CITY LIGHTS THEATER COMPANY OF SAN JOSE

City Lights Theater Company is committed to presenting works of the highest caliber, that are new, newly imagined, or otherwise uncommon, and that speak eloquently to our diverse community on issues of immediate local, national, and worldwide concern. The company strives to maintain and strengthen its status as an important destination for theatre artists and audiences alike, by raising the artistic and administrative bar each season. The company’s primary objectives are to engage audiences on a deeply personal level, and to redefine the theater-going experience, making it more resonant and lasting.

Our mission: to create provocative live productions that engage, inspire, and challenge audiences and artists alike through innovative concepts, intimate staging, and uncompromising storytelling.

Our vision: a world that is positively influenced by art that illuminates the universal human experience, in a conscious effort to encourage exploration of the familiar and the frontier.

Our goal: to be a nationally recognized theatrical destination for artists and audiences alike.

City Lights’ programming is mission-driven, providing an engaging and provocative theater-going experience. We are committed to raising the bar each season in play selection and presentation. Filling a national small-theatre niche without sacrificing identity, mission, or aesthetic remains a priority; who we are is winning us national recognition.

Now in its 37th season, City Lights remains committed to maintaining an unprecedented record of accomplishment through continued artistic excellence and fiscal responsibility. Closing each year in the black is a priority at City Lights, made possible by constant scrutiny and careful management of income and expenses throughout each season. 2018-19marked CLTC’s 16th consecutive season in the black.

City Lights’ mainstage season includes 6 full-length plays: usually 2-3 world, national, or regional premieres; 1 reinvented “classic”; 1 non-traditional holiday offering; and 1 musical highlighting the company’s intimacy and provocative identity, and presenting issues relevant to a largely younger demographic. Programming is mission-driven; the mission statement and Strategic Plan (revised in 2017) are applied to all operations.

City Lights prides itself on its inclusive stance and accessibility; all are welcome at City Lights, and our work -- and success -- is a product of a core commitment to diversity that informs all of the company’s programming and operations, especially audience engagement and development.

Patron engagement and sales is especially significant now, as the entire non-profit theatre industry focuses on rebuilding audiences with a younger cross-section of society. City Lights’ success with this younger demographic is a result of a non-stop commitment to engagement and what the company calls “a Culture of Care.” Based upon the concept of “radical hospitality,” the Culture of Care is a commitment to engagement from within, that unifies company members, supporters, audiences, and ultimately the community at large under a banner of philanthropy and goodwill; it forges lasting, authentic connections with friendliness and generosity of spirit. The Culture of Care inspires loyalty and trust among staff and employees, as well as supporters and patrons who connect more deeply to the organization as a whole and not simply to one play or event.

City Lights believes in the power of outreach to bring the benefits of live theatre directly to the community it serves. The company’s unique outreach Non-Profit Partner program continues to ally CLTC with other significant non-profit organizations throughout the community, resulting in mutual acknowledgment and support. The company’s Pay-What-You-Can Preview opens the doors of each new production to a first-preview audience of patrons who may not be able to afford regular ticket prices. And in 2019, the Mini-Lights training intensive will offer scholarships to candidates demonstrating financial hardship; the company will be reaching out to disadvantaged and underserved schools to attract those students to the Mini-Lights program and the creative and learning potential of the live theatre experience.

The company also presents the Lights & Music Concert Series, and actively promotes and develops new plays and playwrights through the Lights Up! annual new works festival. Through its Youth & Education Program, the company offers ticket discounts, free study guides, student matinées, and other opportunities to explore live theatre -- both as audience members and as students of the craft of theatre. City Lights is widely regarded as a nurturing space in which up-and-coming actors, directors, designers, and technicians can develop their skills alongside seasoned professionals.

City Lights has a lengthy track record of fiscal success that is the envy of the non-profit theatre industry. The company has closed the books on 16 consecutive years in the black without compromising its work, its aesthetic, or its unique “vibe.” And it has, for the first time in its 37-year history, established a cash reserve. Recognized for raising the artistic bar and for consistent, unparalleled fiscal responsibility over many years, City Lights has positioned itself to address all possible challenges, variables, and unknowns responsibly, and with innovation and self-knowledge. The crippling economic climate of the past several years has revealed the fatal vulnerability of many companies unable to survive change, hardship, and challenge. City Lights however, through the same period marked by the same crises, has thrived. It is a capacity for addressing such critical challenges that sets City Lights apart, and that puts the company in the best possible position for future success.

City Lights’ growth over the past two decades has made the company the envy of the Bay Area non-profit theatre industry, and the company’s innovative practices, flexibility, and transparency have begun to attract national attention. A place where risk and accomplishment go hand in hand, City Lights builds continued success from a combination of fiscal responsibility and artistic reach. Recent accomplishments include the following:

2018-19 marked City Lights’ 16th consecutive season in the black. The budget has grown 97% in the last 5 years, exceeding $1 million for the first time in the 17-18 fiscal year. In 17-18, mainstage productions served 11,170 (86% capacity, up from 75% in 16-17). In addition, the Lights Up! festival served 292 (72% capacity), the Lights & Music Series served 347 (86% capacity), student matinées served 241 (80% capacity), and 1,303 student/educator tickets were sold overall. Sales, attendance, and budgeting trends have been stable, allowing for consistent growth over the past several years.

With its current lease scheduled to expire permanently at the end of the next fiscal year (August 31, 2020), City Lights is preparing for a move to a new or newly renovated facility in little over a year. (Should a suitable new “permanent” facility not be identified within this imposed timeframe, a “interim” facility must be secured to ensure that the company doesn’t “go dark” while waiting for a new permanent home; such a period of dormancy can prove fatal to an otherwise active arts organization that depends upon year-round cash flow and uninterrupted audience development for fiscal health and survival.)

City Lights is working to identify all fundraising and administrative needs necessitated by this impending relocation project; it is seen as a significant opportunity for growth that is necessary to the company’s long-term health and viability as a significant cultural destination in San José and the South Bay. It is anticipated that a capital campaign to secure relocation funding will begin soon.