Making the Public, Public

As a candidate for a Master’s of Arts Management degree from Carnegie Mellon University, one of the final requirements standing in between me and graduating was a capstone project. Upon course-work completion, students are placed into real-world consultancy projects with arts organizations, typically in a local community. The primary goal is to provide students the opportunity to develop the skills necessary for structuring, managing, and completing projects for an organization. The summer before, students determine their top projects of interest, and a placement announcement is made the week before the semester begins: I was placed with The Pittsburgh Public Theater to help implement a Public Works program with six other students in my cohort. 

The scope of the project focused on a feasibility study for a large-scale longitudinal engagement project akin to the Public Works programs currently being implemented at a network of theaters around the globe including the Public Theater in New York City, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Dallas Theater Center, the National Theatre in London, and a few others. The primary goal of the project was to evaluate the viability of implementing such a program in Pittsburgh, including researching and assessing potential impact with a variety of potential community partners. 

Our Approach

The team began by examining other established Public Works initiatives, how they began, how they function, and how they sustain themselves. Being grounded in community work, it was essential that we also examine The Public’s current community engagement initiatives, as well as its present and past relationships with other community organizations.

Throughout this process, we looked through a lens of civic engagement - examining how theatre, created for the public good, may recenter our cultural institution as a civic one. How might we advance the agenda of our community through artistic production?

What is “Public Works”?

The credo of the Public Works program is based on three concepts: Seeing Theater, Making Theater, and Experiencing Theater, which has been adopted in ten theaters across the country, and a few around the world. While all of the programs are modeled on the Public Works Playbook, each is unique to its respective city.

In some cases, this model can be oversimplified. It is more than simply bringing in community members from different community-specific social service organizations to watch theater; Public Works hope to empower those community members to tell their own stories by bringing together onstage with professional actors to produce full-fledged productions after one year of theater workshops and community events. 

Areas of Impact

The value of the arts aside, our Public Works program had the power to address Pittsburgh’s community-identified challenges while uplifting and amplifying the impact of its successes. Looking closer at the data, the demographic group most impacted by some of those greater community challengers within the Pittsburgh population (examining across income, unemployment, transportation, and race) are people of color. Therefore, we identified a potential for this program to connect with individuals who have been systematically underserved by the current systems within the city. 

As we thought about interventions, we examined the possibilities of co-creation through theatre education to envision new futures for Pittsburgh. For instance, conducting workshops using the “theatre of the oppressed” model (created Augusto Boal), the program stated its intention to use theatre to amplify the voices to those who felt voiceless and disenfranchised . Through the program, these participants were able to “rehearse” for a revolution. The program was able to provide a therapeutic method to manage intense emotions/feelings that erupt from hardship and systemic oppression: 

As such, we focused on three areas of impact:

Internal Organizational Capacity and Change Management

Building organizational capacity and effective change management practices within our own organization was key to the introduction and implementation of a new program. Clear communication within the staff and board is critical to any change. If the staff are updated regularly, have opportunities to provide feedback (which is heard authentically), and are provided training and mentorship regarding the changes taking place, they will feel ownership towards the project.

Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Inclusion

Public Works can facilitate collaboration with historically underserved neighborhoods. By doing so, the program can attract current residents to remain in the area and give future residents a meaningful invitation with the intention of providing both parties the notion that their presence matters. 

The pillars of any organization are constructed with a foundation of trust and resources. Without these fundamental components, an organization cannot operate efficiently. As we learned in both the contexts of community engagement and partnerships, organizations must be healthy internally to generate any amount of success with their communities. If not, there are noticeable impacts on their external image with the community. 

To engage all staff members in a specific type of training to increase Diversity, Equity, Access, and Inclusion is important to achieve these goals. These are long-term objectives derived from a desire for an organization to reflect its community. Thus, it can be a long and bumpy road. Having a diverse organization not only adds value intrinsically but can increase community p[articipation (and even raise revenues!).

Training is important, so that when an organization is on their journey, if there exists a problem, it can be handled instantly - never neglected for serious issues can develop. During this journey, the last thing an organization desires is for an incident to lead to bad press, as that can derail the entire process. By working deeply in communities, this authentic work ensures that members of that community are treated with respect throughout the process.

Organizations moving through DEAI practices towards deeper engagement with their communities, also translates to a staff that properly understands how to co-create with  program participants from various racial/ethnic/cultural backgrounds. Teaching artists, who will interact primarily with program participants, must be aware of any racial/ethnic/cultural biases that can erupt in educational settings. It is crucial that everyone is provided an equitable opportunity for success. When a teaching artist can understand everyone in the room, it allows for everyone to be deeply connected. Additionally, from examining the research, it is evident that the communities that will need the most attention are people of color, specifically African American/Black individuals. Therefore, to construct a conducive environment for these individuals, it will require staff members that look like participants. Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion (DEAI) training and implementation is a critical element of this project. This will not only motivate solidarity from the organization but further endorse this idea of community commitment.

Community Partnership

Analysis of other Public Works programs provides guidance by considering where their programming intersects with issues faced in their cities. It is crucial that the relationship cultivation process begins early so that the partners know they are valued, respected, and completely included in daily operations. A key element to any mutually beneficial partnership is transparency in communication - and telling the story of Public Works in a relatable way. Sharing the Public Works process with potential partners and being honest about why the theater wants to partner with them will help eliminate the fear of the unknown, maximizing transparency. 

Additionally, storytelling should focus on the human element by utilizing actual quotes and stories from participants. The most effective narratives lean into what makes a specific area special and unique - highlighting different community partners. If organizations want to tell the stories of people experiencing injustice, then those communities must be invited to the table, both as audience members and managers of content. Furthermore, to create solidarity and comfort, an organization's staff, board, and the audience must be diverse. This type of work is not for the annual subscriber, but for individuals who have been underserved by the arts and society.

Having a meaningful interest in communities is the only way to foster progress.

Recommendations

A significant amount of preparation, cultivation, and effort was required for operationalizing Public Works Pittsburgh.

  1. When keeping the Public Works Playbook in mind during the program’s development, Pittsburgh’s uniqueness is a critical element of its success and should not be forgotten. While every Public Works program was developed using the model provided in the Public Works Playbook, each program has made modifications to suit the needs of their geography.

  2. Internal cultural alignment with Public Works values is crucial: Both the staff and the Board of Directors must be on the same page because Public Works touches every aspect of a theater and needs support from everyone involved. One of the most important ideas that staff and board must believe is that the incorporation of the community does not mean that the quality of production is less.

  3. Storytelling must be Transparent and Human:

    • Frame Public Works Pittsburgh as being for human good, not the bottom line

    • Highlight first-hand accounts of the Public Works experience from participants to document stories of how Public Works Pittsburgh fulfills the community’s social services needs

    • Give ownership to the staff over language that is used in social media posts and communications - limiting branded language increases connection to the story.

  4. Start building relationships with potential community partners now:

    • Consider engaging Public Works Pittsburgh partner organizations as partnerships are currently handled - different community partners specific to each show in the season.

    • Provide each organization with a specific number of tickets for each show and work with them to make sure each ticket is used by someone in their community.  Additionally, provide transportation from the partner organization to the theater for each show. Community partners will feel like they belong in the theater if they are included in the audience at productions other than Public Works and it allows the theater to determine the best transportation solution for partner organizations ahead of implementing the full Public Works program.

    • Consider implementing a pared-down version of Public Works in the first year. Provide regular community events at the O’Reilly Theater and workshops taught by teaching artists at partner locations for one year. In addition to these events, a community “Public Works Day” at the end of the first year could celebrate all that community members learned throughout the year - participants could perform monologues or scenes that they worked on for everyone involved in Public Works Pittsburgh

  5. Begin increasing staff capacity now. With the addition of a new program, departments will be required to take more work on, especially Development and Community Engagement. Without additional support, the current employees may feel even more overworked, leading to burnout.

Looking toward the future with the goal of programmatic success top of mind, PPT must be prepared to commit to at least three years of hard work on getting this program right. There are likely to be barriers in the beginning, but that should not be a reason to give up on the program after one or even two years. Given an 18 to 24-month timeline, the city of Pittsburgh would have the opportunity to look forward to a robust and meaningful first production in the summer of 2022.

About the Pittsburgh Public Theater: 

Pittsburgh Public Theater is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide artistically diverse theatrical experiences of the highest quality. As a pillar of the city’s cultural landscape for the last 45 years, the Public also strives to serve, challenge, stimulate and entertain while operating in a fiscally responsible manner. The Public employs dozens of professionals onstage and off ranging from actors to graphic and theater designers to teaching artists to accountants to carpenters, all in service of executing six mainstage productions and related community engagement programs. The Public shares its resources with the community through education and outreach initiatives including “Free City” performances, special student matinee performances, summer camp program, post-show talkbacks, and an annual Shakespeare Monologue and Scene Contest. These are intended for and routinely engage a wide range of people with the goal of expanding and diversifying the audience while enriching the community.