Park Square Theatre Company

TO ENRICH AND EDUCATE UPPER MIDWEST AUDIENCES AND SCHOOLS WITH EXCEPTIONAL LIVE THEATRE.

GENERAL AUDIENCE PROGRAMMING-PARK SQUARE'S MISSION IS TO ENRICH OUR COMMUNITY BY PRODUCING AND PRESENTING EXCEPTIONAL LIVE THEATRE THAT TOUCHES THE HEART, ENGAGES THE MIND AND DELIGHTS THE SPIRIT. NAMED MPLS/ST. PAUL MAGAZINE'S 2012 BEST MID-SIZED THEATRE, PARK SQUARE THEATRE IS THE LARGEST MID-SIZED THEATRE IN MINNESOTA AND THE ONLY ONE WITH TWO STAGES. THE THEATRE GENERALLY SERVES THE MARKET'S THIRD-LARGEST SUBSCRIBER BASE AND AN ANNUAL AUDIENCE OF 82,000. PARK SQUARE THEATRE IS A LEADING PRODUCER OF WORK BY LIVING WRITERS, INCLUDING WOMEN AND PEOPLE OF COLOR, COMMITTED TO CREATING A SENSE OF CONNECTION AND BELONGING FOR THE COMMUNITIES IN OUR AREA. WITHIN DAYS OF THE MARCH 2020 SHUTDOWN ORDER DUE TO THE COVID 19 GLOBAL PANDEMIC, PARK SQUARE PIVOTED TO ONLINE OFFERINGS AND CONTINUED TO OPERATE IN THIS WAY THROUGH THE 2020-2021 SEASON. ONLINE OFFERINGS INCLUDED MONTHLY ENGAGEMENTS OF THE MYSTERIOUS OLD RADIO LISTENING SOCIETY'S ORIGINAL OLD-STYLE RADIO PERFORMANCES AND PERFORMANCES OF CLASSIC RADIO SCRIPTS (INCLUDING "SORRY, WRONG NUMBER AND "A CHRISTMAS CAROL" AMONG OTHERS), A HALLOWEEN-THEMED PERFORMANCE ENTITLED THEATRE OF THE MACABRE AND A FULLY-STAGED FILM OF ANTONIO DUKE'S "TEARS OF MOONS" WHICH WAS OFFERED TO BOTH GENERAL AUDIENCES AND SCHOOL AUDIENCES ONLINE. THE LIVE PRODUCTIONS SCHEDULED FOR 2020-2021 SEASON CONTINUE TO BE RESCHEDULED FOR THE 2021-2022 AND 2022-2023 SEASONS. BEFORE THE PANDEMIC BEGAN, PARK SQUARE BEGAN CONVERSATIONS WITH STEPPINGSTONE THEATRE ABOUT SHARING SPACE AND THOSE CONVERSATIONS MOVED TO DISCUSSION OF A MERGER TO CREATE SAINT PAUL'S "THEATER FOR LIFE SERVING PEOPLE FROM AGE 3 TO 103." IN NOVEMBER 2021, STEPPINGSTONE THEATRE MOVED IN WITH PARK SQUARE THEATRE AND BOTH ORGANIZATIONS BEGAN FINDING WAYS TO SHARE OPERATING COSTS AND STAFF. WHILE BOTH ENTITIES REMAIN SEPARATE AS OF THIS WRITING, BOTH ORGANIZATIONS ARE WORKING TOWARDS A PLANNED MERGER WHICH SHOULD BE COMPLETED BY SEPTEMBER 1, 2022.

STUDENT PROGRAMMING-OUR APPROACH TO STUDENTS IS MISSION-DRIVEN AND TEENS ARE AN ESSENTIAL PARK SQUARE AUDIENCE. BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, PARK SQUARE SERVED ONE OUT OF FIFTEEN 7TH-12TH GRADERS FROM ACROSS A MULTI-STATE REGION. IN ADDITION TO OFFERING REDUCED-PRICE MATINEES FOR SCHOOLS, PARK SQUARE'S SIGNATURE "IMMERSION DAYS" FEATURE ARTIST-LED WORKSHOPS, INTERACTIVE DEMONSTRATIONS, AND POST-SHOW DISCUSSIONS. AFTER THE PANDEMIC SHUTDOWN, FILMED VERSIONS OF RELEVANT PRODUCTIONS HAVE BEEN OFFERED TO SCHOOL GROUPS.