WHO WE ARE BECOMING…
We are an ensemble of storytellers
Who curate and steward
Powerful, truthful, and beautiful
Theatrical experiences
With intentionality and kindness.
We are continually evolving
As we seek to:
Honor the scripts entrusted to us;
Respect the artists who work with us;
Develop the talents that live within us;
Foster creative spaces that inspire us;
Further the time and money invested in us;
Value the audiences who extend their support to us.
WHAT WE BELIEVE IN
We aspire to create theatre that is:
Ensemble-Based, rooted in trust, authenticity, respect, healthy conflict, accountability, and equal commitment as we “do life together”;
Process-Driven, with time and space for taking risks, fleeing perfectionism, and pursuing curiosity in collaborations where everyone is part of developing a shared way of working;
Transformation-Oriented, designed to challenge minds, move hearts, and inspire activity, generating growth and change in both patrons and participants;
Culture-Conversant, kicking ideas to the audience for dialogue and discussion so that a play’s relevance can catalyze engagement with the local community and its institutions;
Joy-Evoking, offering moments of surprise, wonder, and transcendence.
WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO
We began Seat of the Pants in 2012 to produce a single play each summer, while also raising funds for related causes close to our hearts. As an example, the revenue generated from God of Carnage was donated to a non-profit that combats bullying in Ohio public schools.
As we found favor with audiences and artists alike, we expanded our offerings, presenting full summer seasons of readings and productions, selected around an essential theme or idea. After the contentious 2016 election year, our 2017 season featured scripts focusing on how to dialogue, debate, and dissent well in an increasingly strident culture.
We continue to select plays which raise potent questions - some specific to today and others that speak to human nature across the ages. Believing wholeheartedly that theatre should partner with other institutions to foster communal change, we invite individuals and groups doing transformative work to participate in talkbacks and share their missions.
In 2019-2020, we expanded our season to four shows, and developed a new play in-house. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, some of these plans were not fully realized when the theatre industry had to go dark for 18 months. But we were excited to re-engage with our audiences in the fall of 2021 through the format of several one-person performances. Our 2022 project was an attempt to dive deep into process, rehearsing a single play for 10 months to find out how that would inform the building of an ensemble and support a focus on technique.
Since 2023, our seasons find us exploring three new exciting initiatives. First, adapting the lessons learned from our deep-dive into process, we’re returning to a multi-show season, but spending about three-four months on each production, giving actors a chance to learn and play with technique, while building a sense of deep trust and symbiosis in the rehearsal room. Next, we’ve also established the Seat of the Pants ensemble, a group of theatremakers who call SotP their artistic home and who help guide the direction of the company through shared vision casting and strategy development. Finally, our emphasis on process finds us offering free workshops to theatre makers in Northeast Ohio. Our acting workshops (four times a year) are open to the public and focus on teaching skills and techniques to lifelong learners. Our playwright workshops offer writers an opportunity to hear a new piece read aloud by local actors; we also invite an audience and pose some curated questions, the answers to which help guide the next round of edits and revisions.