Arkansas Repertory Theatre

25 Years of Education, Entertainment and Outreach

The state’s only nonprofit, professional theater company celebrates its 25th birthday this year. Arkansas Repertory Theatre is the only arts group in the state that takes work created in Arkansas on tour to other states, making the organization, in many ways, the cultural ambassador for Arkansas.

During its lifetime, The Rep has created more than 200 productions, including 35 premieres.

The Rep has created educational programs for Arkansas schools since 1978. This statewide outreach reflects The Rep’s commitment to the educational value of the performing arts. Performing arts are used to build problem-solving and collaborative learning skills in youths, and as a creative outlet to give focus and voice to social and personal challenges. Last year, more than 15,000 junior and senior high school students learned about theater and practiced the theatrical arts through The Rep’s efforts.

The Rep strives for increased artistic excellence by engaging artists of national reputation and by producing its own work. All the while, the organization, which hopes to renovate its facilities so that its educational outreach has room to grow, strives to ensure its long-range fiscal health through the growth of its endowment.

“We need to renovate our apartment facilities, where we house our actors,” said producing director Robert Hupp. “We need to renovate our apartment facilities, where we house our actors. We hope to get started on that this summer.

“We like the intimacy of our performance space … but our support facilities all need some attention. Our first priority wil be to attend to

the various systems in the building.”

Indeed, The Rep has increased local business support by 100 percent in the past 18 months, while the subscriber base has grown 20 percent.

The board of directors, the primary fund-raiser for the organization, has teamed up with the staff and an outside consultant to develop a new strategic plan for the next three years.

The Rep contributes to the growth of downtown Little Rock by bringing 70,000 to the area each year.