Theaters in NYC have been in decline for some time, and since the pandemic they have struggled to bounce back even to their pre-2020 levels. Attendance is down 17% and ticket sales 14%. A number of trends underpin this shift: our digital lifestyle, aging audiences and increasing costs of labor.

Yet Meghan’s organization, The Tank, has bucked the trend, putting on hundreds of shows and working with thousands of artists each year. Its unique business model accounts for the difference: space to rehearse and perform is free and artists are supported with tasks (like box office, marketing, insurance and liability, set design and execution) that they normally have to cover on their own. Box office sales are split between The Tank and artists.

Building on this success, Meghan’s idea to revitalize NYC theaters is to ‘white label’ The Tank’s producing model and offer it to other theaters, big and small for pop-up programming. Meghan believes it will not only generate revenue during times the theater was otherwise dark, the model will also bring in more artists and new audiences, inject new life into lobbies, and broaden the aperture of what gets to be seen in NYC.