The West Side Show Room
Making Room For Everyone
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
There is a diversity crisis in the performing arts both in Rockford, Illinois and across the country. Anyone can go to the theater in any community and plainly see that the audience, performers, playwrights, and plays do not typically reflect the diverse people of our nation.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Rockford New Play Festival
Founded in 2013, The Rockford New Play Festival gives established and aspiring playwrights from the Rockford Area the opportunity to have their work read professionally to the public alongside the work of national and international playwrights. Six plays are chosen each year from hundreds of submissions and presented in a staged reading in Rockford, Illinois and broadcast live on Facebook.
Where we work
External reviews
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
By removing barriers to attendance and presenting high quality professional works that have opportunities for diverse casting, The West Side Show Room is helping create a future where experiencing the arts inspires everyone in our community toward greatness.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
CORE VALUES
Making Room
We want everyone in our community to have the opportunity to experience and participate in high quality live performance, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, country of origin, nationality, religion, functional ability, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, body type, economic status, or education level.
Excellence
We strive to continually and transparently improve our productions and programs to ensure artistic, operational, and fiscal quality.
Education
We believe engaging and educating the public are critical to transforming our community and the world.
Collaboration
We sustain our mission by fostering long-term relationships with artists and community organizations that share our goal of removing barriers to audience and artist participation in the performing arts.
ARTISTIC VALUES
Activist Casting
In works where identifying characteristics are not specified or central to the artist's intent, any actor (regardless of age, race, ethnicity, gender identity, physical ability, or body type) should be able to play any role. Whenever appropriate, we seek to cast outside the norm in order to challenge traditional notions of who can be involved in theater.
Confrontation
We present plays that are wildly entertaining, but never allow the audience to withdraw into complacency. Whether the work is old/new, dramatic/comedic, realistic/absurd, our performances are up-close, immersive, risky, confrontational, and challenge the audience to expand their view of the world.
Space = Power
Maintaining our own black box performance space gives us the freedom to present any artistic work, in any configuration, without limit or fear of censorship.
Cardboard
The West Side Show Room's first sets were made out of cardboard as both a way to save money, and as an aesthetic choice. We hold cardboard up as an emblem symbolic of creative constraint: the concept that artists make the strongest choices when their options are limited.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The West Side Show Room is currently renovating and 3000 square foot performance space on Rockford's north west side, adjacent to the diverse communities we want to serve. With two performance spaces, we will have the programming flexibility to create our own work as well as present work by other local arts groups. We have received grants and support from location foundations including the Blazer Foundations, the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois, and the Rockford Area Arts Council, as well as local individuals who believe in our mission. Our proximity to Chicago allows us to draw from the extensive pool of actors, designers, and technicians to create high quality work.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Founded in 2013, The West Side Show Room has produced seven unique plays to date, drawing a diverse new crowd of non-traditional theatergoers eager for high-quality contemporary theatrical experiences that excite and challenge. In 2014 The WSSR collaborated with The Rockford Area Arts Council to create The Rockford New Play Festival, now beginning its fourth year. Originally located at 410 Mulberry Street in The Rock River Times building, The WSSR is currently renovating a new performance space at 1414 N Main Street.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
The West Side Show Room
Board of directorsas of 01/31/2018
Mike Werckle
The West Side Show Room
Marilyn Lamar
Studio 451
Beth Edgerton
Hospice Care of America
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? No -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? No -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? No -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No