A CONTEMPORARY THEATRE INC

ACT is unique in that we have five distinct performance and event spaces. We produce our own curated and produced Mainstage Season; present a second season of co-productions and presenting works through our ACTLab series; develop and workshop new plays; produce unknown new works; mount our annual production of A Christmas Carol; have a cabaret venue; serve youth; serve artists; and we manage at least eight different artistic programs over the course of a year in our historic landmark building. In all of the great work we are doing, we look to define ourselves and what makes ACT stand out so that our patrons can identify us in the marketplace and so that we can differentiate our company from other theatres in the area. This will help to differentiate and clarify our work in the marketplace, and help with internal bandwidth and shared vision on our staff.

ACT is committed to the programs that are essential to our mission and our success. Our goal is to develop a branding campaign to communicate our offerings and to update and renovate our facility so that it aligns with our mission and vision, as well as attracts audiences who are seeking a place to gather and connect.

Our Strategic Plan will introduce a new, updated mission for the theatre that will include Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, Fiscal Responsibility and incorporate our stewardship of the Eagles Auditorium building.

Our strategies include increasing our staff and capacity building. Based on recent data analysis from the Theatre Communications Group Theatre Facts, we have noted that ACT was meeting benchmarks in subscriptions but is losing ground here, so we must innovate new ideas; we are under performing in single tickets by approximately 10,000 units per year and continue to look for ways to attract new audiences. In contributed revenue, we are underperforming by 10% in the ration of earned vs contributed revenue as compared to our peers. The percent of subscribers who donate is 7% below the benchmark. Of note, we are also underinvesting in the areas of marketing and development as compared to peer benchmarks. ACT is spending 40% less on marketing and 50% less on fundraising than the average. These numbers and their outcomes are directly related. Our goal is to increase our investment in human resources and communication tools so that we can meet or exceed the industry benchmarks. We are making strides in these areas but there is still work to be done. We expect/anticipate that the work we have done to develop our new Strategic Plan will pave the way to many of the actions we need to take to accomplish our goals.

ACT embarked upon a serious campaign to gain financial stability in 2015. Financial guidelines were set into place and a plan to retire the theatre's debt was started. In 2018 we received two generous bequests that allowed us to complete our goals earlier than anticipated by retiring all of our debt at the end of December 2018. We see the success of the hard work, the faith our supporters have in us and will move forward to continue on this path of fiscal responsibility and strength. The new Strategic Plan includes a foundational goal that states: "Financial Sustainability informs all decision-making".

ACT is debt free. We are making intentional choices about diversity in our leadership, staff, patrons and artists and are seeing improvements in this area. ACT embarks upon a new Engagement Ambassador Program in 2019, inviting members of diverse communities to actively participate in ACT's artistic offerings, including the Mainstage and ACTLab. We are intentionally recruiting Teaching Artists of color for our 2019 fall Young Playwrights Program, and leaders of color for our Board of Directors.