Programming

• Relative Theatrics (RT) was founded in August 2013 by Anne Mason and premiered with a production of Brilliant Traces in August followed by Red in November 2013.  Performances take place on the stage of the historic Gryphon Theatre with seating limited to 50 for an intimate theatre-going experience.
  

• Relative Theatrics produced three productions in 2014-15, Honour, Speech and Debate, and Nocturne.

• In the spring of 2015, RT started its annual Playwrights Voiced, a series of staged readings of new works by local and regional playwrights. By the festival’s fourth year in 2018, RT received over 200 submissions and hosted four playwrights for the event from all over the country.  In the spring of 2019, RT expanded the festival by partnering with Wyoming Singer-Songwriters, pairing a musician with each of the plays to create original sound content for each reading.

• In 2015, Relative Theatrics offered a 2015-16 season of performances called the Perspective Season, including By the Sea, By the Sea, By the Beautiful Sea, The SantaLand Diaries, Venus in Fur, and MoonSong as well as Playwrights Voiced.

• The 2016-17 season, called The Undisclosed Season, included I and You, A Walk in the Woods, Uncanny Valley and What Would Crazy Horse Do? along with a bonus holiday play The SantaLand Diaries and Playwrights Voiced.

• The 2017-18 season, called Generations to Come, included No Child…, 26 Miles, The Nether, and The Big Heartless, along with the bonus holiday play The SantaLand Diaries and Playwrights Voiced.

• The 2018-19 season, called Familiar Creations, included I’m Gonna Pray For You So Hard, A Number, The How and the Why, and Wanda, Daisy, and the Great Rapture, along with The SantaLand Diaries and Playwrights Voiced.

• The 2019-20 season, called Capturing Humanity, included An Iliad, The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence, Really, and Two Degrees as well as The SantaLand Diaries and Playwrights Voiced.
• The 2020-21 season, called Returning. Re-Envisioning, Rewiring, included Riding Bicycles in the Rain, Bone Records, Black Sky and Playwright Voiced.
• The 2022-23 season, called Dramatic Tenses, included Brilliant Traces, The Arsonist, and Read Rant Relate
• The 2023-24 season, called Fierce Femininity, included Mission Abort, Exit, Pursued by a Bear, The Roommate, Burst and two Read Rant Relates.
•  The 2024-25 season, called Novel. Nuanced. Noteworthy. will include Heroes of the Fourth Turning, Witch, The Niceties, Roz and Ray and two Read Rant Relates.

• Most of Relative Theatrics plays have been Wyoming premieres or regional premieres.

• During the 2015-16 season, RT started a play-reading discussion series called Read, Rant, Relate – Igniting Conversation through Theatre which continues annually with partial funding by Wyoming Humanities.

• Relative Theatrics occasionally offers acting, improv, directing, and playwriting workshops.

Collaborations and Community Partnerships

• The UW Honors College was a production sponsor for A Number in 2018-19.  RT collaborated with the Honors College and an upper level mammalian genomics class.  The director of A Number, Anne Mason, visited the classroom and students came to rehearsals.  The Honors College will collaborate with RT in 2019-20 on a production of Two Degrees.

• RT does play readings as outreach to university students, such as the 2017-18 reading of The Arsonists and the 2018-19 reading of An Iliad in collaboration with classics classes at the University of Wyoming.

• In 2018-19, RT collaborated with Wyoming Singer-Songwriters on the Playwrights Voiced festival of readings of new works and chose a musician for each play to create original music to complement the play readings. 

• RT has done many productions that include outreach to various community groups such as the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the American Indian Studies Program, Keepers of the Fire, and the Albany County SAFE Project.

• In 2019 RT partnered with the City of Laramie and the Laramie Public Art Coalition to provide a free outdoor theatre event at the Laramie Skate Park.

Funding and Growth

• In February 2016 Relative Theatrics incorporated as a nonprofit and became a 501(c)(3) organization.

• Relative Theatrics received annual Wyoming Arts Council/NEA grants to help with operating costs for the 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20 seasons.

• During the 2015-16 season, RT received a grant from the Wyoming Humanities Council for the play-reading discussion series called Read, Rant, Relate – Igniting Conversation through Theatre.  RT continues to receive grants for the series each year.

• Subscriptions to Relative Theatrics have increased dramatically.  The 2015-16 season had 8 season ticket holders; the 2016-17 season had 53; 2017-18 had 81, a 52% increase from the year before, and 126 in 2018-19, a 55% increase from the previous year or a 137% increase since 2016-17.

• Donations to Relative Theatrics have greatly increased.  We implemented donor categories in 2016-17 with contributions made by 25 individuals or couples.  In 2018-19 we had 123 donors and many donated at higher levels than in previous years.  

• Attendance has increased over time. There were three performances of Brilliant Traces in 2013-14 with approximately 50 total patrons.  Our production of A Walk in the Woods in 2016-17 had six performances with over 270 patrons.  For some productions in 2017-18, RT offered 7 nights of performances and RT started offering 8 performances of productions in 2018-19.  Beyond play attendance, RT reaches audiences through its readings and workshops. 

• Play attendance was approximately 350 in 2013-14, 475 in 2014-15, 845 in 2015-16, 1140 in 2016-17, 1378 in 2017-18 and 1538 in 2018-19.  RT is approaching the limits of its space constraints and has increased the number of performances of each play to accommodate growth.  A goal is to have a larger theatre to seat more people but still small enough to retain RT’s unique intimate theatre-going experience.

RT has donors from the following states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Business Partnerships

• Relative Theatrics has trade relationships with Coal Creek and H&S Coffee Roasters in which concession treats and coffee are traded for advertising.

• Relative Theatrics has fostered a relationship with Coal Creek TAP for cross-promotion.  Tickets to plays are available at TAP along with a special price for a meal for people who buy advance purchase tickets.

• Local businesses advertise in RT programs.

• RT started offering corporate production sponsorships in 2018-19.  The Curiosity Shoppe and Sweet Pickles sponsored The SantaLand Diaries.

Pandemic and Beyond

• Relative Theatrics presented most of the 2019-20 Season as planned. However, when the Covid-19 pandemic arrived, programming changed to present virtual theatre using video call technology. Two Degrees was the only show postponed to a later date; however, it did receive a virtual reading as a part of Relative Theatrics Virtual Play Reading Series.
• The Virtual Play Reading Series included The Antigone Project, Girl with Gun by Nora Leahy, Feast by Megan Gogerty, Two Degrees by Tira Palmquist, Mrs. Harrison by R. Eric Thomas, and Playwrights Voiced.
• In the summer of 2020, Relative Theatrics partnered with the Harvard Center for Hellenic Studies to present readings of Greek tragedies as a part of Reading Greek Tragedy Online.
• For the 2020-21 season, Relative Theatrics selected plays with small casts and filmed the plays for at home streaming. 
• And the Wind Howls by Leean Kim Torske was filmed on the Mason/Earl front porch in Laramie. The play, which was originally intended to tour around Wyoming in Fall 2020, received a virtual tour - receiving streamings in Sheridan, Cody, Jackson, Rock Springs, and Laramie.
• Loneliness was a Pandemic by Olivia Haller was executed by a small team of Relative Theatrics staff and apprentices, including Isa Jackowich from East Washington, Kendall Yoder from Central Washington, Jaye Cooney from Northern Colorado, and University of Wyoming graduates Justen Glover, Alex Soto, Jared Mohr-Leiva, and Bailey Patterson. The set was constructed and filmed in the Relative Theatrics rehearsal studio.
• The third play of the season, The Care and Feeding of Small Animals by Brooke-Erin Smith, was filmed in the Relative Theatrics rehearsal studio. The final play of the season, Tight End by Rachel Bykowski was produced and filmed in the Laramie Plains Civic Center Gryphon Theatre.
• Relative Theatrics hired Noelia Berkes as the Director of Virtual Programming. She oversaw virtual Read, Rant, Relate programming, Playwrights Voiced, Reading Greek Tragedy Online, and a monthly streaming of Drunk Shakespeare on Facebook.
• Relative Theatrics assembled a team of board members, supporters, and artists to engage in a series of scenario planning sessions with T.K. Stoudt in the summer of 2021.
• The 2021/22 Season utilized the entire Gryphon Theatre, rather than seating the audience on the stage. Virtual filmed options were offered as a viewing alternative for all performances. The plays included Riding Bicycles in the Rain by Erin K. Considine, Bone Records by Heather Beasley, and Black Sky by Amanda L. Andrei. All three plays were included in prior Playwrights Voiced festivals.
• In the fall of 2021, Relative Theatrics presented the RT Film Fest. Prior filmed productions were shown in the Gryphon Theatre with live accompaniment and underscoring from local musicians.
• Playwrights Voiced returned to live audiences in 2022, performing at the University of Wyoming Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts.
• Relative Theatrics officially launched its Community Organization Partnership initiative, pairing full productions with local non-profit organizations. Season partners include Laramie Interfaith, Hospice of Laramie, and Laramie Reproductive Health.
• Relative Theatrics celebrated its 10th Season from 2022-2023. Plays included a revival of Brilliant Traces by Cindy Lou Johnson, Babel by Jacqueline Goldfinger (co-produced with the University of Wyoming Theatre & Dance Department), and The Arsonists by Jacqueline Goldfinger.
• Relative Theatrics hired William Bowling as their Education Director. With his assistance, they launched the theatre education program Play/Write in Albany County Public Schools.