Pardon our pause.
Deeper intention requires time to develop new ideas that create the conditions for lasting change. We want to go deeper and do more to offer an increasingly meaningful and accessible experience for our public. In an effort to fulfill this promise, we need to forge more formal relationships with folks who know Court as well as they know the South Side; partners who desire to vision new policies alongside us; and practices and programs that reflect not only enhance our artistic vision, but expand our civic potential.
Our Partners in Community council is designed to reflect the spectrum of stakeholders that make our programs at Court Theatre increasingly resonant with our audiences, responsive to the desires of our public, and inclusive in our outreach and programming efforts. Consisting of local and civic leaders, educators, entrepreneurs, advocates, philanthropists, and creatives, this council will work with Court leadership to advise on best practices to advance our goal of becoming a reflection of the communities that surround us.
This new way forward requires that we sunset the Community Partners Initiative (CPI) and take a year to reconsider what our outreach efforts can be. We’ve learned so much from our work with CPI, and this learning is already shaping what we will do next. When we listened, we heard the need for more accessible productions, more opportunities to access our performances beyond subscription, and the desire for a less transactional approach to our relationships on the South Side.
Now is the time to pause and reconsider what our responsibility to the public can look like both on and off the stage. We plan to return in the fall of 2024 to make introductions as we roll out the Partners in Community council and share more about our members.