Great things happen when people work together. The Pittsburgh Area Cooperative of Theatres (PACT) seeks to build the theatre arts ecosystem from the bottom up – working cooperatively to support the small-but-mighty theatre companies embedded in community neighborhoods across the greater Pittsburgh region. This session will share the foundation, process, and early discoveries of this peer support network, and will show the use of a collective impact model to establish a vision for the future of community theatre.
Katie Trupiano serves in the Greater Pittsburgh area as an arts educator, performer and administrator. By day, she works as the Director of Education & Accessibility at City Theatre Company. In the evening, she serves as the Board President for Throughline Theatre Company and the founder of the Pittsburgh Area Cooperative of Theatres. She holds a BA in Theatre Arts with a concentration in musical theatre, from Point Park University's Conservatory of Performing Arts and a certificate in Arts and Culture Strategy from University of Pennsylvania and National Arts Strategies. In her (limited) free time, Katie enjoys traveling, being a coffee snob, and reading romance novels.
Seth Laidlaw is a Pittsburgh-based arts administrator, educator, performer, director, and producer. Currently, he serves as President of Stage 62, a community theatre in Carnegie, PA; as well as Senior Program Manager at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and the co-founder of Pittsburgh Area Cooperative of Theatres. His expertise is rooted in the performing arts and education. Seth is most passionate about finding creative and unique approaches to experiencing art and culture. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations from Duquesne University and a Master of Arts Management from Carnegie Mellon University.