PAPAYA's initial focus was on developing a multi-theatre performance facility dedicated to the creative exploration and presentation of youth culture, which would place Philadelphia on the map with other large cities. PAPAYA earned not-for-profit status in early 2007 and began exploring how and where a home for this work could be developed. Early conversations identified the Centennial District of
West Fairmount Park as a suitable location with synergies between the recently relocated Please Torch Museum, the Philadelphia Zoo, and the Mann Center for the Arts. The Fairmount Park Commission was undertaking the development of a master plan for the Centennial District, and that plan called for a new performance venue dedicated to family and youth programming to be developed as a part of revitalizing the area. Funds were raised, architectural plans were developed by MGA Architects, and negotiations were underway with the City for a parcel of land between the Mann and Please Touch. All of those plans were derailed by the global financial crisis and the Fox Chase/Berholme Park court case that both occurred in 2008. PAPAYA then began to explore how to build a brand, demonstrate the quality of work that we wanted to bring to Philadelphia, and develop an audience - without investing capital in a building – or creating a new stand-alone organization with all of the requisite overhead. Responding to the new economic reality, PAPAYAs focus shifted, the Board and staff committed themselves to building a regional movement in support of year-round access to high-quality family and youth programming - through partnerships - with existing regional arts and education organizations. Beginning in 2010, PAPAYA sought out partnerships to deliver on its mission by co-producing or co-presenting works with other organizations. Our first relationship was with the University of Pennsylvania's Philadelphia International Children's Festival at the Annenberg Center - where we co-presented The Man Who Planted Trees by the Puppet State Theatre Company from Edinburgh, Scotland in 2010, and The Adventures of Alvin Sputnik: Deep Sea Explorer by the Perth Theatre Company, from Adelaide, Australia in 2013. Our next partnership was with international Performing Arts for Youth (IPAY) and the Painted Bride Art Center - where we co-presented Pero, or Mysteries of the Night by Speeltheater Holland in2O11. Our first two collaborations grew organically out of conversations with the Painted Bride Art Center, where last season their facility was dark over 50% of the available nights, and they were struggling to expand their urban, hip audience base. Additional conversations with the Annenberg Center's Philadelphia international Children's Festival identified dwindling public/family support and reduced programming from its prominence in the late 80's and early 90's. Both organizations had facilities, staff, and programming, but lacked the spark, passion, and connections to the international community of performing arts for youth that PAPAYA is steeped in. PAPAYA's goal in developing both relationships was to share the risks - and the rewards - of investing in and growing the quality and quantity of family programing at both institutions. Subsequent conversations have been initiated with lnterAct Theatre and Theatre Exile, both of which are interested in family/youth programming, but are wary because it has not been a part of their programming previously. Based on these successes, PAPAYA will continue to work on developing our partnership model for co-presenting, as well as beginning to co-produce family-centric theatrical works with companies like lnterAct Theatre and Theatre Exile, and launching mission-driven educational/engagement programming with partners from the University of the Arts to engage youth and families from across the region. PAPAYA is helmed by three key staff: Whit MacLaughlin, Artistic Director for self-produced work, Jeremy “Boomer” Stacey, Artistic Director for touring/presented work, and W. Collectively, this leadership team brings to bear over 60 years of experience in performing arts creation, presentation, and arts administration. We also benefit from the guidance of many consultants, colleagues, and our Board of Directors. Those assisting PAPAYA in these capacities include: board members John Rollins, Thora Jacobson, Martin Cohen, Laural Raczka, and Jane Stojak; Sean Buffington, President, University of the Arts; and national advisors Theresa Eyring, TCG; Mary Rose Lloyd, New Victory Theatre; Linda Hartzell, Seattle Children’s Theatre; and Kim Peter Kovac, J.F. PAPAYAs communities have local roots and international reach. Our communities include: the region's parents, grandparents, families, and children of all ages; regional presenting and producing organizations that value and/or want to include family and youth programming in their seasons; arts educators, teaching artists, and educators who want to learn how to incorporate the arts into their pedagogy; the 5-county regions' professional theatre artists, administrators, and audiences; American and international artists and companies who create and tour work for families and youth; and funders, patrons, policy makers, and press representatives who value high quality arts experiences for the region's children, youth, and families. ln addition, our communities include the memberships of these service organizations: ASSITEJ, the international association of theatre for young audiences; IPAY International Performing Arts for Youth; TCG, the American national service organization for professional regional theatres; PAEP, the Philadelphia Arts Education Partnership; the Arts Education Partnership based at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; and the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. PAPAYA and our partners intend our presentations to set a new standard for intelligent, creative, professional family programming. We intend to entertain and delight, while at the same time exposing our audiences to new worlds and ideas, poignant language, expressive movement and pure imagination. We intend our work to be respectful of the young and old minds alike, and to engender inter-generational conversations and dialogue. Within each partner organization we anticipate: 1) skill building within our partners' staff in identifying, producing and presenting high-quality family programming; 2) audience growth in both school performances and evening and weekend family performances; and 3) increased revenues, both earned and contributed, in support of family programming. Within the broader community we anticipate: 1) skill building within our regional artist pool in producing and presenting engaging family programming; 2) the engagement of teaching artists, educators, and professional regional and international artists in conversations about "quality family programming;" and 3) increased awareness and support by policy makers, funders, and the press of the importance of regional access to year-round high-quality family programming. A key metric will occur after a year or two of partnership development and programming - when we begin to cross-pollinate among our partners and their individual constituents. We are fortunate that our initial two partners are members of the shared Tessitura Consortium (initially established by the Theatre Alliance and now housed at the Wilma), which enables us to access the patron data and reports through this Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, while supporting cross-marketing efforts for all partner organizations, in addition to the other members of the Tessitura network (Wilma, Peoples' Light & Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Company, and Bristol Riverside Theatre, to name a few).
