Children's theatre: Successful strategies for balancing economic survival and artistic vision

This thesis identifies economic strategies St. Louis children's theatre touring companies use to balance artistic vision with economic viability. A case study approach was selected to identify the strategies in use. Primary data was gathered through oral histories using an interview protocol designed to collect information related to each company's: history; mission, vision and core values; programming; company structure; financial support; challenges, issues and concerns; measures for success; and outlook for the future. Company characteristics gleaned from the empirical materials (data) were linked with each strategy of the theoretical model. An effect association was then made validating theoretical expectations for each strategy or causal path through pattern matching. The study suggests that successful survival strategies used by children's theatre touring companies are linking with higher education where combinations of institutional resources help build relationships with community. In addition, this study provides researchers with the first recorded histories and survey of organizational attributes of three St. Louis regional touring companies, thus filling an historical gap in the performing arts literature.