Our Mission
SLO REP strengthens theatre’s cultural influence and enriches the Central Coast by producing professional theatre, nurturing artists and providing theatre education for children and adults.
Our Belief
Live theatre’s powerful storytelling connects people in ways that open the mind, nourish the soul and illuminate our shared humanity.
Our Commitment
As a company of artists and storytellers, we pledge – through our productions, operations, educational programs and policies – to enrich our audiences’ understanding of the human condition in ways that will help build a community that is tolerant, fair-minded and welcoming to all.
In service to these stated objectives, we have distilled our efforts to the following three initiatives:
Programmatic Goals
We believe in the power of examining all aspects of the human condition. We know that to do this effectively, we need to present a rich diversity of plays, casts and artistic teams. Therefore, we commit to:
- Identifying emerging talent without regard to race, religion or gender.
- Using technology to enable the best emerging and established actors and artistic teams from around the country to audition virtually for SLO REP productions.
- Ensuring that each season presents plays reflecting the broadest array of viewpoints and story-telling methods as possible.
Education Goals
Providing a robust theatre training program is an investment in our local youth. Numerous studies have shown that students who participate in theatre education also enjoy commensurate gains in the acquisition of academic, intellectual and inter-personal skills, and in measures of psychological well-being, e.g., regulation of emotions, positive self-concept, empathy, and the ability to understand perspectives different from their own.
To ensure a rich and diverse curriculum for SLO REP’s Academy of Creative Theatre (ACT), we are committed to:
- Ensuring that our spaces and our programs are welcoming to ALL K-12 students from the Central Coast regardless of race, religion or gender.
- Allocating sufficient marketing funds to reach out to all regional K-12 students and their parents.
- Offering on-campus programming in local schools as feasible.
- Ensuring tuition scholarships are accessible and comprehensive for potential students and families so that we can continue our unbroken record of never turning away a qualified student for lack of tuition.
Organizational Education and Training Goals
We believe in the importance of focusing inward, as well. We are committed to ensuring that all SLO REP staff members (working more than 25 hours per week) receive periodic theatre-industry focused training as well as training on best practices for interacting with K-12 students.
We also are committed to providing annual updates to our Board of Directors, and to provide appropriate training and education to all directors.
Listening More, Talking Less
We recognize that self-improvement is a never-ending journey. We are committed to making progress toward all of our objectives by listening more, talking less, and doing the work required to ensure that SLO REP fulfills its mission to help build a stronger, healthier community that is welcoming to all.
If you have any questions or suggestions for specific areas that SLO REP should focus on, please email Kevin Harris.
