Out of Hand Theater Manifesto

Art + Information + Conversation = Social Change

We are Out of Hand Theater.
We believe theatre can do more than entertain.
It can disrupt systems.
It can disarm fear.
It can connect strangers across difference.
We believe that art is a civic tool, not a luxury.
And we use it—with courage, with intention, and with our community.

We take theater to our community.

We go to them.
Into homes.
Into schools.
Into churches, office buildings, shelters, and Zoom rooms.
We bring theatre to where people already gather—where they feel safe, seen, and heard.
Because a story is most powerful when it meets people where they live.

We make theatre with the world, not just about it.

Each of our programs begins not with a script, but with a question:
What matters most right now in our city, in our neighborhoods, in our bodies?
Who is already doing the work?
We partner with those people—with civil rights advocates, public health leaders, educators, and everyday citizens.
Together, we develop theatre that addresses real issues—racial justice, vaccine equity, housing, education, and more.
The community defines the problem.
We build the solution together.
Then we act—on stage and off.

We go beyond performance.

Because performance alone is not enough.
Change happens in conversation—when people sit down, face each other, and speak honestly.
So every Out of Hand show includes information to inform and conversation to transform.
We bring audiences into dialogue—structured, brave, respectful.
We give them a voice.
We break bread together.
We set the table for justice.

We embrace complexity.

We face it with empathy and rigor.
When a topic is hard to talk about—racism, mass incarceration, public health mistrust—we lean in.
We create space for truth and accountability, because without them, there is no progress.
Our plays open hearts.
Our data opens minds.
Our facilitators open pathways forward.

We are innovative.

We do not run a theatre building.
We do not rely on ticket sales.
Less than 10% of our revenue comes from audiences.
The rest comes from collaboration—contracts with partners, and grants we win together.
Our revenue has grown steadily since we adopted this business model.
We have remained debt-free, with cash reserves and a sustainable future.
We are proof that arts organizations don’t have to choose between impact and income.
We choose both.

We are co-creators.

Our work only exists because of others.
We are co-creators with nonprofits, city governments, public schools, corporations, and courageous individuals.
Each collaboration is an invitation to build something new:
A dinner where hundreds talk about equity across tables.
A living room play about mass incarceration.
A short film that helps someone trust a vaccine.
Each moment is an act of art, of service, and of belief.

We believe in results.

And we have them.
Over 90% of our participants say they learn something new, feel something deeply, and are inspired to act.
They volunteer.
They vote.
They speak up.
They connect.
The arts change lives—not through spectacle, but through proximity, purpose, and practice.

We believe in a different future.

Where theatre companies are also community hubs.
Where performance is also participation.
Where artists are also facilitators, educators, and bridge-builders.
Where the line between art and activism is joyfully erased.

We believe theatre belongs to everyone.

Not just those who can afford it.
Not just those who are already comfortable.
Everyone.
Especially those whose voices have been silenced.

We are changing the world.

We are not waiting for the world to change, we are changing it—one conversation, one collaboration, one courageous act at a time.

Out of Hand Theater

Atlanta, Georgia
Est. 2001
Radically Local. Fiercely Collaborative. Unapologetically Hopeful.