Challenge >> As the lease for tCP’s current location was slotted for renewal in the coming years, tCP wondered if its programming would soon outgrow the facility and aimed to explore other options for larger spaces.  TCP imagined it might expand its programming from small educational showcases into full circus productions, as well as begin presenting circus performance from around the world in Portland.

Approach >> The discovery process involved the following:

• Creating a Venue Prospectus, which illustrated tCP’s new facility vision as a means to generate potential funders, interest from architects, and government support for the project

• Interviewing 22 stakeholders and potential project partners from 14 unique organizations, outside of the tCP board and company, ranging from architects, real estate developers, funders, government officials, non-profit and for-profit arts organizations, and construction companies

• Obtaining an agreement from Holst Architects to design a program, pro-bono, for a new facility that could be utilized to gain cost estimates and an annual operating pro forma

• Obtaining an agreement from P&C Construction to create, pro-bono, a rough budget for a new construction project based on the program designed by Holst

Recommendation >> Assembly Arts recommended that tCP work internally with senior leadership to gain clarity and to begin testing for the programming future of tCP before moving forward with any facility plan or fundraising feasibility study. We also recommended that tCP continue to develop strategic partners for potential space and programming collaborations in the future.

Result >> CP decided to focus is mission on educational programming and occasional showcases, but not full-scale productions, dinner theatre, or circus presenting. As of January 2020, tCP is now partnering with a youth theatre organization to create a co-ownership agreement of a newly built facility and begin its capital campaign. Assembly Arts is currently developing the operating pro forma.