Statements

Mission

Believing the culturally curious child is the future, Nashville Children's Theatre nurtures the next generation of global citizens by providing transformational theatrical experiences which reflect our evolving community, instill profound empathy, and foster personal discovery.

Background

The oldest professional children's theatre in America, Nashville Children's Theatre (NCT) enjoys a national and international reputation for excellence. The Junior League of Nashville founded NCT in 1931 and for over eight-and-a-half decades NCT has introduced millions of kids, teachers, and parents to the magic of live theatre. From 1931 thru 1959, a dedicated team of community volunteers ran NCT, and performances were offered in a variety of community venues, including the Belcourt Theatre and venues on the Vanderbilt and Belmont campuses. In 1960, the City of Nashville invested $250,000 to build a performance space exclusively for Nashville Children's Theatre, and since that time NCT has performed at its facility on 2nd Avenue in downtown Nashville. In the midst of desegregation, and at the request of the city, NCT began offering weekday matinee performances so children could have a shared space to explore what they had in common. In the early 70's, NCT evolved into a fully professional arts organization. Daytime performances continued, and in the 90's NCT began offering weekend performances for families. In 1996, the Children's Theatre became affiliated with Actor's Equity Association (the professional union for actors and stage managers); from 1999-06, NCT hosted the U.S. Center for ASSITEJ, the International Association of Professional Theatres for Children and Youth. Today, NCT is the largest, fully professional theatre in the region. With the opening of NCT's new facilities on December 1, 2007, NCT became able to serve an even greater number of young people and families from Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky, as well as to expand programming in education by adding classes to our existing series, creating a series of classes for children on the Autism Spectrum, and adding specialty classes that culminate in Summer Youth Productions. Over the last eighty-eight years NCT has received numerous honors awarded at the local, state, regional, and national levels recognizing excellence in the performing arts, theatre education, and professional children's theatre. In the most recent ranking, NCT was ranked one of the top five children's theatres in the nation by TIME Magazine, and is routinely one of the top attended performing arts organizations, and the single highest attended theatre in the region. Nashville Children's Theatre's greatest endorsement, however, comes from the thousands of kids and adults the Theatre serves each year.

Impact

Nashville Children's Theatre, celebrating our 90th anniversary in 2021, serves a diverse population of children, teachers, and parents of Middle Tennessee through professional theatrical performances, camps, classes, and educational services. Believing the culturally curious child is the future, we create shared theatrical experiences for the next generation of global citizens that instill radical empathy and foster personal discovery. NCT is committed to providing the highest quality theatrical and educational programs for teachers, parents, & children throughout the community by exploring new works and re-imaging popular favorites. Annually, NCT serves 80,000+ children and adults throughout the region through 5 main stage and 2 NCT Snuggery productions (specifically written for children 0 - 5 years old), in-school workshops, after school classes, and summer camps. The theatre is committed to providing equitable access to all through our programs to meet the needs of families with children from varied cultural backgrounds with differing levels of socioeconomic challenges, and physical or developmental abilities. NCT offers more than 20,000+ ticket subsidies each season, free professional development for educators, and in-school drama instruction to Title I schools at no charge. NCT has increased access through sensory-friendly programs in partnership with Vanderbilt University's TRIAD program for children on the autism spectrum and sign-interpretation for the hearing impaired. NCT is the largest professional theatre in the region, and has been ranked by Nashville Business Journal as one of the top five performing arts groups by number of patrons served.

Needs

The covid-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on NCT's daily operations. While our education department was one of the first theatres to offer online drama classes to children and families throughout the quarantine, restarting main stage productions will require expanded financial assistance from individuals, corporations and foundations. In addition, NCT seeks meaningful education opportunities, corporate partnerships, skilled volunteer support, and a diverse group of community leaders to serve on our Board of Trustees.

CEO Statement

NCT believes that the culturally curious child is the future. Every day, we create shared theatrical experiences for the next generation of global citizens that instill radical empathy and foster personal discovery. As the oldest and one of the most influential theatres for young audiences, NCT brings work to life that reflects and amplifies our community's shared experiences and values. We take deliberate risks to investigate themes that are both familiar and challenging with the goal of opening a universe of possibilities in an increasingly complex and diverse world. Because of the longevity of this theatre, nearly everyone in Nashville has been influenced by NCT in some fashion. The richness of this history, combined with the profound and rapid growth of the city creates a compelling opportunity for NCT to reinvigorate its focus on relevant and accessible programming that holds a mirror up to the audience. NCT has the opportunity to lead a national and global conversation by commissioning new works by, for, and about diverse or previously underrepresented audiences. In addition, NCT has the advantage of reaching an even wider audience by providing the theatrical experience to the very young, which serves as an extension of the early learning experience.Our expansive programming, including curricular support, drama classes and lifelong learning opportunities are aligned with the goal of igniting a fierce passion for the arts. As a theatre for children, we are specialists in engaging multiple generations in the theatrical experience whether they are parents or grandparents, or even educators. Our programming doesn't simply reside on our stage: we create wrap-around programming that brings the topics, stories, and opportunities for investigating directly into children's lives both in school and at home. As the third space for every child, we are active participants in creating candid dialogue that inspires and empowers children to have a voice and a place to be heard.

Board Chair Statement

Throughout its 90 year history, Nashville Children's Theatre has influenced millions of Nashvillians, myself included. Generations of young people have had their first arts experience inside our doors. That responsibility is not taken lightly. Our "play" is actually quite a serious business. Whether discovering more ways to reflect our community on stage, choosing or creating work that instills profound empathy, or fine tuning the way our programming fosters personal discovery, the Board of Trustees and staff of NCT are dedicated to making sure that NCT is a safe and inclusive haven for all. We are dedicated to ensuring no child is turned away from an arts experience due to financial need. Many in Music City don't realize that NCT is not only the city's oldest cultural institution but also the second most attended arts facility in Nashville after only the Nashville Symphony and the largest theatre company in Middle Tennessee. Before the pandemic, we served over 80,000 children and families annually in our performances and over 4,000 students a year in our drama school. While there have been many challenges over the past two years, NCT has not stopped serving young people. Funding from local and national organizations such as the Metro Arts, the Tennessee Arts Commission, the federal government, and The Shubert Foundation certainly helped us get through the year, but we also saw unprecedented numbers of individual donors and corporate donors who wanted to ensure NCT's next 90 years. In addition to these fundraising numbers, NCT's new innovative programming was met with resounding success. Many of these programs not only served Nashville, but also had a national audience, sharing the magic and artistry of NCT with new audiences. I am honored to be trusted with the leadership of Nashville Children's Theatre's Board of Trustees as we continue to raise our own bar nationally, and internationally, all the while serving our local children and families.-Perri duGard Owens, Chair, Board of Trustees

Service Categories
Primary Category:	Arts, Culture & Humanities  - Arts & Culture
Secondary Category:	Arts, Culture & Humanities  - Theater
Tertiary Category:	Arts, Culture & Humanities  - Arts Education

Areas Served

Our audience is 55%=Davidson Co., 41%=20 surrounding counties; 4%=further areas. Schools 70%=public. Members: 9 states; 93% live w/in 50mi of Nashville; 46% live w/in 20 min drive. Single ticket buyers: 84% live w/in 50mi of Nashville. 60% live w/in 30 min drive. Students: 97% live w/in 50mi of Nashville; 84% live w/in 30 min. Donors: all regions, including Hawaii. 83% live w/in 50mi of Nashville; 71% live w/in 30 min. All groups are more likely to live in So. Davidson/No. Williamson Counties.

TN - Bedford

TN - Cheatham

TN - Coffee

TN - Davidson

TN - Dickson

TN - Giles

TN - Hickman

TN - Lawrence

TN - Macon

TN - Marshall

TN - Maury

TN - Montgomery

TN - Robertson

TN - Rutherford

TN - Sumner

TN - Williamson

TN - Wilson

TN - Cumberland

TN - Franklin

TN - Overton

TN - Trousdale

TN - Warren

TN - Humphreys

TN - Lewis

TN - Putnam

TN - Smith