OUR OVERALL VISION

"Making the Public public."

Hedgehog

Pittsburgh Public Theater is truly a Public Theater for Pittsburgh: we produce new works of American theater that directly engage with issues facing our Pittsburgh community, auxiliary programming (directly related to these productions) that opens our doors and welcomes our community to be active participants in the theater-making process, provide staff the independence and creative liberty to work as a non-hierarchical community, and ensure our role in the greater Pittsburgh community as not just a presenter of theater, but a community space dedicated to improving life for all Pittsburghers.

HEDGEHOG DEVELOPMENT

A.1. What do we do best in the world? What do we do better than any other (theatre/dance/opera/orchestra) company?

We are very good at creating auxiliary programming that aligns with not only our mission but also our productions.

A.2. Continue to tighten by asking: What are we NOT best at? What are other organizations doing bigger or better than we are?

Ability to financially experiment: the financial management and constraints from previous years prevent us from taking financial risks that may better our organization and connection to our community.

SUMMARIZE

We are great at presenting engaging programming to supplement our productions and enhance our community presence, but not that is necessarily the most financially lucrative.

B.1. What is the common denominator that best drives our resource (economic) engine?

SHOWS. Biggest source of income is from productions.

B.2. What creates the greatest net surplus from all potential incomes (earned and contributed)?

Investments & publicly traded securities: leads to over $10 million in assets.

SUMMARIZE

Our best sources of income are stable: we will always do productions, and our investments can sit in stable funds without much involvement if needed.

C.1. What are our core people passionate about?

Getting to see entertaining theatrical productions produced at high quality.

C.2. What is the Artistic Director/Executive Director passionate about?

Making the Public public: creating and executing programs that allow PPT to sustainably and effectively engage new audiences and assert PPT's position as a center for community building and engagement. Our "Public Works" programming, open-door policy, and August Wilson competition welcome our communities and local artists to our stages.

C.3. What is the staff passionate about? Willing to work, without complaint, for hours on end?

Our staff has the creative and organizational independence to manage their own teams, giving them a deeper commitment and understanding to and for their work.

SUMMARIZE

While PPT strives for high-quality productions for our core audiences, we are committed to creating and executing programs that engage with our communities, making PPT a truly "Public" theatre. Our "Public Works" programming, open-door policy, and August Wilson celebrations welcome our communities and local artists to our stages. Our staff is driven to achieve this as they are given the creative and organizational independence they need to work as a single unit.

Community Impact

Pittsburgh Public Theater is committed to being a theater that is impactful on the lives of our community, whether or not they engage directly with our work.

COMMUNITY IMPACT STATEMENT:

Pittsburgh Public Theater will be Pittsburgh's Theater for the Public. We will be a theater that:

makes every community member feel welcome
is radically inclusive
that tells stories that directly relate to the lives of our community members
that welcomes new audiences
that welcomes diverse perspectives
that increases belonging regardless of interaction

We want every Pittsburgher, regardless of their historical interactions (or lack thereof) with PPT, to feel like they have a place at the O'Reilly and that we are telling stories that represent them, and that can actually make a difference.

COMMUNITY IMPACT METRICS:

In this spirit of radical inclusivity, PPT has developed specific metrics that we feel will allow us to best measure our success in regard to this commitment. Below are our Defined Metrics for Increasing Belonging:

At each production, there will be 100 audience members attending their first show at PPT.
For each production, PPT will engage with a community partner whose work is relevant to the themes of the production. No community partner will have ever worked with PPT before, and we will ensure each production includes a partnership with a new organization. Partnership TBD over the course of the season.
We will sell out 40% of all performances in the 2022-2023 season.
We will sell 85% of all lowest-price tiered seats across the 2022-2023 season.
We will have at least ten attendees at each Open Doors PPT.
We will have at least 100 unique participants at Public Works programming.
At least 15% of all attendees at each production received subsidized tickets at one of our outreach appearances.
By the end of the 2024-2025 season, our mailing list will includes someone from every Zip Code in SW PA.
By the end of the 2026-2027 season, we will have increased attendance by BIPOC Pittsburghers by 25%.

EXAMPLE:

As an example of how we believe our planned 2022-2023 production will help us achieve our metrics for belonging, please find below a logic model for our production of Exception to the Rule by Dave Harris that illustrates this production's planned/hopeful impact.

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