At a young age, she became involved with dance, but as her passions and understanding about the world evolved, she fell in love with the drama of theatre and, in particular, the classics of Shakespeare and the Greeks. For Young, these stories and the messages taught are timeless pieces on human nature, but as she sat in the audience of King Lear one evening, she realized she was the only African American person among the entire group of patrons. She began to ask herself, “What if it was done in a different setting? What if they had characters and icons that resembled the people we were familiar with, and by we, I mean the African American community? What if we had music that helped transport you to a different place and time?”

Even in the early ’90s, Young understood that the practice of color-blind casting as a way to bring in diverse actors and audiences was counterintuitive. And as we saw later on, color-blind casting did not produce its desired results. Young emphatically explains that if you want equity on stage and to appeal to a more diverse audience, then your programming needs to reflect the culture that the audience identifies with, and the methods of casting cannot ignore history or the lived experiences of people of color.

At its core, the work of AASC has an African American aesthetic and aims to build a sense of community with its audiences, artists, patrons, neighbors, and collaborators through warmth, caring, good humor and empowerment. But Young also knew that a healthy organization would also require the knowledge and foresight that data can provide in order to make sound decisions and provide support for advocacy.

As Young had been collecting and storing data in the CDP, she was also monitoring her organization’s financial and programmatic health year-over-year. Within the profile is a series of easy-to-read analytic reports that are designed to allow organizational leaders to identify areas of strengths and weaknesses, which helped tremendously as Young was developing her strategy and having conversations with key stakeholders. “It takes time, but the Cultural Data Profile has been extremely helpful in showing the changes in our organization,” says Young. “It’s helped give a better snapshot of where we are and what we can take on. We’ve now hired a consultant and are in the process of developing a capital campaign to relocate.”

Young began thinking seriously about relocating AASC to its own space four years ago, but with real estate prices continuously rising in San Francisco, she also saw that smaller organizations were more at risk of feeling the impacts. She knew that she would need to take caution with every step.

Several factors need to be taken into account when relocating. The obvious and major factor is,  what can the organization actually afford? And other questions start to follow: How will it impact programming, directly or indirectly? What is the risk factor in losing patrons due to a move? Are there any partnerships or funders that might be lost or gained during the process? These questions, among others that are unique to an organization based on where they are and what they’re looking for, can be guided by the knowledge that data provides.

There wasn’t a question about whether AASC would remain in the Bay Area. “Whether you’re an artist or a patron, there is a sense of opportunity for the arts in San Francisco. Anyone can walk out their door and always find some type of cultural experience,” says Young, explaining the desire to stay in the city AASC has called home for the past 25 years.

Of the theatre organizations throughout the area that are dedicated to empowering African American people and culture, AASC is the only one of its kind. “There is a hunger for this type of programming,” explains Young. Her audiences, even those coming from as far away as San Jose, are able and willing to make the trips to see AASC performances because the performances speak to them in a way that other classical productions do not.

Young wants to make sure that their decisions build on the legacy they’ve created in the community. So, when she’s thinking about the theatre relocating, she’s also thinking about what this means for potential growth. “Large organizations tend to distance themselves from the community,” says Young, “which is not what we want. We want to be the ‘right’ size for the community we serve.”

Whether it’s because of rising rent costs, a need for more space, or a combination of reasons, arts and cultural organizations across the nation are seeking to relocate so that they can continue to provide meaningful experiences, education, and opportunity for the communities they serve. Young’s advice: “Focus on success and increase those opportunities. Don’t feel the need to compete with the big dogs. Give yourself patience. And lastly, board members would do well by listening to the inside.”