From the Artistic Director

Actors' Summit aspires to achieve many things. You can read about some of them in our vision statement. We have identified for ourselves the kind of organization we want to be and the role we want to play in our community.

But the one overriding goal of Actors' Summit is to provide the kind of artistic experience that you will talk about with your friends. The kind of experience that, when you think of it in the days following the performance, you'll find yourself smiling, or laughing, or remembering an emotion that the performance evoked in you. You may even find yourself quoting one of the characters in the play or presenting a new idea to your friends that grew out of your experience in the theater.

I think that the best way to create this kind of experience is to use the talents of artists who share their lives with us day in, day out. Artists whose children go to school with your children. Artists whose insights grow from life experiences similar to yours. If all politics is local, I believe that the best art is local. Please join us to see what the professional artists who are your friends and neighbors can achieve when given the opportunity to perform for you. Summit County is the geographical highpoint of the Ohio-Erie Canal. We aspire to make Summit County the theatrical highpoint of all of Ohio.

Neil Thackaberry

Our Mission

The mission of Actors' Summit is to present professional theater created by Ohio artists for the entertainment and enrichment of our diverse community.

Our Vision

Actors' Summit will be widely recognized in Northeastern Ohio as a cultural asset that offers broad community access to professional theater. This will be evidenced by local financial support and audience attendance.

Actors' Summit will have the artistic, human and financial resources necessary to sustain a high quality artistic product, as well as adequate reserves for managing unforeseen circumstances. In pursuing our mission, we will be guided by a leadership core of active, skillful trustees and staff dedicated to excellence and ongoing self-appraisal.

Our Objectives

• To provide employment opportunities for Ohio artists.
• To provide Akron and Summit County residents with high quality, professional theater productions.
• To add to the cultural richness of Northeastern Ohio.
• To provide students with the opportunity to see professional productions of important plays.

Our Values

INCLUSION
We value diversity and believe it is essential to our operations to be inclusive in all aspects of our operations. In addition, we program to attract audiences that reflect the diversity of the communities in which we live and work.

RESPECT
We emphasize respect as part of our organizational culture. We treat each other and those we serve with courtesy, sensitivity and appreciation.

PROFESSIONALISM
We are committed to being a professional theater of the highest quality, as reflected in all aspects of our productions, including the skill of the actors, directors and designers, and the aesthetic values of the productions staged. We continually strive to improve, and offer opportunities for personal growth.

ARTISTIC/ADMINISTRATIVE EXCELLENCE
We commit resources to producing consistently high quality programming that will increase the size and enthusiasm of our audience and provide us the opportunity for significant growth regionally. We demand that our organizational leadership be accountable to the highest standards, professionally and ethically.

EDUCATION
We value service to our community and commit resources to the production of education/outreach programming that enriches, validates, and supports the life experiences of people of all ages.

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY
We are committed to operating the theater in a fiscally responsible manner, including maintaining quality administrative personnel, systems and effective board oversight.

Actors' Summit is a professional, not for profit, 501-c-3 professional arts organization. We are seeking volunteers and board members. For more details, email us or call MaryJo or Neil at 330-374-7568.

Actors' Summit is working under a developmental agreement with Actors' Equity Association (the Union of professional Actors and Stage Managers.)