The Ordway has been recognized for the quality of its theater productions with two Ivey Awards: the first during our 2007-2008 season for LOVE, JANIS, the second during the 2008-2009 season, for the sets, costumes, direction and choreography from the production of CABARET! We mount productions from the ground up, engaging artists, designing sets, and creating original staging and choreography. Our production of Walt Disney’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is a perfect example of the artistry that is created locally. More than 370,000 people visited the Ordway during 2008-2009 and we engaged 1,600 artists. The Ordway is well known for its contributions to arts education for youth, especially within the Saint Paul and Minneapolis Public School districts, and is the number-one field trip destination for both districts. School groups experience one-hour matinees by touring artists, called Performing Arts Classrooms, which cost only $3 per ticket, with free or highly subsidized bus transportation provided. Annually, more than 50,000 students of all ages participate in arts education at the Ordway. Many of these students are from low-income families and/or are children of color. The annual Flint Hills International Children’s Festival brings high-caliber performers from all over the world who excel in diverse art forms to the Twin Cities. Workshops with performing artists, opportunities to create art, and low-cost performances for school groups occur during the the Festival School Week. Free outdoor performances, art-making activities, and indoor performances by touring artists costing only $5 occur during the Family Weekend.

GOALS 1. Articulate and fully embrace our inspirational vision to be a center for all of the performing arts. 2. Revitalize and diversify the Ordway’s programming as a means of serving an increasingly diverse community. 3. Recast the Ordway’s image in the community to emphasize our importance as a non-profit organization and community asset. 4. Develop communications, marketing, and community engagement strategies consistent with the broadened vision. 5. Implement best practices for supporting performing artists and audience development on local, regional, and national levels. 6. Fully leverage relationships with our Arts Partners and the Arts Partnership. 7. Continue to develop organizational effectiveness in contributed income to obtain results on a par with other premier performing arts centers in the nation. 8. And, as our President and CEO Patricia Mitchell has said, “create a clear and compelling Ordway identity—vibrant, colorful, hip.” OBJECTIVES 1. We will continue to clarify and reproduce our case statement to demonstrate that were are indeed a charitable, non-profit organization with 501(c)(3) public charity certification from the IRS and are therefore deserving of philanthropic support. 2. We will update our brand recognition: what we do and what we stand for. 3. We will increase the Ordway’s capacity for producing its own theater. 4. We will broaden our World Music and Dance Series programming.

General Public

Twin Cities Metro Area, greater Minnesota, and western Wisconsin