ABOUT CPCP

our history

In 1999, Michael Rohd founded Sojourn Theatre with 7 other artists. In 2012, he and ensemble members Shannon Scrofano and Soneela Nankani founded the Center for Performance and Civic Practice as a platform for collaborative work in service to the many requests within and beyond the arts sector Sojourn was receiving for capacity-building support at the intersection of art and change.  

In 2020, CPCP (at that time led by Scrofano, Rohd and Rebecca Martinez) expanded its leadership model from three core decision makers to a ten person leadership circle of primarily practitioners of color that includes Quenna L. Barrett, M. Simone Boyd, Estefanía Fadul, Ashley Hanson, Nikiko Masumoto, Mark Valdez, and Anu Yadav. Find out more about this transition here.  In addition to working as artist-facilitators on CPCP projects, this leadership circle now makes all organizational decisions using consensus, democratic, and somatic processes, with a continued commitment to centering justice and equity through our partnerships and projects. 

DEFINING CIVIC PRACTICE

The Center for Performance and Civic Practice believes that with the right approach, the same tools and capacities that artists use to make meaningful art can be utilized to transform systems and improve the impacts of government and community-driven efforts and programs.

CPCP bases its approach to arts-engaged collaboration on a framework we introduced in 2012. 

'Civic Practice' refers to projects that bring artists into collaboration and co-design with community partners and local residents around a community-defined aspiration, challenge or vision.   

Check out our initiatives, explore civic practice project examples, or learn who we are.