Pony World Theatre Programs
Pony World Theatre (PWT) believes in making performances for both the audience and the artists. As a company, PWT does not make easy choices; we strive to do more than entertain. Simultaneously, PWT knows theatre should not simply serve the whims of the artists. Both sides of this singular community should come together in one place to be equally challenged and, ultimately, rewarded. This is the primary goal and service of Pony World Theatre.
Yet a critical initiative for PWT is ensuring that live theatre is financially accessible. With every production, PWT offers discounts to seniors, students, and other artists. The company demands more of itself, however, and pushes this initiative further. In the past, this value of affordable, quality theatre has translated into Pay-What-You-Can performances, $1 ticket night, and signed interpretation for hearing impaired audience members. The 2011 production of Suffering, Inc. utilized webcams connected to computers used by the actors to live stream the performance for free.
With each production, PWT tries to expand the audience base, usually utilizing the specific themes or subject matter of the production to find new, potential audiences. Incentives we typically offer include discounted tickets and special talkbacks.
It is the continued support of generous donors that allows us to continue our efforts of presenting theatre of uncompromising quality that is financially accessible to a wide public audience.
Recent Successes and Current Challenges
The 2011 mainstage production Suffering, Inc. was a critical and popular success that greatly expanded the visibility and audience base for Pony World Theatre (PWT). More importantly, though, the show further defined the company’s aesthetics and methods for making theatre. The company has turned the artistic lessons from that production into our latest mainstage, The Final Tribunal into the Mysterious Death of Mister Senor Salvador Dali, performing in the spring of 2013 as a co-production with Theatre off Jackson.
Between these two mainstage productions, PWT returned to Big Story Small in 2012 to create a new collection of dynamic short works adapted from some of theatre’s most treasured classics. This second iteration of Big Story Small greatly expanded on the 2010 version in terms of artistic goals, audiences, and the number of artists involved.
PWT is also proud to have been selected for On the Board’s 2013 NW New Works Festival. The company will present a new, short work for the festival titled A Compelling, Unknown Force. PWT has long discussed ambitions of touring our work regionally, and currently PWT is applying to festivals to take travel this and/or other works.
The company continues to push our explorations into generative and collaborative work. This approach requires a longer development period, and with two generative pieces in 2013, renting rehearsal space represents a significant portion of our costs. Additionally, the company believes paying stipends to the artists who work with PWT is a moral imperative. The company has further committed to increase these modest stipends with each mainstage production. While still smaller than PWT would prefer, these increases in the stipends add additional production costs with each project.