Alexandra Julian

Stephen Rotundo
Laura Wilson
Arts Venue and Parton Services
Professor Heidelberg
Two River Theater Company
Tucked away in Red Bank, NJ is the Two River Theater company. Since its
founding in 1994, the company has continually been expanding. It had humble
beginnings, performing the shows on the Monmouth University stage. From there, the
company performed in the Algonquin Arts Theater in Manasquan for eight seasons.
With help from the surrounding community, Two River Theater built their own space in
2005 to fulfill their dream of bringing world-class theater for an audience that would
cherish the experience as an intimate one. Over 55,000 patrons attend the theater
every year. Two River Theater Company makes it a goal to produce beloved classics,
brand new works, or revised masterpieces.
Though its title makes the Two River Theater Company seem quaint, it is actually
in a relatively populated area. Perhaps too small to be considered a city, however. Its
website includes directions for taking public transportation to the theater, which
indicates that Red Bank could be a city. That is the implication for those not from the
area. Also included on the website was a Google earth panorama of the street on which
the theater is located. From the looks of it, it is again a small city type of location, but
still includes some nature as it is right on the water.
On its beautifully designed website, http://tworivertheater.org/, is a page entitled
Who We Are, where there was contact information for every member of the Two River
Theater Companys team. This team is chock full of notable leaders. Some of these
people include John Dias who worked as a professor in NYU and Yale, and co-founded
other companies in and out of New York. Another impressive and reassuring name on
the Two Rivers team is Michael Hurst. Coming from the Public Theater, Hurst has had a
successful career in writing, and even won Pulitzer Prizes for his dramatic plays.
In addition to its extraordinary leaders, the Company conveniently categorized the
contact page. The categories included; Artistic, Administration, Audience Services,
Development, Education, Operations, Productions and Special Services. This made it
easy to find the necessary contact to discuss its venue progression since 1994. Ideally,
speaking with Robert M. Rechnitz would be incredible, seeing that he is the founder of
the institution and almost certainly knows the most about it. However, assuming he is
relatively busy, a few other people should prove to be useful contacts. Jennifer Collins is
Two Rivers Director of Development, and assumedly may know the history behind the
development of the institution. In addition to Ms. Collins, Gilda Rogers is the head of
Community Relations, and could be the individual to coordinate our visit there. Lastly,
Cassie Galasetti is the Associate Director of Marketing and Press Contact, and could
assist in sharing articles and information on the company that may be used as a source
later in the Arts Facility Presentation.
With its relatively new spaces, the Two River Theater Company also had to figure
out what other organizational activities should take place to fill the spaces. For the
2014-2015 season, nine shows are advertised on the website. Titles of the varying
shows include; The School for Wives, Camelot, The Very Hungry Caterpillar and
other Eric Carle favorites, Absurd Person Singular, and Guadalupe in the Guest
Room The shows range from new works/world premieres like Your Blues Aint Sweet
Like Mine, to Shakespeares classic A Mid Summers Night Dream, and a festival of
new plays which are entitled Crossing Boarders.
As with any quality arts organization, the foundation of building a loyal community
is through outreach and education. One of the activities mentioned on the website was
"A Little Shakespeare". No real description was given, but the link shows high school
students putting on modern adaptations of classic Shakespeare shows. They clearly
encourage all kids with varying talents and skill levels to join them. Another outreach
program mentioned was Summer Camps which includes younger children as well. A
program unique to Two River Theater Company is the "Metro Scholar" program. This is
said to be a highly competitive program for high school students across New Jersey. It
immerses students into professional training and workshops, and since 2005, has
produced 118 outstanding young theater artists. The last education program listed is the
"Theater Works" classes which is taught year round. They provide artistic, production,
and even administration classes to interested middle and high school students.
Under the "Support" column on the website is all the information on fundraising
and contributions for the Two River Theater Company. The first way to support is to
become the "Backstage Pass" member. This membership fee is allocated to the annual
fund for the company, and even states that "less than one-third of the theater's revenue
comes from ticket sales". The pass gives its members multiple benefits ranging from
discounted concessions to waived ticket fees. In addition, the "calendar and events"
portion of the website is provided. There were no fundraising events scheduled,
however. The only other mention of funds, was under the institutional giving portion,
which listed some of Two River Theater Company's institutional and individual donors.
Some of the more impressive donors included; New Jersey State Council on the Arts,
Monmouth University, and Wells Fargo.
The admirable success of this company makes it worthy of a case study to
exemplify how theater companies function with varying spaces. The theater scene
spans much further than most people realize, and Two River Theater Company is at the
head of that progression.



Red Bank is a pretty trendy town. Overall, the people that tend to spend time in
Red Bank are looking for a place to shop, eat, and experience some form of art. While
walking down the streets of Red Bank, our group saw mainly white people. The typical
age of people we saw where wealthy looking middle aged people. The next major age
group we saw were people who looked around college age. This age ground tended to
dress less wealthy and more artsy-chic. We also got a feeling from the people in
Red Bank that that the town attracts persons with a desire to experience local yet trendy
shopping, dining and entertainment.
Our assumptions from people watching were that Red Bank as a whole is a
mainly white community with a slightly higher than average, but not too extremely
wealthy. We confirmed our assumptions when we looked up the Red Bank census. It is
reported in the census that as of 2010, 63.2% of the population is white. Also, as of
2012 the aveerage household income was $62,143
(http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/34/3462430.html).
Overall, there is definitely a specific vice that people who go to Red Bank have.
The overall feel of the people in the town give is that they are educated with an
appreciation for the arts and local shopping. The people walking in and out of the Two
River Theater seemed to be around middle aged and most were dressed well.
Getting to Red Bank is not too difficult, but it is definitely not the easiest town to
get to. When loking up directions, visit.redbank.com stated, Take the Garden State
Parkway to Exit 109 (Red Bank). Take Route 520/Newman Springs Road East. Go thru
four traffic lights to end of road (Dunkin Donuts will be on your right). Make a left at that
light onto route 35 North. Cross railroad tracks, stay to the right which turns into Broad
Street. Downtown Red Bank starts after you go thru two more lights. These directions
were accurate, but the town might experience even more tourism if it was located closer
to the exit of the parkway. In terms of public transportation, NJ Transit has a train
station located in Red Bank. The train station is located blocks down from the Two River
Theater.
The town also provides a variety of parking options. There is a decent amount of
street parking available, which is metered during the day and free after 6pm. There are
also few parking lots throughout town where patrons can use a pay station. The Two
River Theater also has its own parking lot where patrons can park for free. There does
not seem to be enough parking for every seat in the theater though. Tese is also
currently construction happening around the theaters parking lot, so patrons have to
find alternate parking.
While walking through town, it became apparent that Red Bank has a very small
amount of chain stores or franchises. The only chain stores we noticed were 7-11 and
an Alex and Ani. Most of the stores in the area seemed to be small businesses that
would be in danger if more recognizable franchises move in. Our group could not help
but wonder if there are zoning restrictions on an overpopulation of franchises in the
area.
There are also a number of hotels in the area, which make the town an attractive
place to stay for the weekend. The Two River Theater even offers a Play.Dine.Stay
weekend getaway package which allows patrons to see a Two River show as we
In terms of programming, Red Bank seems to stick with more of what authors
Arthur C. Brooks and Ronald J. Kushner in Cultural Districts and Urban Development as
popular and educational programming. The town advertises for a variety of events.
Some of the popular programming events being advertised around town include a town
wide wine and foods sampling where patrons can pay a flat rate to receive wine and
entree sampling from bars and restaurants around town. There is also a girls night out
being advertised around town. This event will allow women to receive various discounts
at bars and restaurants. The town also advertises educational programming as well.
The Red Bank Library offers arts workshops where artists can gather and find
inspiration from each other.
Red Bank, NJs economy is not something one categorize as bad or on the
lower side, being that the average household income is about $74,000. Red bank and
its shops, restaurants, and theaters do pretty well for themselves, as well as support
each other in these hard economical times. Two River Theater itself brings an ample
amount of business to the local Red Bank shops and restaurants such as, antique
shops, beauty boutiques, small music shops like, Jacks Music, and restaurants such
as, 30 Burgers and the Red Bank Diner.
Since Two River puts on such top notch, professional shows, people will travel
from all over to experience Red Bank and its art scene. These tourists who come from
all over to see these shows will usually want to spend more than one day in the area,
which increases business for the local hotels and motels. Two River also has a special
package deal that allows patrons have a dinner for two, see a TRTC production and
stay at a hotel in the town for a flat rate of $299, which is very affordable for the
community of Red Bank and its surroundings. (http://www.tworivertheater.org/
calendar_tickets/playdinestay.php).
According to the Executive Director of the Monmouth County Arts Council,
Through direct and patron related spending NJs arts and history industries contribute
$2 billion each year to our states economy. One would think since the Count Basie
Theater is located so close to TRTC that there would be competition, but that is quite
the opposite. All the arts groups and companies in the area support and help each other
as much as possible so that Red Bank can thrive as a strong arts area instead of one
company trying to make as much money as possible.
Many of these groups receive funding from the New Jersey State Council on the
Arts either directly or through the Monmouth County Arts Council in a competitive grant
process. This funding is an investment in our local economy and our community, not a
handout. Ask the restaurants about the economic impact when the theaters have a
show and the difference when they are dark. (http://www.RedBank.Com. (n.d.).
Retrieved October 27, 2014.)
Two River Theater is a wonderful experience for a nice family visit to the beautiful
downtown of Red Bank. If one is looking for a sweet spot in the summer or fall by the
water with great shops, restaurants, and theaters...Red Bank is the answer. Between
the affordable tickets, many downtown eateries and shops, and the professional quality
theater, TRTC is a perfect option for tourists from other states or even other parts of NJ.
The arts will continue and are thriving today with the beautiful productions being
displayed and the amazing support from local arts organizations, so lets keep it up.


Works Cited

Brooks, Arthur C., and Roland J. Kushner. "Cultural Districts and Urban Development."
International Journal of Arts Management 3.2 (n.d.): 4-15. 2001. Web. 11 Oct. 2014.

"Play.Dine.Stay." - Two River Theater : Web. 10 Oct. 2014.

Fouratt, Mary.ARTS AND HISTORY ARE AN ECONOMIC STIMULUS
https://www.RedBank.Com. (n.d.). Blog. Web. Retrieved October 27, 2014.

"United States Census Bureau." Red Bank (borough) QuickFacts from the US Census
Bureau. Web. 09 Oct. 2014.

"The Red Bank Visitors Center." The Red Bank Visitors Center. Web. 10 Oct. 2014

Alexandra Julian
Stephen Rotundo
Laura Wilson
Arts Venue and Parton Services
Professor Heidelberg
Organizational Choice
Two River Theater Company
Tucked away in Red Bank, NJ is the Two River Theater company. Since its
founding in 1994, the company has continually been expanding. It had humble
beginnings, performing the shows on the Monmouth University stage. From there, the
company performed in the Algonquin Arts Theater in Manasquan for eight seasons.
With help from the surrounding community, Two River Theater built their own space in
2005 to fulfill their dream of bringing world-class theater for an audience that would
cherish the experience as an intimate one. Over 55,000 patrons attend the theater
every year. Two River Theater Company makes it a goal to produce beloved classics,
brand new works, or revised masterpieces.
Though its title makes the Two River Theater Company seem quaint, it is actually
in a relatively populated area. Perhaps too small to be considered a city, however. Its
website includes directions for taking public transportation to the theater, which
indicates that Red Bank could be a city. That is the implication for those not from the