Front Porch Arts Collective

Front Porch Arts Collective, known as The Porch, is Boston’s Black theatre company. It creates Black-centric productions that reckon with the world as it is and imagine what it could be, exploring race alongside culture, economics, ability, gender and sexuality through the lens of people of color. The company sees theatre as a tool for social change and aims for work that is artistically rigorous, emotionally resonant and inclusive.

Artists Maurice Emmanuel Parent and Dawn M. Simmons co-founded The Porch in 2016, driven by a lack of professional opportunities for Black artists and the long segregation of Boston’s arts scene. The name evokes a communal gathering place for dialogue and joy, where Black people are centered and everyone is invited to take a seat. The company works to keep diverse talent onstage, backstage, in offices and in boardrooms.

What to Know

• The Porch is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
• It trains the next generation of artists of color as part of its mission.
• Its stated values include community, artistry, cultural stewardship, imagination, liberation and love.
• It is listed in the Black Owned Boston public directory.