Philadelphia Theatre
Resource Sharing Committee
JOIN US!
The Resource Sharing Committee is looking for new projects and new members!
The Resource Sharing Committee is a volunteer group of theater professionals from across the Philadelphia region who have come together to envision and organize resource-sharing initiatives for performing arts institutions and individual artists in the Philadelphia area. We aim to reduce waste, increase cross-company conversation, and create more avenues for sharing the community’s resources. We strive to make the Philadelphia performing arts sector radically innovative, equitable, and sustainable. We are guided by the value of generosity.
Since our founding in the early days of the pandemic lockdown we have lifted several projects off the ground and into community-wide use. Most notably, a database of stock inventory so that theaters and practitioners can browse and make use of each others’ prop and costume stocks as well as a contact list of rehearsal and performance spaces in the Philadelphia region. We also assisted Tamara Anderson in the creation of her BIPOC Creatives Database.
We are now looking for new members to help shape the committee in its next chapter, and collaborate on envisioning and creating the next projects! The committee meets for one hour weekly with limited and flexible work expectations outside of that time. (Those who can’t join weekly but are interested in the mission and can join occasionally are welcome, too.) It’s a space to discuss your ideas about how to make the Philly performance sector a less wasteful, more collaborative space and to loft those ideas with the support of other engaged people!
Diversity of membership makes this committee stronger. We welcome both individual freelance and performance institution members. If you would like your institution to be part of this conversation, please consider designating someone from your staff to participate on the institution's behalf.
If you are interested in joining us, please send an email to phillyresourcesharing@gmail.com with a little information about yourself and what excites you about this work!
Who We Are
The Resource Sharing Committee is a volunteer group of theater professionals from across the Philadelphia region who have come together to envision and organize resource-sharing initiatives for performing arts institutions and individual artists in the Philadelphia area. We aim to reduce waste, increase cross-company conversation, and create more avenues for sharing the community’s resources. We strive to make the Philadelphia performing arts sector radically innovative, equitable, and sustainable. We are guided by the value of generosity.
What We Do
The Resource Sharing Committee envisions and organizes resource sharing initiatives for performing arts institutions and individual performing artists in the greater Philadelphia area. Originally formed as an off-shoot of a larger meeting of Philadelphia theater leaders during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Resource Sharing Committee has embraced the opportunity for creative thinking and innovation born of these challenging times.
The purpose of the Resource Sharing Committee is:
1.) to reduce waste in the performing arts sector by sharing production materials such as props, scenery, and costumes, and
2.) to provide avenues for communication between companies and across communities for the betterment and equitability of the Philadelphia performing arts sector as a whole.
As a Committee, we initialize the steps to set up projects, strategize about setting them in motion, and stabilize them before they become available for public use. We work on behalf of the many communities in the Philadelphia performing arts sector to solve scarcity issues and raise the producing ability of all companies. We welcome ideas from these communities and hold ourselves accountable to them. Communicating with performing arts practitioners, leaders and freelancers is central to our process. The initiatives we set in motion are opt-in and low-cost or free to all. We strive to make the Philadelphia performing arts sector radically innovative, equitable, and sustainable. We are guided by the value of generosity.
Current Areas of Focus
Shared Inventory - It is a single, shared online inventory (using a software called StageStock) that multiple organizations and individuals artists use to list some (or all) of their inventory for others to borrow or rent. It contains props, costumes, lighting instruments, etc. Theatre-makers looking for items can search the entire inventory at once, and then connect with the item owners to arrange to borrow or rent the items.
Knowledge Sharing - One of our best "resources" is the knowledge of what resources exist! We've been collecting as much info, data, links, etc. to share!
Production Resources - vendors, shops, services, etc. to help with the production (sets, costumes, lights, sound, etc.) for shows
Collections of curated databases of artists
Speed-Dating / helping artists meet new artists / networking
Ideas for Additional Projects or Areas of Focus?
Use our simple form to pitch a potential project or area of focus you would like to the committee to work on or research.