VISION + VALUES | Cats Cradle Theatre

VISION

Cats Cradle Theatre is a project-based collective that pursues projects of passion, transformation, and curiosity. With our “do-it-together” mentality, we strive to uplift the work of rising artists and invest in new ways of making. At our core, we are dedicated to cultivating community connections and civic relationships, asking ourselves what it looks like “to citizen” through our work.

Four Pillars of our Work

Pursuing projects of passion, transformation, and curiosity.

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Investigating new industry projects.

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Uplifting the work of rising artists.

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Cultivating community connections and civic partnerships.

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The phrase “passion project” implies that the work doesn’t count, or at least doesn’t carry as much value. We believe it’s quite the opposite! Passion projects are a way of finding out who we really are. As a theatre company, we are led by the curiosities and interests of our artists & community. Our decision-making process is guided by each project's heartbeat. The ardent pursuit of projects that are personal and meaningful allows our work to be created not out of necessity for content, but instead for the transformative journey.

We can, and should always strive to improve.

With each artistic effort, it's important to pause, take stock, inventory priorities, and enact positive, lasting changes. The Cats Cradle community is committed to challenging current standards in our industry while being dedicated to finding and developing new ways of making that support the humans behind our work. From one-on-ones to group check-ins & postmortems, we honor open and honest feedback throughout our process, adapting & responding in the moment. We believe that our world and those who live in it are constantly changing, and it is our duty to grow and change with it. That is why our mission, values, and practices are always in draft. It is our responsibility to listen to the feedback of those around us, and adapt our practices, policies, and even our mission to serve others.

As mostly first generation theater-makers, we understand the obstacles young artists face. We believe it is important to create space and opportunities for makers to do just that - make. While we value the collective of artists who call themselves Cats Cradle Company members, we believe that list should never have a cap, and actively seek out new ideas, new work, and new makers, investing in future generations of creatives.

Community values

Whether a regular artistic contributor or a creative just passing through, our list of values is assembled by the ever-expanding Cats Cradle Community. While these values are under constant revision and never considered “final,” we are committed to upholding standards that are created by and supportive of the humans that make our work possible.

How we treat each other MATTERS.

There will always be more to learn.

We believe that a rich and diverse group of voices, backgrounds, experiences, and ideas gives us strength.

Listening and implementing the feedback of others helps us grow.

Real transparency is crucial to our success.

Communion with our immediate community is the foundation of theatre-making.

No matter the size of the project we value people's time, talents and financial contributions. We will do everything in our power to respect people's time and follow through on our commitments.

Assume good intentions.

We give and receive criticism with kindness and respect.

We are inclusive and honor all expressions of art and creativity.

We believe the idea wins out no matter who it came from.

Decision-making is a collaborative process that includes diverse group of voices and backgrounds.

Last Revision - 4/14/2024

We value

TRANSPARENCY