Sacramento Theatre Company’s community impact extends beyond the stage

Going to the theatre is a uniquely engaging and interactive experience. And in Sacramento, a local theatre company is hoping to engage and interact with the community on an even larger scale.

By partnering with local non-profits in connection with their entire 2012-2013 season, Sacramento Theatre Company hopes to broaden its audience as well as bring attention to critical issues in the community.

Last year, a costumer involved in STC’s production of Frankenstein made the connection between themes from the play and organ donation. Wade Sherman, STC’s Business Development Director, took the idea and ran with it, forming a partnership with Sierra Donor Services.

“When we collaborated with Sierra Donor Services last season on our production of Frankenstein generating almost 200 new organ donors for the registry in 30 days,” Sherman said, “we recognized that STC could be an asset to other community non-profit partners.”

Following the success of their partnership with Sierra Donor Services, Sherman and the entire STC team recognized the potential for community partnerships to have a huge impact on the greater Sacramento community. In fact, for STC’s 2012-2013 season, every production will promote a relevant community partner.

With the help of a strong leadership and dedicated staff, STC will support each partner by providing exposure on production programs, curtain speeches, and actor appearances at various promotional events. In addition to raising awareness and support for various nonprofits in the area, they hope to make a tangible difference much like they did with Frankenstein. STC also expects that between twenty-five and forty thousand people will be introduced to their productions and programs through mail and other media as a result of these community partnerships.

Sherman said he and the STC Board of Directors hope to position themselves as “a social movement as opposed to just entertainment.“ And to STC’s knowledge, no other theatre company has ever incorporated community partners into an entire theatrical season.

STC’s first production of the season, The Miracle Worker (October 3-October 28), a play depicting the story of Helen Keller, will partner with InAlliance, an organization serving those with developmental disabilities. In conjunction with National Disability Employment Awareness Month, InAlliance and STC hope to gain interest from new participants and employers and will hold a Perspective Employer Orientation on October 27 at 5pm for local companies to learn about the benefits of hiring participants of the program.

Other community partners include BloodSource (The Mystery of Irma Vep, Nov 7-Dec 16), Sacramento SPCA (Bark! The Musical, Jan 9-Feb 17), Project DREAM (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Feb 27-March 24), Boys and Girls Club (Master Harold and the Boys, March 27-May 6), and Sierra Forever Families (A Little Princess, April 24-May 19).

Beyond achieving measurable success with these partnerships and broadening their reach within our region, Sacramento Theatre Company is setting an example for other private and public entities that want to make an impact in the community.

As Sherman said, theatre “feeds the soul.” It has the capability to reach every individual in the audience, but potentially, its influence can extend out beyond the stage to the greater community.

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Allison Baker is a guest writer for Sacramento365.com.