Document Type

Honors Project

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic sent shockwaves through the theater industry that have seen dozens of venues across the country laying off workers, shortening seasons, and even closing altogether. Costs have risen, audiences have been slow to return, and traditional sources of funding have dried up. What then, are theaters to do? By conducting an economic analysis and examining published and original interviews with theater practitioners, this essay explores this crisis as it has affected the regional nonprofit theater sector, specifically the members of the League of Resident Theaters (LORT). It concludes that LORT’s model is no longer sustainable because of its failure to engage and develop a supportive and diverse theater community of artists and audiences. Based on this research, I propose a new model for the theater funded by the government that brings together ideas from community-engaged theater, Broadway, 365 Days/365 Plays, the Federal Theater Project, We See You White American Theater, and the live music industry with the goal of rebuilding the theater community from the local level up to the national.

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