New Victory Theater / New 42

Focus: Audience Development & Community Engagement
Timeline: 6 months (bi-weekly engagement)
Services: Research, Strategy Design, Staff Facilitation

The Client
New 42 and its flagship New Victory Theater are nationally recognized leaders in arts education and youth theater, serving children ages 0–11 and their families in New York City. The organization is known for its world-class productions, community partnerships, and education programs that introduce new generations to the performing arts.

The Need
Following the pandemic, New 42 faced a dramatic shift in audience behavior. After two years of virtual programming and the loss of early-childhood shows for audiences under four, the organization saw an entire generation of children age out of its programming. The challenge: to rebuild and diversify public audiences to better reflect the racial and cultural makeup of New York City.

The Process
CNTR ARTS partnered with a cross-departmental working group—including Executive, Marketing, and Education staff—to co-design a new framework for audience development. Over six months of bi-weekly sessions, we:

• Conducted deep analysis of five seasons of attendance and demographic data.

• Compared audience composition to NYC census data to identify disparities.

• Facilitated trainings and seminars on equitable audience engagement

• Introduced The Five Phases of Engaged Partnership—a CNTR ARTS model emphasizing long-term, values-aligned community relationships through identification, qualification, connection, exchange, and nurturance.
  
  

The Outcome
The process produced a clear roadmap and toolkit for New 42 to cultivate new audiences that reflect New York City’s diversity (targeting a shift from 70% white to 70% BIPOC audience composition). Immediate outcomes included a catalog of existing resources, identification of new funding needs, and an actionable strategy for inbound and outbound community partnerships.