Founded in 2017 to make dance a more well understood, accessible and utilized art form, nonprofit New Hampshire Dance Collaborative (NHDC) recently announced theatre KAPOW as Senior Fellow in its NH Dance Accelerator program.
Based in Manchester, NH, theatre KAPOW explores “the truths of human experience through the passion and electricity of live theater.”
“As a company in our 16th season, this collaboration with NHDC provides us with the opportunity to assess what we have been doing and how,” remarked Matt Cahoon, Artistic Director and co-founder of theatre KAPOW. “Through this partnership, we hope to strengthen our ability to collaborate with like-minded creators and our administrative capacity.”
theatre KAPOW’s Matt Cahoon
NHDC Founder Joan Brodsky said she created the Senior Fellow category specifically for theatre KAPOW, whose artistic achievements she described as “evolved and professional.” “Their emphasis on expressive movement and the subject matter they choose to perform and explore is relevant and powerful,” she said.
According to Carey Cahoon, theatre KAPOW’s Managing Director and co-founder, their shows this season address “specific, pressing social issues.” “We like to provide our audiences with opportunities to deepen their engagement with our work by holding post-show discussions facilitated by partners from social service, educational, and other community organizations,” she explained.
It is this explicit focus on dialogue that attracted Brodsky when considering the logistics on whether to expand the focus of NH Dance Accelerator. Launched in early 2022, NH Dance Accelerator was formed to rapidly accelerate the growth and sustainability of New Hampshire-based dance companies and solo artists.
theatre KAPOW’s Carey Cahoon
“I’m attracted to KAPOW’s artistic choice and the fact that they don’t cater to the commercial,” she said. “They don’t seek to merely entertain and they don’t place financial considerations over the purity of their craft. KAPOW knows who they are, and that clarity of mission is reflected in everything that they do.”
As for the benefits provided to theatre KAPOW through NH Dance Accelerator, Brodsky said they range from assistance with marketing and strategic planning to financial support. “We want to help strengthen their infrastructure in support of what is already a strong mission and important, relevant initiatives,” she said
One of these initiatives relates to accessibility and inclusivity, which Carey said theatre KAPOW is embedding in their performances, programs, and trainings. “One goal related to upcoming productions includes increasing accessibility for deaf and hearing impaired audience members through ASL interpretation at one performance of each show,” she said.
According to Brodsky, this emphasis on social impact will increasingly become a focus for NHDC as a nonprofit organization. “Expressive movement—whether in dance or theater—can open minds and provide deeper insight into the human condition,” she said. “It’s undeniable that KAPOW is courageously taking on an important type of theater…KAPOW is an enormous benefit to our community.