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The Survival of an American Theater: An Intrinsic and Historical Case Study of the Success of Arena Stage

Oliver, Kay Audrey
http://orcid.org/0009-0001-5640-486X
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1737116933074635

Abstract Details

2025, Ph.D., Antioch University, Leadership and Change.
Arena Stage was founded in 1950 in Washington, DC, by Zelda Fichandler, Tom Fichandler, and Edward Mangum. Today, Arena Stage serves a diverse annual audience of more than 300,000 people. It is the largest theater company dedicated to American plays and playwrights in the country. This study presents a single intrinsic historical case study of Arena Stage to examine the internal organizational structure and leadership dynamics that guided the theater through seven decades of turbulent American history. Arena Stage has provided world-class programming while the nation was grappling with the Vietnam War (1950–1975), Brown v. Board of Education (1954), political assassinations (e.g., John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Robert Kennedy, 1963–1968), the World Trade Center terrorist attack (2001), the election of the first Black president (2008), subsequent elections bombarded with election deniers and acts of insurrection (2021), the impeachment trials of sitting presidents Bill Clinton (1998) and Donald Trump (2019 and 2021), and the global COVID-19 pandemic that closed all theaters from 2020 to 2023. That Arena Stage survived is not in question; this dissertation aims to determine how it survived while many theaters were forced to close. Assumptions about Arena Stage’s success include strong leadership, artistic vision, community involvement, physical expansion, and awards received. Perhaps a combination of these factors creates success. This study sought evidence of success factors, termed as touchpoints. Are some factors necessary, while others are not? The results can provide an argument for what works, depending on similar demographics. This is important when understanding theaters’ impact on social, political, cultural, and economic concerns. When nonprofit arts and culture organizations generate $151 billion annually in economic activity, it is worth noting how this happens. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA: Antioch University Repository and Archive (https://aura.antioch.edu/) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu/).
Harriet Schwartz, PhD (Committee Chair)
Fayth Parks, PhD (Committee Member)
Sandie Turner, PhD (Committee Member)
201 p.
Performing Arts; Theater History; Theater Studies
cultural resources; management theater; performing arts; theater history; theater studies; touchpoints; leadership

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Oliver, K. A. (2025). The Survival of an American Theater: An Intrinsic and Historical Case Study of the Success of Arena Stage [Doctoral dissertation, Antioch University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1737116933074635

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Oliver, Kay. The Survival of an American Theater: An Intrinsic and Historical Case Study of the Success of Arena Stage. 2025. Antioch University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1737116933074635.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Oliver, Kay. "The Survival of an American Theater: An Intrinsic and Historical Case Study of the Success of Arena Stage." Doctoral dissertation, Antioch University, 2025. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1737116933074635

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

antioch1737116933074635
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© 2024, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Antioch University and OhioLINK.