Our Core Values

Artistic Quality

The F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts is committed to providing affordable, quality performing arts presentations that entertain, educate, enlighten, and expose patrons to pure theatrical experiences. We have earned a reputation for delivering quality presentations, one that assures our patrons that "If it is at the Kirby, it is guaranteed to be good !" A recent research study requisitioned by Luzerne County Commissioners, included a random survey of community members related to the arts. We were delighted that respondents ranked the F.M. Kirby Center as the #1 destination in Luzerne County for a "cultural experience". This past year, 73,677 guests agreed with those findings and attended events at the theater. We remain a wonderful resource for this community and we are proud of the role we play in making Northeastern Pennsylvania a great place to live and work.

Education

Arts education and our mission go hand-in-hand and a primary goal of the F.M. Kirby Center is to ensure that our youngest audience members have ample opportunities to experience the performing arts via observation and participation

Our primary arts education initiative, the Young People's Theatre Series (YPTS), introduces underserved, at-risk students - pre-school through high school - to touring professional performing artists via matinees and master classes. We look beyond the periphery of our immediate service area - the Wilkes-Barre and greater Wyoming Valley communities - to include over 1,000 pre-, elementary and secondary schools within a 20-county area. Last season, we provided heavily-subsidized tickets, preparation materials and study aides to schools prior to nearly 7,000 children coming to the center.

The generous support of individuals, corporations, and foundations enables us to subsidize tickets making shows affordable to the schools. In this way, we bring the experience of live theater to students throughout the region.

We hold true to our mission with an eye to adult education as well. Part of the role of the F.M. Kirby Center is to introduce new genres, to educate and expose our market to new opportunities of theatre. This year, such presentations as Julius Caesar, Madame Butterfly, and the Paul Taylor Dance Company stretch our members to experience new forms of theater and strive to build new audiences for a variety of genres.

Accessibility

We are committed to serving the youth and families of our community through quality cultural opportunities that are wide-ranging and accessible. This commitment to community has resulted in various programs of which we are particularly proud. Among these, and a strategic goal of our organization, is to ensure that underserved populations have equal access to the arts, regardless of their financial status.

Through our Community Outreach Program, the Kirby Center does its part to ensure that underserved families have the opportunity to experience the arts. In collaboration with county human and social service agencies, including the United Way of Wyoming Valley, Luzerne County Head Start, Catholic Social Services, Domestic Violence Service Center, and the Kirby Family House, we distribute hundreds of free tickets to underserved families and children. Last season, corporate underwriting allowed the distribution of approximately 1900 complimentary tickets and we are on track to duplicate that number this year.

We are also committed to ensuring access to patrons who may have physical requirements that require special accommodations in order to enjoy the benefits of live theater. Recent remodeling efforts have increased our available seating for special needs, offered for all seating options.

Historical Preservation

We recognize and willingly accept our role as steward of an important cultural and historic landmark and have taken steps to preserve and restore this downtown resource. The anniversary restoration meticulously replicated the historic 1938 design elements. Newly upholstered theatre seats, theatre and lobby carpeting and lobby wall coverings provided a wonderful face-lift for our facility.

Occupying a historic structure means that we will always have a waiting list of projects awaiting restoration and repairs. The F.M. Kirby Center welcomes the support of government, corporate, and individual supporters for its ongoing capital needs.

Financial Sustainability

We have made a commitment to assure that the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts will continue to serve our community for decades to come. Since revenue from tickets sales alone is never enough to meet the overall costs of the varied programming that fulfills our mission, we rely on charitable donations to maintain our financial sustainability. Please consider supporting our historic theater by becoming a member or making a financial contribution now.

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