Building the Future of the American Theatre
For over 25 years, we have defined Boston’s theatre landscape with intention, desiloing our neighborhoods and building community at the intersection of art and social change. In this political moment, it’s more important than ever to push towards a world where theatre audiences across the country are galvanized towards individual and collective action.
Company One Theatre is partnering with the Mellon Foundation, Cleveland Public Theatre, Crowded Fire Theater, Mosaic Theater Company, and Perserverance Theatre to form the “Future of the American Theatre Cohort.” Our goal, individually and collectively, is to center multiracial artists and audiences in all facets of our work while developing and practicing new models for artistic production, audience building, community engagement, new play development, and leadership.
“About 10 years ago, we started inquiring about what it would it mean for the work that we’re doing to be truly a public service. That means we would find ourselves in civic space that didn’t belong to us but belonged to the people, like the Boston Public Library and the Strand Theatre. Doing this work means serving more deeply, more broadly, and with more care through the lens of the art toward a better future.”
– Shawn LaCount, C1 Artistic Director & Co-Founder
“One of our biggest joys as a company has been seeing thousands of people together in city-owned public spaces. These partnerships provide an exciting opportunity to make theatre even more accessible and expansive, strengthening Boston’s joy and well-being and meeting the public where they are.”
– Summer Williams, C1 Associate Artistic Director & Co-Founder
Public Art for Public Good
Thanks in part to deep support from partnerships with the City of Boston, the Boston Public Library, and the Mellon Foundation, all of our plays and events are fully Pay-What-You-Want. This means that anyone can become part of our community for free, making space for those who have systemically been made to feel like they are not welcome in theatrical spaces. Our first-time theatre attendees have doubled since transitioning to fully Pay-What-You-Want productions in 2020.
Audience members at the opening night of The Interrobangers at the Boston Public Library in 2024 (photo by Lauren Miller)
“‘Free To All’: that’s our ethos. Over the last five years, our focus has shifted from the ‘free’ part to the ‘all’ part, which speaks to the social justice, community-driven effort, and set of principles around who sees themselves in what is on offer. We must continue reinventing ourselves; we want to be of the community, not just a legacy cultural institution.”
– David Leonard, President of the Boston Public Library
New Stories and New Storytellers
At Company One Theatre, marginalized narratives take center stage. We exclusively produce and develop new plays that celebrate and uplift the experiences of BIPOC and queer communities, seeding the American theatre with a diverse repertoire of powerful stories. Additionally, we provide myriad support to early-career and mid-career theatremakers who push social justice movements forward through their art. Over 2,300 theatremakers have used our Creative Development programs to develop their work and expand their practice.
The cast of Hoops at the Strand Theatre in 2024 (photo by Ken Yotsukura)
“Our work with Company One is a perfect partnership because the programming that they’re bringing to the theatre is building on that intersection of cultural work and community power building. That really gets to the transformative aspects of arts and culture; as a participant, you’re invited to engage in something and learn something about what you can change and do.”
– Kara Elliott-Ortega, Chief of Arts and Culture for the City of Boston
Boston’s Theatre for the People
Company One Theatre provides opportunities for audiences to take action through deep partnerships with local organizations whose work amplifies the themes of our plays and events. We’ve teamed up with over 200 social justice organizations that serve and represent every neighborhood in Boston. And unlike traditional performing arts organizations who produce in a singular theatre, we bring our art and education into publicly accessible, city-owned spaces rooted in our audiences’ neighborhoods.
Asian American Resource Workshop speaking at Better Future Series: Threads of Migration at City Hall’s Civic Pavilion in 2024 (photo by Annielly Camargo)
“I’m thinking about the bright spot that is the intersection and relationship building between C1 and so many organizations in the City of Boston. That constellation of institutions is now a unit in my mind. This deep relationship building and long-term vision and organizing across city agencies and funders, that still doesn’t happen as often as I’d love to see it happen.”