporting tool, serves as a resource for theatre professionals and educators. For this Special Report, we have focused the narrative portion on the role of education programs in equity, diversity, and inclusion programming and initiatives. How does the education department address equity, diversity, and inclusion best practices, and how is education staff involved in this work beyond that department at the theatre? Equity, diversity, and inclusion is a long-standing core value at TCG, and we are interested in opening a larger dialogue by highlighting how some theatres’ education departments are practically and philosophically approaching this work. It was important to us that not only the content of the narratives be focused on equity, diversity, and inclusion, but that the narratives come from as diverse a group of theatres and individuals as possible in terms of size, location, history, mission, and perspective. Working in close collaboration with Gus Schulenburg, director of communications & community engagement, and Elena Chang, associate director of equity, diversity & inclusion, we invited pieces by the education directors of seven theatres, including two Theatres of Color and five other theatres that indicated in their responses to Education Survey 2015 a focus on diversity: in the stories that are told; in the pool of teaching artists that would reflect the diversity of audiences and community; in purposefully matching programs to the country’s diversity; and in focusing programs on the diverse backgrounds of student participants. What follows this introduction are those seven pieces, with each narrative offering a different approach and set of choices in the unique voice of that theatre. Beyond reporting on the education programming in the field, we seek to find connections to the larger conversation on federal education policy. On December 10, 2015, President Obama signed into law the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which includes key provisions that support access to arts education. The passage of ESSA marks an important, new opportunity to ensure that every student has access to arts education. Now, even more of the decisions about how the arts are supported in education will be made at the state and local levels. Below are links that provide an overview of the new law and resources to equip arts advocates at the state and local level, and next steps for theatres to take action. U.S. Department of Education ESSA Resources ♦ Overview of the Every Student Succeeds Act ♦ Links to ESSA Law and Evolving Guidance ♦ Guidance on Student Support and Academic Enrichment (WellRounded) Grants ♦ USDoE Urges States to Engage Stakeholders re: ESSA Implementation ♦ Education Secretary Issues Letter Emphasizing Arts as Eligible Use of Federal Funds
Arts Education Partnership Resources ♦ Arts Education Partnership ESSA Resource Center ♦ Arts Education Partnership ESSA: Mapping opportunities for the arts ♦ Research-backed messages on the benefits of arts education ♦ A chart documenting arts-friendly policies state-by-state ♦ Tips for school leaders to increase arts education ♦ Education Commission of the States’ report: ESSA’s Well-Rounded Education ♦ Education Commission of the States’ report: ESSA: Quick guides on top issues
The TCG Special Report on Education 2015 was written by Gregory J. Cooper, education & collective action associate; Ilana B. Rose, associate director of research & collective action; and Laurie M. Baskin, director of research, policy & collective action. The authors would like to thank the writers whose pieces follow this introduction and everyone who filled out TCG Education Survey 2015 and TCG Fiscal Survey 2015. Copyright © February, 2017—Theatre Communications Group
FIELD REFLECTIONS ON EDUCATION DEPARTMENTS’ ROLES IN EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION INITIATIVES AMERICAN SHAKESPEARE CENTER
SARAH ENLOE, DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION STAUNTON, VA The American Shakespeare Center recovers the joy and accessibility of Shakespeare’s theatre, language, and humanity by exploring the English Renaissance stage and its practices through performance and education. The mission of our small outpost in rural Virginia offers some insight into the impulse our Education department has to increase diversity in our programming. We believe that theatre, and particularly Shakespeare, should be accessible and that Shakespeare’s works speak to humanity—not just parts of it, but all of it. The steps we are taking to address our desire to bring in populations which will match the demographic of our state, much less our nation, have been many and slow-moving. We recognize at each step of the way how intertwined our programming is and how important that each department and individual work together to assure the success of the objective. First, we should define what we mean by diversity, equity, and inclusion. ASC runs programs (and collects information on participants) in four main areas: College Prep 1, Life-long Learning, Research and Scholarship, and Educator Resources. The company also runs a tour which provides educational programming, but we do not have access to the demographic data for the students and participants in those programs—beyond visual impressions, which can be wrong, so those figures are not included here. 2 We are able to conduct measures of our College Prep programming students because we offer college credit, and our partner institution tracks that data. While we recognize that the following data collection mechanism is far from ideal, this is what we have been able to learn (data from 2009–2016): Group
Virginia
ASC
White
73.9%
83.04%
African-American/Black
20.4 %
13.95%
Asian
4.3%
0.4%
Hispanic
4.7%
1.11%
Other
3.5%
1.5%
Source: http://www.virginia.com/demographics.html and ASC application measures In that area, our main efforts have been to work with teachers in identified schools to recommend students, to establish and increase scholarships for our expensive (but life-changing) camp, and to gear our programming to a wider audience. (While we call it ASC Theatre Camp, it is a camp which prepares students for college life and gives them skills in rhetoric, communication, and critical thinking.) Though, we want to do more. In our Life-long Learning programs, we offer a free lecture series, a free staged reading series, an adult summer camp, work with Road Scholars, and a Shakespeare and Leadership program, which also houses our deaf and blind outreach initiatives. Through the auspices of a Doris Duke Charitable Foundation grant we received this past year, we have been investigating building capacity in our deaf audiences, which makes up 1.6% of Virginia’s population. I have been working with a partner for a number of years to investigate and learn about the Deaf culture and the role we can play in it, and this grant has allowed us to formalize that research and produce some remarkable events and outcomes. We are looking forward to where this work can lead us. On the other hand, our Road Scholars and Leadership programs are single-buyer, meaning the organization we contract with lines up the participants. In those programs, we achieve our goals but can only 1
Perhaps unusually, ASC Education does not facilitate our student matinee program, so I do not include efforts in that arena above. An NEA grant over the past several years has allowed us to offer reduced-price and free tickets to low SES schools. 2
And that brings up a concern: the collection of this kind of data almost feels “yucky,” as we want to see our participants as individuals and not mark them into categories (or ask them to do so). But the hard fact is, in order to know if we are making steps forward, we must establish a baseline, and that means conducting measurements. 2
thank our partners for their excellent recruiting and direct the programming to meet the needs of all participants. In our camp and free series, we are further from our goal. I know this is a result of a confined message and lack of time to pursue the groups we would love to bring in. In the lecture series, we have selected a few nights each season that will focus on a topic of interest to a diverse population (not difficult when you are running shows like Merchant of Venice), but we don’t want to just be talking at our audience, so I have been meeting with a staff member who has a background in social work and working with special populations and with a community member who wants to begin “bridging” conversations in the community and use the Playhouse as a venue. In addition, we have begun inviting schools and universities to deliver our staged readings (they receive tickets to the shows in our season, lodging at a sponsor hotel, and a set of conventions we ask them to adhere to) and include a historically black college in that season on a regular basis. This initiative is reliant on relationships we build in our Research and Scholarship programming with professors at those schools. Our Research and Scholarship program includes our archives and our bi-annual conference 3, as well as weekend classes for undergraduate and graduate students. We have not collected demographics for these in the past but will be starting this year. The weekend programs are, again, single-buyer, so we rely on the professors who set up the program to recruit. This year, for the first time, we will be offering individuals the chance to register and hope to make a deeper impact with targeted marketing and programming. Finally, our Educator Resources area has the most potential to impact students’ lives. When we get 20 teachers, we potentially touch 2,000 lives—in that year alone. We are now collecting demographic information on the students our teachers work with but do not have a baseline established to date. In this area, we target particular schools and are making efforts to certify teachers, which should enable them to take more advantage of our services—both in-house and on-site. To improve our relationship with Deaf communities and people of color, my team and I are taking personal initiatives to work more actively in our community as a whole—through volunteering (ASC gives them 2 hours a week on the clock to go into our region), through research (conference participation, for instance, through which I had the honor of leading sessions on working with special populations at the Shakespeare Theatre Association in 2014 and 2015), and through whom we contract. We have recently lined up an organization to develop our media presence, Staunton Media Lab, whose mission is to employ deaf, blind, and uniquely able people. We have a long way to go, but we hope to improve every day.
ARENA STAGE
ANITA MAYNARD-LOSH, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WASHINGTON, DC Arena Stage has a proud history of diversity and inclusion—the first integrated theater in D.C., the first nationally with assistive devices for patrons with auditory or visual impairments. Increasing diversity is a core value and requires continual tending and care. Our Voices of Now (VON) program is this value in action. Thoughtfully designed thirteen years ago by our education director Ashley Forman, VON was created to address the tension between older Southwest D.C. residents and students at the middle school a block from Arena, where there had been some gang activity. Ashley created the program to start a conversation between the two groups. The students made and performed an autobiographical play, expressing the challenges they faced daily. After that, actors and audience spoke with each other, finding common ground and understanding. Since then, VON has grown to 10–12 D.C. area ensembles—some in local schools, some in partnership with other organizations. These include the Wendt Center for Loss and Healing, which serves grieving teenagers; FAIR Girls, for women and girls who have been trafficked; Child and Family Services; and the young people aging out of foster care. These ensembles of—most often young—artists create original, autobiographical plays that raise important social questions. Together with Arena Stage deviser-directors they investigate these questions through poetry, movement, and the recounting of personal stories. Every word in a VON play has been written or spoken by the ensemble. The ensembles perform in their communities and in the yearly VON Festival at Arena Stage. The overarching goal of VON is to change the world. To do that, the program puts voices on stage that are not traditionally heard. Often, those are the voices of young people or those that are not members of a dominant culture. We seek out populations that need to be heard by a wider audience. It is compelling to hear an eighth grader talk about crossing the border at night in an airless, hot van and to see his peers help him act out that story. We see students gain mastery over their experiences through transforming them into art. VON has been a platform for transgender youth, students with emotional or learning disabilities, military families, activists, those affected by HIV/AIDS, child laborers, and many others. 3
We are partnered with Mary Baldwin University to offer Masters Degrees to students, but MBU collects the demographics and does the recruiting for that group. 3
Ashley’s program is so well-designed that it works across language and cultural barriers. Since 2012, at the invitation of the U.S. Department of State, we have made plays in Peru, Croatia, and six cities in India. In 2013 we worked with physically disabled young adults in Croatia. Our first multi-national ensemble brought together youth from Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Albania, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Whether in D.C. or India, these stories encourage dialogue within diverse communities. Diversity, of course, means something different to each community. Every VON performance concludes with a moderated talkback. These talkbacks have explored questions about education equity, power and gender, reconciliation after a history of war, and other issues. And the conversation continues after the audience leaves. One student reported that her father changed his opinion about homosexuality after seeing her play. The inequalities in our world are daunting. Of course we must all continue to work for fairness, and some of our youngest citizens are the most conscious of a lack of justice. How many times do we hear children say, “But that’s not fair!” How do we address that lack of fairness? How do we increase empathy for people who are not like us, who have a different experience of the world? Perhaps hearing one another’s stories is a good place to start.
CARA MÍA THEATRE CO.
STEPHANIE CLEGHORN JASSO MANAGER OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS & PATRON SERVICES DALLAS, TX Founded in 1996, Cara Mía Theatre Co. is a non-profit theatre company that presents live, accessible theatre by producing critically acclaimed published plays and creating new and experimental works while developing innovative and educational youth arts programming reflective of the Latino experience in the U.S. Cara Mía means “my face” and invites people of all races, ethnicities, and backgrounds to appreciate their “faces”—the color of their skin, their heritage, their languages, and their culture. It is the educational programming that makes Cara Mía so special to me. It has been my privilege to work with our School of YES! since its inception, and what an honor it is to witness the transformation of our students over the course of a summer and over the years. The mission of The School of YES! is to give young people the skills to say “yes” to a future of their choice rather than feel pressured into a future defined by their environment. Cara Mía provides this free summer program to students of our community and conducts residencies, workshops, and touring plays that allow students the opportunity to see their faces in the work we produce. The School of YES!, along with our other educational programming, benefits students by teaching them fundamental skills that help them grow as learners and artists and instills in them values of respect, kindness, and leadership. We, as an organization, are dedicated to work with young people by informing them, educating them, and edifying them. Many of our themes explore social justice and bring voice to the experience of people of color whose stories have been neglected for years. It is our hope to challenge the next generation of activists, artists, and leaders to begin to ask questions about their identity and their roles in our community. We do not only mentor our students in classrooms, rehearsal halls, and theatres, but we ask them to participate in service projects, attend Town Hall Meetings, and rally and march with us to support the art we believe in and teach. I have seen students gain confidence. I have seen students experience breakthroughs. I have seen students embrace their own identities, each other, and their communities. Many of our students come from backgrounds where they do not have the financial means that many of us are so privileged to have. The School of YES! has served students with different abilities, including students who need assistance with a wheelchair, students who are on the Autism Spectrum, students who face learning difficulties from ADD to ADHD, and students who are considered at-risk. We have found that the School of YES!, along with our other educational programs, provides a safe place for students to seek solace and refuge. As our organization grows we seek additional opportunities to continue to provide support to our future generations. This season, Cara Mía is offering “Youth Nights at the Theatre,” which are interactive pre-show conversations that discuss the themes of our productions, and students are invited to eat a meal with us and “break bread” to engage in topics of social justice and social responsibility. With these discussions our objective is to help raise awareness and spark inspiration for students to take accountability for themselves, their families, their peers, and their community. Cara Mía Theatre Co. hopes to ignite our communities by teaching our youth to be leaders, to stand up for what they believe in, and to not be afraid to be proud of their faces. We want students to understand diversity and equity, we want to instill lessons of acceptance and understanding, and we want students to live in a community where we do not live in fear but we use art to protest, to educate, to learn, and to love.
4
MAINSTREET THEATRE COMPANY MIREYA HEPNER, PRODUCER RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA
MainStreet Theatre Company is a TYA company under the umbrella of the City of Rancho Cucamonga’s Community Services Department. The City owns and operates the 550-seat Lewis Family Playhouse, which is both a producing and a presenting house. MainStreet is the only resident producing company that hires union artists for its shows. As a company, we have a full-time staff of one; the rest of the building’s program and operations staff divides their time among all of the Playhouse offerings. Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion is not a priority in our larger organization. When the City leaders decided to build a theatre and include a professional theatre company among its offerings, they conceived it as service to provide field trip opportunities to local schools and to offer family-friendly shows for the general public on the weekends. This new company would give thousands of children in the community their very first opportunity to experience live theatre, and the mandate I was given when I was hired to create the company was to produce plays and musicals based on classic and contemporary children’s literature. For me, that meant that artistic excellence had to be at the core of everything we do—and that we had an obligation to introduce our art form to children with productions that are rich and varied, funny and moving. I believe deeply that as a TYA company, we have a responsibility to open children’s eyes to new ways of seeing the world—to teach them empathy, to help them identify with characters that may or may not look or think like them, and to be a positive role model. As I choose each season, I look for universal stories based on books that meet the City’s criteria, while also speaking to all of our local communities. One way to reflect that is through casting. It’s important to me that the children in the audience have the opportunity to see themselves and their neighbors reflected on the stage. The school groups and families who make up our audience reflect Southern California’s multicultural community. When we think about casting, we always make a point of encouraging and inviting artists of all cultural and ethnic backgrounds to come to our auditions. People were skeptical in our early years, but now that we’re in our 11th season and more known in the community, I see a noticeable change in the diversity of Los Angeles-based actors who take us up on our audition invitations, which happily translates into more diversity in our casts. In this climate of divisiveness in our country, it is especially gratifying when families who stay for pictures and autographs with the actors after our weekend performances make a point to thank us for representing our diverse community on our stage. As a female leader, I also make hiring other women a priority; it’s pretty common for our productions to have female-heavy creative teams. Los Angeles has a plethora of talented female directors and designers, and I’m fortunate that the kind of work I champion at MainStreet excites them as well. We’re proud that tens of thousands of kids who see me give the curtain speech before each performance, or who read the bios in our programs, know that it’s normal for women to be in leadership roles. Our parent organization may not put an emphasis on equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts, but I’m very proud of the impact MainStreet is having on this community.
MILWAUKEE CHAMBER THEATRE MARCELLA KEARNS, ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR MILWAUKEE, WI Milwaukee Chamber Theatre (MCT) Education’s engagement in the question of equity, diversity, and inclusion may be illustrated as a case study of one project: our biennial Young Playwrights Festival Showcase. Three one-act plays written by local high school students receive a professional production with local emerging directors, designers, and actors, and three Honorable Mention winners receive a public reading. YPF also includes annual Playwriting Residencies and a Playwriting Competition, which provide the seed material for the Showcase. Nurturing local artists, both established and emerging, is part of MCT and MCT Education’s mission, and YPF is our flagship education project. Movement building—creating long-term cultural change—as a small Equity theatre in Milwaukee (a very diverse but unfortunately highly segregated city) means making variety a conscious practice and priority in the material we choose, the artists we select to choose that material, and the artists who execute its production. Our primary tactic as a tiny education department (one part-time staff member and one teaching artist) is to cultivate relationships individual by individual at ground level: in schools, audition rooms, community performance spaces, and cold approaches. For YPF, MCT Education contracts a dozen readers to critique submitted plays’ quality and potential for production. The readers are equally divided by gender (so far, binary, but we’re hoping to broaden our readership in the next cycle) and heritage, with special consideration given to diversity of age and occupation. The majority of the submitted plays come from our partner schools. Four of six school partners this year are Milwaukee Public Schools, so the plays are submitted by students who reflect the diversity of the Milwaukee-area urban and 5
suburban populations. The majority of 2017 play submissions will come from African-American and Latino students, followed by students of white, Asian, and other backgrounds. Since readers consider plays anonymously, their recommendations don’t dictate the gender equity and diversity of heritage that makes it to our stage, but we try to set ourselves up for success or, at the very least, progress by starting with artists and readers who reflect our city’s population. And, for the most part, we actually do end up with a healthy balance in authorship and material. Finding a healthy population of diverse actors and designers in a mid-size city and intimate theatrical market is another challenge. This round, our YPF directors are predominantly, though not completely, male and white, though with our next cycle we hope to continue to broaden diversity of heritage and gender. We have only a small population of young local designers, and diversity of any sort—apart from gender—is tough to find. It’s also a significant campaign to find a broad spectrum of local non-Equity actors for this particular project. From high schools to universities to smaller non-Equity theatres, from word of mouth to social media to listservs, we are working right now to network, individual by individual, to fill our roles for this coming Showcase and get to know artists who aren’t on our radar. For this year’s YPF Showcase, persons of color will comprise about half the company, and about half will be women; any heritage, orientation, identification, or physical nature (abled or disabled) is flexible beyond those factors. The assumption that our directors prioritize reflecting diversity of any sort—even beyond casting requirements—is one we are slowly shifting on our mainstage as well. It’s the future of our theatre. The question at present is: We’re building the infrastructure; are the local artists who may be available to work on this project out there? We still have audition slots open. The work continues, and it continues contact by contact.
MIRACLE THEATRE GROUP (AKA MILAGRO)
DAÑEL MALÁN FOUNDING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR TEATRO MILAGRO PORTLAND, OR While other theatre companies struggle to find ways to address inclusion, for Milagro, equity is at the very heart and mission of its work. Milagro’s Touring & Arts Education Programs, known as “Teatro Milagro,” serves schools and community groups. We embrace a cradle-tocareer approach in bilingual arts education and address a broad range of themes that include socioeconomic disparities, racism, environmental- and health-related inequity, and loss of culture. Through performances, workshops, and residencies, Milagro engages students from elementary through college to foster self-determination, wellness, and cultural pride. This commitment reflects Milagro’s effort to share the diversity of the Latino experience and can be seen in the chosen programming. For example, Shadow of a Man, by nationally known Chicana lesbian playwright Cherrie Moraga, was presented by Miracle in 1993. More recently, in 2010, Milagro’s original production of American Sueño, written by Rebecca Martinez, engaged LGBTQ actors, technicians, and designers. In that same year, Milagro formed OYE, a Latino sexual health coalition. Milagro started OYE (Opciones y Educación) with the Multnomah County Health Department with the goal of increasing awareness about sexual health, promoting open discussion of sexuality, and reducing homophobia in the Latino community. Since that time, the actors for each season continue to be trained in sexual health education methodologies used by the coalition to lead workshops and presentations for community groups and conferences. Past plays of the bilingual touring company have touched on themes of Latino pride, immigration, loss of culture, the environment, and even sex trafficking. The 2016 national touring production of Broken Promises, written by Olga Sanchez, followed the story of a teen girl recruited into pornography and sex work. The 2017 national tour has an environmental focus. El Payaso, written by Emilio Rodriguez, commemorates the 30th anniversary of the death of Ben Linder, an idealist who brought electricity to rural Nicaraguan villages and who was killed by US-backed Contras in the ‘80s. Ben’s work serves as an inspiration for others looking to follow a social justice path. From the war in Nicaragua to the childhood adventures of the young Frida Kahlo, Milagro strives to share its equity work at all grade levels. The play Mijita Fridita, by Teatro Milagro touring artist Ajai Terrazas Tripathi, begins with Frida’s struggle with polio and ends with her expression of gender non-conformity as she enters wearing a three-piece suit for the family portrait. Milagro’s accompanying UNIDAD workshops not only strive to instill a sense of pride in the students, our age-appropriate sexual health education unity focuses specifically on aspects of gender. UNIDAD Curriculum, developed by Milagro, explores pride in self and family, environmental health, and wellness of the community through the lens of theatrical expression. The UNIDAD Curriculum is being developed into a multicultural textbook for school educators looking to supplement their Eurocentric curricula with culturally appropriate references. Engagement is critical to graduation rates, and Milagro works with county agencies and school districts to implement training and teaching of bilingual arts integration techniques and strategies to improve learning environments for students in communities of color. For theatre to succeed in the future, we need to implement arts education models that conform to growing demographic changes in our communities and continue to inspire a new generation to create art, participate in art, and see art as a valued treasure that helps shape our society.
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STAGES THEATRE COMPANY NIKKI SWOBODA, EDUCATION DIRECTOR HOPKINS, MN Last winter as part of a statewide touring residency program entitled Perspectives on Peace, a group of teaching artists from Stages Theatre Company performed a devised piece answering the question “What does peace mean to me?” for 600 suburban 6th graders in Minnesota. During the performance, one of our teaching artists, a gifted clown natively from Algeria, sings a Muslim prayer for peace in Arabic. It always generates a response—usually just a murmur of curiosity coupled with a question after as to what he was saying. After this performance, however, something different happened. As the other students filtered out of the auditorium, a group of four girls in hijabs came running up to him, and they shared an enthusiastic conversation in Arabic. When they left I asked him what they were all talking about. “Just the soccer game last night. They said they’ve never gotten to speak in Arabic to a teacher before and were excited.” This moment is present in my mind every time I staff a project. As Education Director, my first response to equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts is staffing and developing a roster of teaching artists who connect to the kids at the entry level of representation. My second response is trying to instill an expectation of excellence in all programs while being unafraid to make accommodations as needed in connection to equity versus equality. This may mean subsidizing tuition, tickets, transportation, or residency rates. It also may mean accepting the chronically-late child who takes public transportation daily, double-staffing a project so that a developing teaching artist can have on-the-job training, or providing paid internships for aspiring teenage artists who cannot work for free to stop that cycle of “haves” and “have-nots” in career exploration. What it always means, however, is admitting what we do not know and working to try new ideas. It means getting community leaders and trusted adults in the room who will provide consistency and support for our youth actors and students. In 2012, I wanted to start theatre classes for students affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder, coinciding with our Sensory-Friendly mainstage performances. (STC was the first theatre in Minnesota to offer these.) That year, we piloted the CAST Program (Creative Accepting Sensory-Friendly Theatre)—and failed hard. I researched and tried again, hiring a dedicated teaching artist solely for this program, building new community partnerships, and adding more sensory-friendly performances. We did not quit. CAST is now consistently full, has waiting lists, runs three tracks, and has a summer institute. Our CAST kids blow our minds with their social skills, creativity, and friendships. Every session we fine-tune through constant evaluation and assessment, as “best practice” is never permanent, but rather a living organism. But that all sounds expensive, doesn’t it? When our Artistic Director Sandy Boren-Barrett was named in 2005, she came to the role with a fierce commitment to education, production, and access, leading our company in equal parts. In 2007, even as the country slid into recession, she and the Board of Directors led a successful five-year campaign to launch our Open Door Program—funds earmarked exclusively for access programs (like ASL interpretation, open-captioning, tactile tours, and sensory-friendly productions) and for outreach for the Education Program (like Perspectives on Peace, CAST Program, completely subsidized after-school programming, and tuition assistance available for all classes and workshops). It has been the calling card of our company and has created abundance in our programming. The big takeaway from all these experiences? We cannot serve communities if they neither know us nor trust us. We must hold room in classes for those who may not have immediate access to registering. We must partner with schools that have not had opportunities for grant projects. We must be a staff that walks around the world living the mission of outreach and access, equity and diversity—who look for connectors daily. The work is never complete, but it is the work we must commit to as artists and educators. We are proud to be a part of it.
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FINDINGS FROM TCG EDUCATION SURVEY 2015 AND TCG FISCAL SURVEY 2015 The Special Report on Education 2015 is Theatre Communications Group’s (TCG) 17th annual report on education programming by participating Member Theatres. This report examines personnel, programming, and age group and school level demographics of education departments, as reported in TCG Education Survey 2015. In addition, this report includes data from TCG Fiscal Survey 2015 relating to education program income and expenses. In both surveys, theatres reported on activity taking place within their fiscal year completed anytime between October 31, 2014 and September 30, 2015. Though some theatres completed both, the two surveys represent significantly different pools of responding theatres. The first section of the report focuses solely on Education Survey data, while the second section presents education-related Fiscal Survey data. This Special Report on Education is intended to serve the field and to highlight the important education work taking place at TCG Member Theatres.
TCG EDUCATION SURVEY 2015 97 theatres participated in TCG Education Survey 2015. Throughout this report, we present data for six budget groups, based on total annual expenses. It is important to acknowledge that there were significantly fewer participants from Group 1 and 2 theatres than from the other groups.
TCG EDUCATION SURVEY 2015 PARTICIPANTS BY BUDGET GROUP (97 Theatres) Budget Group
Budget Group Expense Range
# of Theatres
Average Expenses
6
$10 million or more
29
$21,761,630
5
$5 million–$9,999,999
17
$7,666,929
4
$3 million–$4,999,999
11
$3,835,658
3
$1 million–$2,999,999
32
$1,833,477
2
$500,000–$999,999
4
$805,235
1
$499,999 or less
4
$358,083
This year, we also looked at a subset of 43 theatres that have participated in the TCG Education Survey each year from 2011 to 2015 in order to identify changes that have taken place over the last five years. Findings for these Trend Theatres are presented throughout the report in the form of 5-Year Snapshots. The average expenses for all 97 participants in TCG Education Survey 2015 were $8,937,545, while the average expenses for the subset of 43 Trend Theatres were $11,542,084 in 2015. In addition to the analysis presented within this report, TCG provides an online reporting tool which allows any user to run customized reports based on TCG Education Survey data. This online tool provides an opportunity to create reports based on criteria including location, types of programming, number of personnel, and participant demographics, in addition to budget size, and can be found on the TCG website at www.tcg.org/ResearchAndResources/ArtsEducation/EducationSurvey.aspx. The average, minimum, and maximum figures presented in the tables throughout this report were calculated based on the number of reporting theatres for each given question—i.e., the number of theatres for which the question was applicable—unless otherwise noted. For example, results regarding the average number of full-time education personnel employed by participating Member Theatres (shown on the next page) were calculated based on the data of only those theatres that reported employing full-time education personnel. All of the figures presented in the 5-Year Snapshots, on the other hand, reflect the collective activity of all 43 Trend Theatres throughout the 5year period. 8
EDUCATION PERSONNEL INFORMATION In this section, we present information about education personnel reported by the 97 TCG Education Survey 2015 participants. In aggregate, these theatres reported 4,140 education-related personnel: 305 full-time education staff, 125 part-time education staff, 2,042 teaching artists, 490 interns, 147 apprentices, and 1,031 volunteers. The table that follows displays the percentage of theatres in each budget group that reported employing or engaging each of these types of education personnel. We note that not all theatres that conduct education programming have dedicated education staff.
PERCENTAGE OF THEATRES REPORTING EDUCATION PERSONNEL All Total # of Participants
• • • • •
Group 6
Group 5
Group 4
Group 3
Group 2
Group 1
(97)
(29)
(17)
(11)
(32)
(4)
(4)
Full-Time Staff
92%
100%
100%
100%
94%
50%
0%
Part-Time Staff
54%
55%
59%
55%
44%
100%
50%
Teaching Artists
95%
97%
94%
100%
94%
100%
75%
Interns Apprentices
73% 28%
90% 34%
82% 41%
100% 18%
56% 22%
25% 25%
25% 0%
Volunteers
51%
66%
53%
55%
41%
50%
0%
89 of the 97 theatres that participated in TCG Education Survey 2015 (92%) reported full-time education staff. Of those 89 theatres, 26% had only 1 full-time staff member (not shown in table). All Group 4, 5, and 6 theatres reported full-time education staff, while all Group 2 theatres reported employing part-time education staff and teaching artists. Groups 3, 4, 5, and 6 had higher percentages of theatres report full-time staff than part-time staff, while Groups 1 and 2 had higher percentages of theatres report part-time staff. All Group 4 theatres reported engaging interns; Group 6 had the next-highest percentage. Group 5 had the highest percentage of theatres report that they engage education apprentices, and two-thirds of Group 6 theatres reported engaging education volunteers.
NUMBER OF EDUCATION PERSONNEL
Full-Time Staff
Part-Time Staff
Teaching Artists
All
Group 6
Group 5
Group 4
Group 3
Group 2
Group 1
Number of Theatres
(97)
(29)
(17)
(11)
(32)
(4)
(4)
# reporting
(89)
(29)
(17)
(11)
(30)
(2)
(0)
Average
3
5
4
2
2
3
0
Min–Max
1–12
1–12
1–12
1–4
1–6
1–4
0–0
# reporting
(52)
(16)
(10)
(6)
(14)
(4)
(2)
Average
2
3
2
2
3
1
1
Min–Max
1–10
1–10
1–6
1–3
1–10
1–1
1–1
# reporting
(92)
(28)
(16)
(11)
(30)
(4)
(3)
Average
22
35
22
17
16
7
7
Min–Max
1–133
1–133
2–81
3–50
1–60
1–12
5–11
(71)
(26)
(14)
(11)
(18)
(1)
(1)
# reporting
Interns
Apprentices
Volunteers
Average
7
8
8
5
6
2
1
Min–Max
1–53
1–53
1–29
1–15
1–30
2–2
1–1
# reporting
(27)
(10)
(7)
(2)
(7)
(1)
(0)
Average
5
7
5
2
5
10
0
Min–Max
1–55
1–55
1–12
1–3
1–12
10–10
0–0
# reporting
(49)
(19)
(9)
(6)
(13)
(2)
(0)
Average
21
18
54
7
12
3
0
Min–Max
1–290
1–50
3–290
1–18
1–40
2–3
0–0
9
5-YEAR SNAPSHOT: EDUCATION PERSONNEL For the 43 Trend Theatres, the average number of full-time education staff increased slightly between 2011 and 2012 and then rose annually over the five-year period from 2012 to 2015. The average number of part-time education staff increased noticeably in 2013 but declined over each of the following two years. The average number of teaching artists increased annually between 2011 and 2013, dipped in 2014, and began to rebound in 2015. The average number of education volunteers decreased annually over the 5-year period and concluded at its lowest mark, representing a 41% decrease over time. The average number of interns, however, concluded the 5-year period at its highest value, representing a 37% increase over time. AVERAGE NUMBER OF EDUCATION STAFF
4 3
3.2
3.2
0.9
0.9
2011
2012
3.7
3.8
1.3
1.2
1.0
2013
2014
2015
3.3
2 1 0
Full-time
Part-time
AVERAGE NUMBER OF TEACHING ARTISTS, VOLUNTEERS, AND INTERNS
30 25
23.5
24.6
23.5
8.9
8.8
7.9
4.0
3.5
4.6
3.8
5.5
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
22.0
23.7
20 15
10.3
10 5 0
Teaching Artists
Volunteers
6.1
Interns
EDUCATION PROGRAMMING The following section presents information about the types of education programming offered by the 97 TCG Education Survey 2015 participants. • The two most common programs reported were workshops/classes at schools and student matinees, both of which were offered by 90% or more of theatres. • The most widely offered type of access programs were programs for economically disadvantaged individuals (offered by 71% of theatres), followed by mobility-related programs (54% of theatres), “other” programs (37%), language-related programs (35%), Autism-related programs (24%), and cognitive-related programs (23%). • 18% of theatres offered bilingual educational programming. • 76% of theatres reported that they offered teen classes, 62% offered children’s classes, and 61% offered adult classes. • 60% of theatres offered professional development for classroom teachers, and 24% offered in-service credit to teachers. 48% of theatres offered professional development for teaching artists. • Distance learning in any form was the least offered type of education programming, along with “other programs” and service learning partnerships. 10
PERCENTAGE OF THEATRES REPORTING VARIOUS TYPES OF EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND PRACTICES Workshops/Classes at School Student Matinees Program Evaluation Tools Internships Workshops/Classes at Theatre Partnerships Student Assessment Tools Discussions Summer Programs/Camps Residency/In-School Programs Teen Classes Student Study Guides Access Program: Economically Disadvantaged Program Guides Children's Classes Adult Classes Professional Development: Classroom Teachers Adult Programs College/University Partnerships Access Program: Mobility Teacher Guides Workshop/Classes at Community Center Career Day/Job Shadowing Long-Range Planning Process Professional Development: Teaching Artists Access Program: Other Access Program: Language Literacy Programs Professional Development: Theatre Education Staff Touring Shows: Middle School Conservatory/Professional Training Programs Touring Shows: Elementary School Touring Shows: High School Job Training Workshops/Classes at Other Locations Access Program: Autism Professional Development: In-Service Credit for Teachers Touring Shows: Community Access Program: Cognitive Bilingual Programming Video Guides Distance Learning: Video Service Learning Partnerships Distance Learning: Social Media Student Reviewer/Critic Program Distance Learning: Webinar Other Programs Distance Learning: Other
95% 91% 89% 87% 85% 84% 81% 78% 78% 77% 76% 73% 71% 68% 62% 61% 60% 57% 55% 54% 53% 52% 51% 48% 48% 38% 35% 34% 34% 31% 30% 29% 26% 25% 25% 24% 24% 24% 23% 18% 18% 7% 7% 6% 6% 5% 5% 3%
11
5-YEAR SNAPSHOT: EDUCATION PROGRAMMING TYPES The following charts reflect data related to the ten most offered types of education programs, as reported by the 43 Trend Theatres in TCG Education Survey 2015. We then track those ten most offered programs throughout the 5-year period for the 43 Trend Theatres. The percentage of theatres that reported offering the top ten types of programs was higher in 2015 than in 2011 in all categories, except for discussions and internships, which displayed 9% and 7% decreases respectively over time. The increase in the percentage of theatres offering residencies in school was the most substantial over the 5-year period, followed by the percentage offering workshops at schools, student matinees and partnerships. The figures below represent the percentages of those theatres that reported having each type of program in each year. PERCENTAGE OF TREND THEATRES REPORTING EDUCATION PROGRAM TYPE – TOP FIVE PROGRAMS
100%
96%
Workshop at Schools Student Matinees
92%
Assessment Tools Evaluation Tools
88%
Workshop at Theatre
84% 2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
PERCENTAGE OF TREND THEATRES REPORTING EDUCATION PROGRAM TYPE – NEXT FIVE PROGRAMS
94% 90% Residency in School 86%
Partnerships Discussions
82%
Internships Summer Programs
78% 74% 2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
12
AGE GROUPS SERVED BY EDUCATION PROGRAMS AVERAGE % OF AGE GROUPS SERVED BY 97 PARTICIPATING MEMBER THEATRES Participating theatres were asked to report the breakdown of programming serving each age group as follows: ages 0–4, ages 5–11, ages 12–18, ages 19–25, ages 26–40, ages 41–60, and ages over 60. For the 97 theatres that participated in TCG Education Survey 2015, the largest percentage of their programming (45%) was directed at children ages 12–18. Indeed, on average, theatres from all budget groups directed the largest percentage of their programming at this age range. Group 4 and 6 theatres directed over half of their programming toward the 12–18 age range, while all other groups directed between 40% and 47% of their programming toward this age range. For all participating theatres, the 5–11 age range was the next most popular recipient; this age range received an average of 25% of participating theatres’ programming, with budget group-specific percentages ranging from 15–34%.
Ages over 60 6%
Ages 41–60 6%
Ages 0–4 2% Ages 5–11 25%
Ages 26–40 7%
Ages 19–25 9% Ages 12–18 45%
PERCENTAGE OF AGE GROUPS SERVED BROKEN DOWN BY GROUP Ages 41–60 5%
Ages over 60 1%
Ages 26–40 5%
Group 1 Ages 0–4 0% Ages 5–11 29%
Ages 19–25 14%
Ages 12–18 46%
Ages 41–60 6% Ages 26–40 4%
Ages 19–25 8%
Ages over 60 5%
Group 4 Ages 0–4 2% Ages 5–11 22%
Ages 12–18 53%
Ages 41–60 7%
Ages over 60 7%
Group 2 Ages 0–4 0%
Ages 26–40 6%
Ages 5–11 34%
Ages 19–25 5%
Ages 41–60 6%
Ages over 60 5%
Group 3 Ages 0–4 2%
Ages 26–40 8%
Ages 5–11 31%
Ages 19–25 10% Ages 12–18 40%
Ages 12–18 41%
Ages over 60 8%
Group 5 Ages 0–4 2%
Ages 26–40 5%
Ages 19–25 7%
Ages 41–60 4%
Ages 5–11 32% Ages 12–18 40%
Ages 41–60 8%
Ages over 60 6%
Ages 0–4 2%
Group 6 Ages 5–11 15%
Ages 26–40 9%
Ages 12–18 51%
Ages 19–25 9%
13
STUDENTS AND TOTAL PARTICIPANTS SERVED All 97 theatres reported serving students, defined as kindergarten through graduate level. The aggregate number of students served by all participating theatres was 3,132,554. On average, Group 6 theatres served the greatest number of students; however, budget group did not otherwise necessarily correlate with the number of students served.
TOTAL NUMBER OF STUDENTS SERVED (K–GRADUATE LEVEL) All Groups
Group 6
Group 5
Group 4
Group 3
Group 2
Group 1
(97)
(29)
(17)
(11)
(32)
(4)
(4)
Average
32,294
57,116
23,234
24,621
24,072
3,461
6,563
Min–Max
46–969,699
2,500–969,699
1,538–62,273
974–170,865
46–148,689
1,466–6,003
172–24,561
# of Respondents
ALL PARTICIPANTS SERVED BY EDUCATION PROGRAMS All Groups
Group 6
Group 5
Group 4
Group 3
Group 2
Group 1
(97)
(29)
(17)
(11)
(32)
(4)
(4)
Average
39,482
69,551
28,433
42,769
25,344
4,102
7,879
Min–Max
46–1,005,239
2,950–1,005,239
3,353–63,643
1,444–207,217
46–155,000
2,000–6,090
172–28,392
# of Respondents
5-YEAR SNAPSHOT: STUDENTS SERVED AVERAGE STUDENTS (K-GRADUATE) SERVED BY TREND THEATRES The average number of students, kindergarten through graduate level, served by the 43 Trend Theatres’ education programs increased by 25% between 2014 and 2015. It’s important to note that this question was moved to a different section of the survey in 2014, and an additional new companion question asked about the total number of people served by education programs. These changes may account for the dramatic difference between the averages in the first three years presented here and the most recent two.
50,000
48,006
45,000 40,000
38,296
35,000 30,000 25,000
21,611
20,000
18,371
16,969
15,000 2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Average Number of K–Graduate Students Served
14
STUDENT MATINEE TICKET PRICES In this section, we look at student matinee attendance and ticket prices. While, mathematically speaking, Group 1 had the highest average number of students that attended student matinees, that value is based on only one theatre—the sole Group 1 theatre that reported having a student matinee program—and also is atypically high for a Group 1 theatre. If we take this Group 1 theatre out of consideration, however, Group 4 had the highest average number of students that attended student matinees. Group 6 had the highest average number of additional student-priced tickets sold through the box office, while 70% of participating theatres with student matinee programs reported offering free student matinee tickets to students and their schools (not shown in tables). 89% of theatres reported offering a student matinee program; these theatres offered an average of 41 matinee performances for the reporting period and, in aggregate, served 1,147,873 students (not shown in tables).
TOTAL NUMBER OF STUDENTS THAT ATTENDED STUDENT MATINEES All Groups
Group 6
Group 5
Group 4
Group 3
Group 2
Group 1
(86)
(28)
(17)
(11)
(27)
(2)
(1)
Average
13,347
12,025
12,905
20,089
12,717
2,402
22,648
Min–Max
23–160,372
500–55,581
1,002–62,274
800–160,372
23–144,425
530–4,274
22,648–22,648
# of Respondents
TOTAL NUMBER OF ADDITIONAL STUDENT-PRICED TICKETS SOLD THROUGH BOX OFFICE All Groups
Group 6
Group 5
Group 4
Group 3
Group 2
Group 1
(70)
(24)
(14)
(7)
(22)
(1)
(2)
Average
5,101
8,077
3,808
3,258
3,698
3,852
961
Min–Max
15–47,259
251–47,259
108–12,785
525–12,468
140–41,257
3,852–3,852
15–1,907
# of Respondents
STUDENT MATINEE TICKET PRICES (EXCLUDING FREE TICKETS) All Groups
Group 6
Group 5
Group 4
Group 3
Group 2
Group 1
(78)
(22)
(17)
(11)
(25)
(2)
(1)
Average
$11.71
$12.91
$12.34
$12.45
$10.30
$8.50
$8.00
Min–Max
$4.00–$25.00
$4.00–$25.00
$5.00–$23.00
$8.00–$19.00
$5.50–$20.00
$7.00–$10.00
$8.00–$8.00
# of Respondents
5-YEAR SNAPSHOT: STUDENT MATINEE PRICING AVERAGE TREND THEATRE STUDENT MATINEE TICKET PRICES This chart shows the change in average student matinee ticket price offered over the 5-year period, as reported by the 43 Trend Theatres.
$11.50
$11.07
$10.50
$10.60
$10.57
$10.31
$10.06 $9.50 2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Average Student Matinee Price
15
EDUCATION FUNDING This section looks at ways in which education programming is funded. The chart below presents the percentage of education programming that was paid for by grants or the theatre versus the percentage of programming that was paid for by schools or participants. HOW EDUCATION PROGRAMMING IS SUPPORTED
All
58%
Group 6
42%
66%
Group 5
34%
52%
Group 4
48%
42%
Group 3
58% 54%
46%
Group 2
79%
Group 1
21%
74% 0%
20%
26%
40%
Paid by grants/theatre
60%
80%
100%
Paid by schools/participants
As shown in the chart below, 15% of the 97 theatres reported that they received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts through an Art Works: Arts Education grant. We note that, as relatively few Group 1 and Group 2 theatres participated in Education Survey 2015, the activity of individual theatres in both of these budget groups has an outsized effect of the percentages of NEA grant receivership shown below. PERCENTAGE OF THEATRES AWARDED AN ART WORKS: ARTS EDUCATION GRANT
30% 25%
25%
Group 2
Group 1
22%
20% 15%
25%
15%
17%
10%
6%
5% 0%
0% All
Group 6
Group 5
Group 4
Group 3
Another potential source of funding is the U.S. Department of Education, which supports arts education programming through its competitive Model Development and Dissemination Program. Of the 97 participants, 3 theatres reported receiving this funding—2 in Group 3 and 1 in Group 5. Survey participants were also asked if they have an education endowment. Sixteen of the 97 theatres reported having an endowment relating specifically to their education activity: 3 theatres in Group 3, 2 theatres in Group 4, 4 theatres in Group 5, and 7 theatres in Group 6. No education-related endowments were reported in Group 1 or Group 2. More information about funding for education programs can be found in the next section of the report, which presents education-related data from TCG Fiscal Survey 2015. 16
TCG FISCAL SURVEY 2015 To complement the findings from TCG Education Survey 2015, we now present education‐related data from TCG Fiscal Survey 2015. First conducted in the mid‐1970s, the annual TCG Fiscal Survey captures comprehensive data from TCG Member Theatres related to their finances, attendance, and ticket sales. The information gathered in this survey serves as the basis for Theatre Facts, TCG’s in‐depth annual report on the state of the U.S. professional not‐for‐profit theatre field. Theatre Facts presents data through three lenses: A general overview of the estimated universe of professional not‐for‐profit theatres in the U.S.; a longitudinal analysis of the TCG Member Theatres that participated in each of the last five surveys; and a detailed examination of all of the participants in the current survey, with data broken down by budget group. Participants in the TCG Fiscal Survey also gain exclusive access to extensive online reporting tools and data. To read Theatre Facts 2015, visit www.tcg.org/ResearchAndResources/TheatreFacts.aspx. For more information about the TCG Fiscal Survey, visit www.tcg.org/ResearchAndResources/FiscalSurvey.aspx. Throughout the report that follows, we present education‐related data for the 198 TCG Member Theatres that participated in TCG Fiscal Survey 2015, broken into six budget groups, based on annual expenses. Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.
TCG FISCAL SURVEY 2015 PARTICIPANTS (198 Theatres) Budget Group
Budget Group Expense Range
# of Theatres
Average Expenses
6
$10 million or more
35
$20,029,562
5
$5 million –$9,999,999
32
$7,336,257
4
$3 million–$4,999,999
25
$3,895,501
3
$1 million–$2,999,999
67
$1,891,545
2
$500,000–$999,999
21
$787,045
1
$499,999 or less
18
$304,019
OVERVIEW OF EDUCATION/OUTREACH PROGRAMS In aggregate, theatres offered 1,260 education and outreach programs that served 3.7 million people around the country. Education activity generated $61.6 million in total income. Of the 198 theatres that participated in TCG Fiscal Survey 2015, 168 (85%) reported Education/Outreach Programs activity. On average, those theatres offered 7.5 types of programs that served 22,307 people.
RANGE (min–max) # reporting
# Programs (types) # Served
All
Group 6
Group 5
Group 4
Group 3
Group 2
Group 1
(168)
(34)
(31)
(24)
(57)
(13)
(9)
1–40
1–40
1–28
1–22
1–20
1–12
1–4
120–239,027
20–110,200
44–15,000
22–4,480
20–1,005,239
185–1,005,239
485–59,780
17
EARNED INCOME FROM EDUCATION/OUTREACH PROGRAMS Of the 198 TCG Fiscal Survey 2015 participants, 151 (76%) reported earned income from Education/Outreach Programs. In aggregate, education/outreach programs generated $43.9 million in earned income. We note that “earned income” represents contract and fee income related to classes, workshops, and other education/outreach programming; it does not include ticket income from student matinees or performances specifically geared towards young audiences, which is captured as part of other line items in the survey. Total earned income from Education/Outreach Programs reflects income from three categories of programs: Arts‐In‐Education/Youth Services Programs, Adult Access/Outreach Programs, and Training Programs. Of the 151 theatres: 15 theatres (10%) reported income from all three categories of programs 52 theatres (34%) reported income solely from Arts‐In‐Education/Youth Services Programs 48 theatres (32%) reported income from Arts‐In‐Education/Youth Services Programs and Training Programs 24 theatres (16%) reported income solely from Training Programs 10 theatres (7%) reported income from Arts‐In‐Education/Youth Services Programs and Adult Access/Outreach Programs 1 theatre (1%) reported income from Adult Access/Outreach Programs and Training Programs 1 theatre (1%) reported income solely from Adult Access/Outreach Programs The 151 theatres generated an average of $290,568 in earned income from their Education/Outreach programs. In the table below, we present the average income for all theatres and for each budget group, as well as the percentage of that income that came from each of the three categories of education/outreach programs. Figures were calculated based on only those theatres that reported earned income from Education/Outreach programs. The majority of Group 4 and 1 theatres’ total earned Education/Outreach income came from Arts‐in‐Education/Youth Services Programs, while the majority of the total earned Education/Outreach income for the remaining budget groups—and for the 151 theatres in total— came from Training Programs. EARNED INCOME FROM EDUCATION/OUTREACH PROGRAMS All
Group 6
Group 5
Group 4
Group 3
Group 2
Group 1
(151) $43 $4,189,395
(29) $43 $2,418,296
(30) $18,760 $4,189,395
(18) $1,425 $1,021,972
(53) $2,870 $2,115,791
(13) $1,100 $491,674
(8) $100 $78,633
$290,568
$508,328
$563,966
$193,801
$148,778
$52,873
$19,285
% from Arts‐In‐ Education/Youth Services Programs
36.2%
38.6%
27.9%
73.2%
33.0%
28.4%
82.1%
% from Adult Access Programs
1.4%
0.9%
0.8%
5.7%
1.7%
1.4%
10.0%
% from Training Programs
62.4%
60.5%
71.3%
21.2%
65.2%
70.2%
7.9%
# reporting Min Max
Average Earned Income
UNRESTRICTED CONTRIBUTED INCOME RELATED TO EDUCATION/OUTREACH PROGRAMS Of the 198 TCG Fiscal Survey 2015 participants, 112 (57%) reported that some portion of their unrestricted contributed income was earmarked for education programs. In aggregate, those theatres reported $17.8 million in earmarked contributions. We note that unrestricted contributed income includes unrestricted donations/grants for operating and non‐operating purposes as well as net assets released from temporary restrictions—i.e., assets that were released into the unrestricted fund during the fiscal year by the satisfaction of time or purpose restrictions. Money that was awarded/donated to theatres in the fiscal year being surveyed that was restricted for use until a future fiscal year is not reflected in these figures. Not all theatres receive support from every type of funder/contributor. In the table that follows, we show the number of theatres that received unrestricted contributed income from each source and, to the right of that number, what percentage of those theatres that received funding indicated that some of that funding was earmarked for education programs. For example, of the 198 participants, 104 received unrestricted contributed income from the federal government, and 18.3% of those 104 theatres reported that a portion of that money was earmarked for education programs. 18
# OF THEATRES REPORTING UNRESTRICTED CONTRIBUTED INCOME FROM EACH SOURCE AND THE PERCENTAGE OF THOSE THEATRES THAT REPORTED A PORTION EARMARKED FOR EDUCATION PROGRAMS Total # of Part
All
Group 6
Group 5
Group 4
Group 3
Group 2
(198)
(35)
(32)
(25)
(67)
(21)
Group 1 (18)
Federal
104
18.3%
26
23.1%
21
23.8%
13
7.7%
30
23.3%
8
0.0%
6
0.0%
State
164
23.2%
24
45.8%
30
23.3%
21
23.8%
56
14.3%
18
33.3%
15
6.7%
City/County
147
21.8%
28
42.9%
23
17.4%
20
15.0%
51
21.6%
14
14.3%
11
0.0%
Corporations
184
40.8%
35
62.9%
31
54.8%
25
40.0%
59
30.5%
20
35.0%
14
7.1%
Foundations
193
47.7%
35
62.9%
32
62.5%
24
50.0%
65
41.5%
19
47.4%
18
11.1%
Trustees and Other Individuals
197
30.5%
35
51.4%
32
46.9%
25
28.0%
66
24.2%
21
19.0%
18
0.0%
Total
198
56.8%
35
71.4%
32
75.0%
25
56.0%
67
52.2%
21
52.4%
18
16.7%
For the 112 theatres that reported unrestricted contributed income earmarked for education programs, the average amount was $158,689, which represented 4.7% of their total unrestricted contributed income. In the two tables that follow, we present the average amount of unrestricted contributed income earmarked for education programs that theatres received, in dollar amounts and as a percentage of the total unrestricted contributed income that they received. Please note that all figures were calculated based only on those theatres that reported unrestricted contributed income earmarked for education programs. For example, 19 of the 198 TCG Fiscal Survey 2015 participants reported unrestricted contributed income from the federal government that was earmarked for education programs. For those 19 theatres, the average amount earmarked for education programs was $35,831, which represented 35.7% of the total unrestricted contributed income that those theatres received from the federal government.
UNRESTRICTED CONTRIBUTED INCOME EARMARKED FOR EDUCATION PROGRAMS
All # reporting
Federal Government
Group 2
Group 1
(6)
(5)
(1)
(7)
(0)
(0)
$27,350
$63,336
$5,000
$27,857
—
—
Min Max
$5,000 $231,968
$18,000 $50,000
$15,000 $231,968
$5,000 $5,000
$10,000 $60,000
— —
— —
(38)
(11)
(7)
(5)
(8)
(6)
(1)
Average
$21,723
$19,424
$42,170
$20,404
$20,388
$7,500
$6,500
Min Max
$1,000 $139,539
$3,000 $41,000
$5,250 $139,539
$6,000 $45,000
$1,000 $60,000
$2,500 $17,000
$6,500 $6,500
(32)
(12)
(4)
(3)
(11)
(2)
(0)
Average
$24,952
$37,314
$17,975
$9,743
$17,757
$27,120
—
Min Max
$1,200 $135,434
$2,000 $135,434
$7,000 $34,000
$3,000 $20,000
$1,200 $46,824
$2,000 $52,240
— —
(75)
(22)
(17)
(10)
(18)
(7)
(1)
Average
$57,985
$126,070
$52,234
$23,170
$22,524
$6,745
$3,000
Min Max
$875 $345,000
$29,121 $345,000
$3,000 $144,064
$3,200 $65,000
$875 $87,500
$1,535 $15,000
$3,000 $3,000
(92)
(22)
(20)
(12)
(27)
(9)
(2)
Average
$92,851
$171,786
$66,618
$148,202
$47,288
$36,713
$22,500
Min Max
$1,500 $895,500
$15,185 $472,262
$10,500 $162,425
$16,091 $895,500
$1,500 $171,000
$3,957 $185,605
$5,000 $40,000
# reporting
Foundations
Group 3
(19)
# reporting
Corporations
Group 4
$35,831
# reporting
City/County Government
Group 5
Average
# reporting
State Government
Group 6
(60)
(18)
(15)
(7)
(16)
(4)
(0)
Trustees and Other Individuals
# reporting
Average
$40,785
$96,145
$29,157
$18,632
$7,718
$6,300
—
Min Max
$100 $331,549
$5,075 $331,549
$100 $120,820
$187 $50,500
$250 $52,525
$1,000 $17,074
— —
Total Unrestricted Contributed Income Earmarked for Education Programs
# reporting
(112)
(25)
(24)
(14)
(35)
(11)
(3)
Average
$158,692
$364,359
$139,227
$162,628
$71,135
$45,643
$18,167
Min Max
$1,890 $935,500
$43,663 $845,333
$21,015 $452,111
$11,000 $935,500
$1,890 $318,196
$3,500 $272,345
$5,000 $40,000 19
PORTION EARMARKED FOR EDUCATION PROGRAMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL UNRESTRICTED CONTRIBUTED INCOME FROM THE SOURCE All
Group 6
Group 5
Group 4
Group 3
Group 2
Group 1
(19)
(6)
(5)
(1)
(7)
(0)
(0)
Average
35.7%
14.0%
60.3%
50.0%
96.7%
—
—
Min Max
2.6% 100.0%
2.6% 100.0%
9.1% 100.0%
50.0% 50.0%
60.0% 100.0%
— —
— —
(38)
(11)
(7)
(5)
(8)
(6)
(1)
Average
18.5%
20.5%
12.3%
46.8%
27.9%
23.8%
39.4%
Min Max
1.0% 100.0%
8.7% 100.0%
1.0% 45.4%
30.0% 100.0%
4.5% 54.7%
7.6% 100.0%
39.4% 39.4%
# reporting
Federal Government
# reporting
State Government
# reporting
City/County Government
(32)
(12)
(4)
(3)
(11)
(2)
(0)
Average
17.7%
13.8%
46.8%
12.7%
23.4%
87.1%
—
Min Max
1.0% 100.0%
1.0% 100.0%
39.1% 100.0%
1.9% 100.0%
6.3% 100.0%
86.6% 100.0%
— —
# reporting
Corporations
(75)
(22)
(17)
(10)
(18)
(7)
(1)
Average
18.8%
19.8%
18.8%
8.9%
25.6%
17.0%
27.6%
Min Max
0.3% 100.0%
6.8% 65.2%
0.6% 79.3%
1.1% 50.1%
0.3% 100.0%
3.5% 65.2%
27.6% 27.6%
# reporting
Foundations
(92)
(22)
(20)
(12)
(27)
(9)
(2)
Average
13.8%
12.0%
10.9%
20.4%
16.4%
23.4%
9.7%
Min Max
0.3% 100.0%
3.7% 30.5%
1.5% 48.2%
5.1% 68.6%
0.3% 60.4%
4.8% 100.0%
5.0% 11.0%
(60)
(18)
(15)
(7)
(16)
(4)
(0)
Average
1.9%
1.9%
2.3%
0.8%
2.3%
4.4%
—
Min Max
0.0% 34.9%
0.2% 7.3%
0.0% 34.9%
0.0% 4.6%
0.1% 27.3%
0.8% 8.8%
— —
# reporting
Trustees and Other Individuals Total Earmarked Contributions as a % of Total Unrestricted Contributed Income
# reporting
(112)
(25)
(24)
(14)
(35)
(11)
(3)
Average
4.7%
4.2%
4.3%
5.4%
7.0%
10.3%
5.5%
Min Max
0.2% 57.2%
0.5% 12.9%
0.5% 11.3%
0.8% 36.0%
0.2% 34.0%
1.0% 57.2%
2.1% 7.9%
TOTAL EDUCATION INCOME Of the 198 TCG Fiscal Survey 2015 participants, 160 (81%) received some kind of education‐related income. The tables below present the average amounts that theatres received in combined earned and unrestricted contributed income as dollar amounts and as a percentage of their total unrestricted income. Again, all figures were calculated based only on those theatres that reported income related to education programs. It is important to note that many theatres conduct additional education programming for which they do not receive income.
TOTAL INCOME RELATED TO EDUCATION PROGRAMS (EARNED AND CONTRIBUTED) All # reporting
Group 6
Group 5
Group 4
Group 3
Group 2
Group 1
(160)
(33)
(31)
(19)
(55)
(13)
(9)
Average
$385,306
$722,742
$653,562
$303,432
$188,629
$91,494
$23,198
Min Max
$43 $4,347,910
$43 $2,981,047
$18,760 $4,347,910
$1,425 $1,382,583
$2,870 $2,115,791
$4,600 $502,209
$100 $78,633
TOTAL EDUCATION INCOME AS A PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL UNRESTRICTED INCOME (EARNED AND CONTRIBUTED) All
Group 6
Group 5
Group 4
Group 3
Group 2
Group 1
# reporting
(160)
(33)
(31)
(19)
(55)
(13)
(9)
Average
5.5%
3.5%
8.9%
6.5%
9.7%
11.3%
7.1%
Min Max
0.0% 74.6%
0.0% 23.6%
0.3% 45.7%
0.0% 34.2%
0.2% 74.6%
0.5% 59.0%
0.1% 19.2% 20
TOTAL EDUCATION EXPENSES Of the 198 TCG Fiscal Survey 2015 participants, 168 (85%) reported education‐related expenses. In aggregate, those theatres spent $50.7 million, 69% of which went towards salaries and benefits for education staff. It is important to note that some theatres that conduct education programs do not have designated education staff members, and that education activities often involve personnel beyond education staff, including other staff members, actors, and additional guest artists. In the table that follows, we present the average amounts that theatres spent on education payroll, education fringe benefits, and education non‐payroll expenses, which could include non‐salaried education personnel as well as supplies and materials. All figures were calculated based on only those theatres that reported education‐related expenses.
EDUCATION EXPENSES All
Group 6
Group 5
Group 4
Group 3
Group 2
Group 1
(146)
(32)
(31)
(21)
(51)
(9)
(2)
Average
$202,426
$441,989
$271,768
$119,115
$81,475
$31,634
$22,173
Min Max
$1,158 $1,897,956
$23,778 $1,744,968
$20,183 $1,897,956
$2,000 $429,335
$1,158 $576,037
$2,875 $78,043
$8,800 $35,546
(144)
(31)
(31)
(21)
(50)
(9)
(2)
Average
$37,961
$94,018
$45,942
$21,861
$12,547
$4,029
$2,489
Min Max
$89 $334,133
$12,263 $315,839
$1,894 $334,133
$156 $92,933
$89 $57,280
$109 $9,315
$720 $4,258
# reporting
Education Payroll
Education Fringe Benefits
# reporting
# reporting
Education Non‐Payroll Total Education‐ Related Expenses
(161)
(33)
(31)
(23)
(52)
(13)
(9)
$97,290
$220,115
$159,737
$52,268
$37,568
$15,674
$9,843
$100 $1,052,090
$6,887 $1,052,090
$11,953 $824,722
$6,300 $259,881
$1,026 $142,058
$100 $50,391
$1,288 $21,019
(168)
(33)
(31)
(24)
(58)
(13)
(9)
Average
$301,692
$737,031
$477,446
$173,445
$116,140
$40,363
$15,324
Min Max
$460 $2,607,752
$39,418 $2,607,752
$44,202 $2,557,569
$2,156 $782,149
$1,026 $650,411
$460 $135,040
$1,288 $60,823
Average Min Max # reporting
Finally, we present the average ratio of education expenses for education payroll and benefits versus education non‐payroll expenses. Please note that non‐payroll expenses include payments to education‐related personnel who were engaged as independent contractors. Figures were calculated based on the total number of theatres that reported education expenses of some kind.
RATIO OF EXPENSES RELATED TO PAYROLL & BENEFITS VS. NON‐PAYROLL EDUCATION EXPENSES All
Group 6
Group 5
Group 4
Group 3
Group 2
Group 1
(168)
(33)
(31)
(24)
(58)
(13)
(9)
Average
69.1%
70.1%
66.5%
71.1%
71.0%
61.2%
35.8%
Average
30.9%
29.9%
33.5%
28.9%
29.0%
38.8%
64.2%
# reporting
Education Payroll and Benefits Education Non‐ Payroll Expenses
Please visit the Arts Education section of the TCG website at www.tcg.org/ResearchAndResources/ArtsEducation.aspx for more information about TCG’s education‐related programming. For more information about the state of the U.S. professional not‐for‐profit theatre field in 2015, read Theatre Facts 2015, available free of charge on the TCG website at www.tcg.org/ResearchAndResources/TheatreFacts.aspx. For over 50 years, Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre, has existed to strengthen, nurture, and promote the professional not‐for‐profit American theatre. Its programs serve nearly 700 member theatres and affiliate organizations and more than 11,000 individuals nationwide. As the U.S. Center of the International Theatre Institute, TCG connects its constituents to the global theatre community. TCG is North America’s largest independent publisher of dramatic literature, with 14 Pulitzer Prizes for Best Play on the TCG booklist. It also publishes the award‐winning American Theatre magazine and ARTSEARCH®, the essential source for a career in the arts. In all of its endeavors, TCG seeks to increase the organizational efficiency of its member theatres; cultivate and celebrate the artistic talent and achievements of the field; and promote a larger public understanding of, and appreciation for, the theatre. TCG is a 501(c)(3) not‐for‐profit organization and is led by Teresa Eyring, executive director, and Adrian Budhu, deputy director and chief operating officer. Copyright © February, 2017—Theatre Communications Group
