Z Space Studio
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5
"Up" is the number of experts who agree that the nonprofit has had the most impact in the
field. "Down" is the number of experts who disagree that the nonprofit has had the most impact in field.
Headquarters Location: San Francisco, CA
Founded: 1993
Mission: Z Space's mission is: new voices for a new era.
Tags:
bay area, arts & culture, art space, residency programs, original works, performances, creative home, youth engagement, theatre
Summary
Stories
Expert Reviews
Leadership
From the Nonprofit
Leadership
Lisa Steindler.
Lisa Steindler is in her fifth year with Z Space and is also known for her years of artistic leadership of San Francisco’s Encore Theatre Company. Lisa has produced more than 20 world premieres, as well as other works, from some of the most exciting contemporary playwrights including Adam Bock, Claire Chafee, Leigh Fondakowski, Mark Jackson, Adam Rapp, Steve Yockey,…
See full bio.
Financial Data
Overhead Ratio:
n/a
Total Revenue:
$1,089,383
From the Nonprofit
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Contact Info
Address:
499 Alabama St. #450
San Francisco, CA 94110, USA
Twitter:
Story:
Read about how Z Space became one of the nation’s leading laboratories for the development of new voices, new works, and new opportunities in American theater:
Founded in 1993, Z Space was created by visionary founder David Dower to support a large and evolving community of theater artists working together to develop Bay Area theater and theater audiences.
Z Space has been recognized with many local awards as well as such national awards as the Helen Hayes Award, the Kesselring Prize, the MacArthur Award, and two Pulitzer nominations. From June 2001 through December 2005, fifteen different Z-developed productions earned Critics Circle nominations. In 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2005, Z-produced projects have landed in the San Francisco Chronicle’s “10 Best Theater Events of the Year” list.
In 2005, The People’s Temple, developed over four years at the Z Space and premiered at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre was awarded the Will Glickman Award for “Best New Play.” Lastly, in 2007, American $suicide, by Mark Jackson, was nominated by the American Theatre Critics Association for the annual ATCA/Steinberg New Play Award, honoring new scripts produced outside New York City.
(Read more about Z Space's founding story at: http://www.zspace.org/history.htm)
Expert Reviews of Z Space Studio
Evidence of Impact Summary:
Z Space does broad based theater programming that focuses on the creation of new work and new programming which has been a vibrant hub for the theatre community for two decades. They present their work very successfully to the public, produce programs in schools that engage students from diverse backgrounds, direct support to artists working in diverse fields, and partner with other organizations to help them achieve their mission.See expert comments.
Organization Strengths Summary:
Experts praise Z Space for their thoughtful, open leader who has an eye for innovation and keeps the quality of the work very high. Z Space has ambitiously taken on a new venue which will require a substantial commitment and will significantly benefit the community. Finally, Z Space has been incredibly successful at incubating new work.See expert comments.
Areas for Improvement Summary:
While experts are excited about Z Space's new venue, they worry that Z Space does not have a thoughtful enough plan for how to renovate the space, use the space, and attract new audiences. They should work on developing a more realistic strategic plan for using the venue and raising additional funds. In addition, they should invest in more staff, develop the staff they have, and work on their marketing so they can have a bigger impact.See expert comments.
Expert Comments: Evidence of Impact
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Impact |
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Z Space is a leading proponent of new work for the stage, and has achieved great artistic and administrative feats over the years. | ||
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For two decades, the Z Space has been an incredibly vibrant hub for the theatre community. It has offered working space in the form of studio time and office space to many, many artists, and smaller nonprofits. It has nurtured important groups like the Word for Word company, and has helped to create, direct, or produce seminal works such as the "Jonestown" play and the "Buckminister Fuller" show. Its impact on the local arts community has been deep and long term. | ||
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Z Space provides an opportunity for the development of new theater work as well as acts as an incubator where artists, smaller organizations, and supporters can come together to share ideas and enjoy the benefits of the knowledge and experience of their collaborators and peers. | ||
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Z Space does broad based programming that involves the creation of new work. They present it very successfully to the public, produce programs in schools that engage students from diverse backgrounds, direct support to artists working in diverse fields, and partner with other organizations to help them achieve their mission. | ||
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This organization is central to the vitality of the Bay Area as a theater center. It supports a remarkably broad cross section of writers, directors, actors, and ensembles and works hard to advocate for these artists as having national significance even though they are not in the NY/LA orbit. Every year, new works are launched there that win national awards and attention. Projects tour internationally and nationally. Festivals created by resident companies draw artists from across the country. There are a number of resident companies--each with specific missions--and each of them impacting the field in their own way. It's the infrastructure--often unsung, always invisible--that is critical to the development of a region. It is focused on new work and new opportunities. In pursuing that vision, it has launched and sustained a number of important careers that impact the theater world nationally. No doubt it will continue contributing new works and new voices to the American theater. | ||
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Z Space is one of the foremost producers of new theater in the Bay Area. They have encouraged artists to make their own thing and to do so in non-traditional forms. I am very impressed with the line-up of plays and performance events that they produce and nurture into full blossom every season. | ||
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This recommendation is really about the impact I think Z Space at Artaud is going to have -- taking up residence in that space, and having such grand plans for turning it into a cultural destination, is a very valiant task. | ||
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Z Space does excellent work in their own right and in addition, they support a myriad of other organizations in various ways. They also are well positioned to become a major player in the Bay Area arts scene with their move to the Artaud theater - a very large venue in a great location. | ||
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Their recent move to Theater Artaud and their vision for this much-loved performance space has created an excitement and energy at the theater that has impacted dance, theater, and music artists. They are working to be both a presenter of programs while allowing for the community to rent the space, which is to be commended. | ||
Expert Comments: Organization Strengths
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Infusing Energy into New Venue |
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I see Z Space as an example of intelligent growth led by a very capable artistic director and dedicated board. They have also acquired the lease to Project Artaud and have infused that extraordinary space with new life, energy, and audiences. | ||
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The organization just took over the dormant Theatre Artaud space, so it has made a significant commitment, not just to nurturing work in the developmental stages, but to present and co-present theatre, dance, and musical groups in its large theatre. Executive Director, Lisa Steindman, is very dedicated to her work and also open to the new possibilities this new venue can offer. | ||
Incubate New Work |
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The leadership at Z Space is tireless and deeply committed to fostering new work and providing artists with the tools needed to grow and succeed. And the space, which is a precious commodity in the Bay Area, provides a home for otherwise homeless artists. | ||
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Their leadership is deeply connected to the performance community, which gives me confidence in the direction they are moving forward with. Their commissioning of new work is also a strength. | ||
Thoughtful, Open Leader |
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They have thoughtful and realistic leadership which is not personality based. | ||
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The leadership, David Slaza and Lisa Steindler, have tapped into the contemporary play makers in the city and given them a platform in which to develop their work. They are dedicated to professional quality work and manage to foster experimentation and high production values at the same time. | ||
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Z Space is headed by Lisa Steindler, whose eye for new work and method of developing one or two long-term projects in a year is generating some of the highest quality work in the Bay Area. | ||
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Lisa Steindler is one of the best producers in the country. I have enormous respect for her and think she has done magnificent work growing the organization. The quality of their work is at the highest standard. | ||
Collaborate Well |
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Z Space provides an inherently collaborative setting. And the resident companies are just the start. They also have created a number of multi-institutional initiatives, and now are operating a critical space in the Bay Area ecology, running it as a multi-institutional venue. All over the country, the Bay Area (along with Austin) is known for exceptional levels of collaboration among the theaters. This spirit is embedded in Z Space, nurtured, and fanned from there. | ||
Expert Comments: Areas for Improvement
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Professional Development for Staff and More Staff |
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Z Space needs to focus on its staff's professional development. | ||
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Z Space is still recovering from a downsizing of a few years ago, and they need to continue to expand their staff to fulfill some of their ambitious goals. The Word for Word program, which is part of Z Space, seems like an odd appendage, and should probably be spun off to accommodate more time and energy for the new works generation Z Space is developing a national reputation for. | ||
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Their Executive Directory firmly believes in doing fewer shows better: quality over quantity. At the same time, with more staff, I think Lisa could do more shows and be more of a consistent presence in the community. | ||
Need Strategic Plan and More Resources for New Space |
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They need help getting the space cleaned up and renovated, to be more attractive and comfortable for artists and audiences. They also need help with marketing. | ||
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With the proper resources, the space on Florida Street could become even more artist-friendly, with better facilities for both offices and production. A more developed synergy between groups, in terms of sharing of information and resources, could benefit all parties. | ||
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They are always operating on such a thin margin for error. And they are at greater risk now that they have this important theater space to care for. It is my sense that they need a manager of equal talent and drive to the artists in the space. They could also benefit from a detailed and extensive strategic plan. My sense from listening to them talk at various national meetings is that they have added this major new asset (the theater) with very little opportunity to envision its highest potential for them and their community. This theater has been an important, if challenged, space for decades. I don't yet hear how they plan to make a go of it where other organizations have faltered. They've defied expectations for years, so no doubt they will, but I wish for them a chance to really dream in detail and in time, to operationalize their dreams through planning. | ||
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Z Space has just taken over Theater Artaud in the Mission District. They have ambitious ideas about how to develop the space as a viable presenting space and also as a studio space where new work can be developed. I would like to see them succeed in this as the particular area of new plays (and plays that have some commercial potential) is not being covered elsewhere. I would love to see Theater Artaud become a destination where people would look forward to going to see contemporary, forward thinking theater. | ||
Leadership
Lisa Steindler
Artistic Director
Artistic Director
From the Nonprofit
The nonprofit has not added any comments yet. If you are a representative of this nonprofit and would like to leave a comment, please email us at
feedback@myphilanthropedia.org
with your request.