CMU School of Drama


Wednesday, September 09, 2020

Quantum Theatre to support local businesses with launch of NearBuy program

Theater | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh City Paper: Today, Pittsburgh immersive theater company Quantum Theatre announced the launch of its NearBuy program as part of its 2020-2021 season. Starting this month, Quantum will begin encouraging theater patrons to eat and shop at participating NearBuy partners throughout the city.

The NearBuy pilot program, which runs from Sept. 14 through Oct. 16, will include two Downtown businesses, bakeshop Cobbler World and pan-Asian eatery Yuzu Kitchen, and Homewood-based Everyday Café.

5 comments:

Reiley Nymeyer said...

What the Quantum Theatre is doing is awesome and has the potential to make change in the Pittsburgh community. Encouraging their audience to eat and shop at local small businesses (NearBy partners) is an awesome way they’re helping out with little changes in the Pittsburgh community. The NearBy program only runs for a month, but I think this concept is innovative enough to spark a continuation of such.

Quantum Theatre also is bringing back productions which perfect kairos for a program like NearBy.

This quote particularly stuck with me: “One thing that became clear as federal COVID-19 assistance for small businesses was allocated and distributed is that businesses owned by people of color — and Black businesses in particular — were often left out of the picture.” I want to do all I can to help support small businesses in my community (which is now Pittsburgh!) But also in particular to support small businesses owned by POCs.

Hadley Holcomb said...

The NearBuy program is a wonderful way for so many different parties to find support and to support each other in the ever changing times. Small businesses, and in particular business with BIPOC ownership, have struggled since the beginning of the pandemic to both keep revenue coming in and to keep their doors open, literally or in an online capacity. By partnering with a few of these struggling businesses Quantum Theatre is helping to support them through one of the best ways possible: community. The sense of community people get from coming to the theatre is not just important and special but also powerful. With this sense of community the NearBuy program should be able to get a few businesses back on their feet at first and hopefully help many others in the near future.

Evan Riley said...

I love seeing loca businesses support each other. I think what Quantum Theatre is doing will set a strong example for other more fortunate companies in Pittsburgh affected by the Pandemic. The article explained how they started this initiative after they had received a large grant, and I appreciate how Quantum Theatre has decided to look beyond themselves and help their surrounding community. There is a bar where I'm from that picks a new non-profit organization each month and they raise a lot of money just operating like normal. I am also very excited to see what they can accomplish in the covid era of theatre making. I believe their format of performance will take well to outdoor theatre and will be the first taste of live theatre people will have in a long time. I look forward to their productions and possibly being the first theatre I see in Pittsburgh.

Mattox S. Reed said...

Local business supporting each other is so important and I love seeing a large community gathering institution like Quantum helping out other smaller businesses. In the world of the Pandemic it’d be so easy for all of us to fall in the trap of relying on Amazon. Seeing Quantum look beyond themselves and look to reach out into the community and help elevate those around themselves during the pandemic. A theatre with such a large community base helping local business around them are so important because it always goes both ways. I also think a theatre is a perfect place for the community to have these sort of outreach programs. It’s maybe not as highly trafficked as a grocery store but from my experience local grocery stores and things of the like. These sense of local community people have with ones local theatre company is powerful and I think its great that they are broadening their community with these efforts.

Bridget Grew said...

This NearBuy program is a great demonstration of the innovation that is going to help various industries recover after the economic turmoil caused by COVID-19. A union between small, local businesses will certainly be beneficial to all involved, while generating support for theater. It is great to see that businesses are coming together to support each other, and to see that there is a push for theater to recover within Pittsburgh. One of the most important economic factors that has been impacted by the limitations placed on in person theater is all of the businesses that are associated with “going” to the theater. Restaurants, bars, and bakeries are feeling the strain of not having the foot traffic generated by theater. The NearBuy program is an excellent way to help local businesses. It is great to see that there continues to be a strong future for the Pittsburgh arts scene, and through programs like this the restaurant scene also.