American Repetory Theater

Non-profit organizations offer services without being driven by monetary benefits. In this scenario, getting the mission statement right is even more important than ever. Mission statements describe the values and strategy of a company, and non-profit organizations need to have utmost clarity regarding the same.

American Repertory Theatre focussed on expanding the boundaries of art. By engaging the artists in challenging projects, ART provides them with job satisfaction through variety, experimentation and innovation. Artists are able to grow and learn by undertaking these projects.

Since they offer courses to undergraduate studies, it is also important that they stay abreast of the current trends in theater to be on the same page with the youth.

The service concept is displayed through -
1. Theatrical innovation in direction, acting, lighting and other aspects.
2. Experimental work for the actors
3. Rotating repetory
4. Audience approval is not primary. Artistic satisfaction is paramount. (ART looked for success amongst critics. A major part of ART's revenues arise from donations and endowments. The donors are influenced by reports by critics, and hence it is important that ART generated positive attention from the critics. Audience income is merely a fraction of ART's income)

In the service topology, ART comes under the category of 'Non-physical acts to customers minds'. Such services are high on credence. It becomes difficult to ascertain quality and utility. Core service is ABSTRACT. Hence, EVIDENCE & MANAGEMENT of the environment is crucial.

As compared to commercial theater, ART is experimental, and this implies that there is plenty of risk involved as well. The upside in commercial theater is that it can be replayed multiple times. The downside is that most of the time, it would fail (Only 10% of annual movies become blockbusters). In the context of ART, the upside is that the scope for repetition is limited. The downside is that they have unlimited options for trying out new stuff.

ART	Conventional Theater
Elevate the standards of art	Find the next hit, Repeat it
Actors – Job security, Collaboration	Chosen for a specific role
Audience – Want to see new plays. Can be conditioned about their expectations habitually	Draws its own audience
Customer satisfaction – Derived from controversy	If everyone loves it, its a hit
Variance is encouraged	Variance is the enemy
Emotional labour – Appear happy even when they’re not	Exception
Revenue model – Donations	Ticket sales

ART was in a transitionary phase when this case was written. 

Target group - Old  and Young

Stages - Loeb and Oberon

Type of offerings - Subscription and Single-view tickets

With the subscription model, audiences are trained/conditioned about what to expect. 

Operationally, it is easier to manage homogeneity in Loeb

Loeb - People know what to expect, and hence they buy tickets. They see it as a non-risky choice of entertainment

Oberon - People who like surprises and are expecting something different buy tickets, and are willing to risk their choice of theater

This case reflects the Molecular model, which clearly states that by altering one element, the configuration of the entire offering changes. Diane Paulus touched the core of ART's offering, and altered the brand positioning of ART. Failure of the experiment would translate into failure of the service. Fragmentation and Segmentation of the audience was not good for ART. Integration of the target groups was the biggest challenge in front of Diane Paulus.