GUTWorks believes it is a necessity to do more than simply perform. Because art inevitably reflects the world we live in, GUTWorks also strives to provide our audiences with the opportunity to discover and act on the societal issues that originally generate our work. We created the social outreach program Beyond the Stage in order to draw attention to these local and global concerns associated with our performances. Beyond the Stage bridges the gap between the want to help and the ability to take action.

Specific to each show, Beyond the Stage defines a social issue that is inherent to the performance’s theme. Once found, Beyond the Stage searches for a service or organization that particularly addresses this issue. The search encompasses a wide range of possibilities including educational awareness to community service to simple actions or suggestions. Finally, Beyond the Stage presents its findings as an opportunity that the audience can use independently from GUTWorks’ performances. We hope that by letting our stories inspire our causes we will be able to uniquely aid a variety of social concerns.

After creating this link from performance to issue to action, GUTWorks and our audiences will be able to make a specific effort outside of their experience in the theatre. We want to ensure that our art is not left in the theatre but taken Beyond the Stage.