Dragon Theatre Announces Relaunch, Spark Change Fundraising Campaign

Dragon Productions Theatre Company (a.k.a. "the Dragon"), a 20-year old theatre organization based in Redwood City, CA, announces its official "relaunch" accompanied by a new fundraising campaign, starting on April 1, 2021.

Following the appointment of new leaders Bora "Max" Koknar and Alika Spencer-Koknar in 2019, the Dragon has been in the process of reimagining its place in the Bay Area community, including a revised mission statement, reorganization of staff roles, and an updated online presence.

The new mission of the Dragon is to serve as a theatrical hub that fosters an inclusive artistic community for the creation of experiences that are innovative, intimate, empathetic, accessible and bold. The Dragon seeks to incubate performing arts talent and projects of all disciplines to strengthen the whole performing arts ecosystem, educate all ages about the theatre arts and provide professional training and development opportunities to artists, innovate new formats and technologies to connect artists and audiences, empower artists to adapt their skills to support causes important to them and to improve the world around them, and promote the use of artistic skills to solve our community's social and economic needs. The Dragon aims to expand the notion of what a theatre can and should provide for the community, beyond producing a season of performances. To that end, the Dragon prioritizes supporting artists and the artistic community by providing paid work, innovating new platforms and experiences, and offering development opportunities to artists and the community. The Dragon is doing the vital work of supporting the people who make theatre.

While this new direction was started in 2019, the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic both accelerated and deterred this effort. New platforms that were scheduled to be explored over the next 5 years were pushed to the forefront, including virtual programming, interactive video-game-like productions, and audio-only experiences. The uncertainty of the pandemic brought about sweeping changes in the organization including the retirement of long-time Managing Director Kim Wadycki and staff members leaving the world of theatre all together. Despite the changes, the Dragon continues to persist, and managed to employ over 200 artists in 2020, present over 30 single-event and ongoing programs, and remain an important community hub for artists to connect, re-imagine, and process the changes and uncertainty of art-making during a pandemic and beyond.

After a year of pivoting, reinventing, and fully re-imagining the role of theatre in the community, the Dragon is ready to move forward in this bold new direction. The new Dragon consists of four departments, speaking to each piece of its mission statement: Dragon's Nest, an incubator for artists and new projects to receive support and expertise from the professionals at the Dragon, led by Kimberly Ridgeway; Dragon's Training, a center for education, skill development, and immersion in theater practices, led by Justine Bechler; Dragon's Experience Design Lab, a platform for innovating and exploring new methods of storytelling, led by Nathanael Card; and Dragon's Theatrical Services, a real-world extension of theatrical skillsets beyond the stage, offering event staffing, design, and production, business workshops and team building, in addition to private coaching for businesses and individuals not immersed in the world of theatre.

As a companion to the relaunch, the Dragon is initiating a fundraising campaign: Spark Change, Set the Arts Alight. This campaign seeks to bring vital funds to the Dragon as a way of supporting artists and sustaining the arts in the area. Through one-time and ongoing donation options, the Dragon seeks to raise $150,000 by the end of 2021. Full information about the campaign can be found here: https://dragonproductions.net/spark-change-campaign/

More information on the Dragon can be found on the updated website: www.dragonproductions.net.

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