(from Zoot Theatre Company)
The Dayton Art Institute (DAI) and Dayton’s Zoot Theatre Company have announced a partnership that will make The Zoot Theatre Company a resident company in the museum’s NCR Renaissance Auditorium.
“The Zoot Theatre Company is a visual art medium whose mission fits beautifully with our vision of making our campus a destination for guests to come for a variety of enriching visual arts experiences,” says The Dayton Art Institute’s Executive Director Michael Roediger.
The new partnership will offer Zoot the ability to host a full, main-stage production season in a central, recognizable location. It will also allow the theatre company to expand its programming, especially in the area of education and workshops. Currently, Zoot must travel to a participant’s location in order to conduct mask or puppetry workshops, which have become increasingly popular. With the new partnership, they will be able to host workshops at DAI.
“For Zoot and DAI, this is an obvious partnership, as both organizations specialize in visual arts, with the only difference being that Zoot’s gallery is the stage,” says The Zoot Theatre Company’s Executive Director Michael Sticka. “By becoming the resident company in the NCR Renaissance Auditorium, Zoot is now able to scale up our productions, including producing shows that are able to run two or three consecutive weeks, thus giving more theatre goers a chance to see our stunning work.”
Through this partnership, DAI and Zoot see opportunities to collaborate on productions, education workshops, exhibits specifically tied to performances, performances specially tied to exhibits, and festivals.
“The benefits for both organizations include expanded audiences, joint marketing and membership opportunities, and greater educational opportunities for children,” says Roediger. “We really see this as a new model for cooperation between two arts organizations.”
This past year, we were fortunate enough to be the resident company in the Schuster Center’s Mathile Theatre, as a part of Victoria Theatre Association’s ImPACt program, thanks to Nuefeld and the Victoria Theatre Association’s support and generosity,” says Sticka. “With the mission of the ImPACt Program being to assist developing arts organizations until they ‘outgrow’ the program, I would consider this a huge testament to the success of the ImPACt Program.”
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