COMMUNITY

We are theater makers and theater lovers in and around New York City. We prize space to process, space to question–asylum–for ourselves and our community. See below just some of our frequent and recent collaborators for TIA's work.

Community Resources

Part of Theater in Asylum’s mission is to empower our community. If you are new to our community, welcome! We hope the commitments and resources below will make our spaces safe, accessible, welcoming, and invigorating to our growing community.

Please know that we always welcome ideas and feedback to better strengthen our community and achieve our mission. You may email us anytime.

Community Agreements

Theater in Asylum strives to prevent harm in all of our spaces. We acknowledge that multiple systems of oppression intersect and permeate our lives (including racism, sexism, classism, ableism, and others). While we know that no space is ever 100% safe for all people, we hope to make our spaces safer with these Community Agreements. We ask everyone entering our space to, in good faith:
  1. Take care of ourselves, and each other. We know that everyone has different needs, and we strive to honor and respect those needs. In addition, we affirm that we all have the agency to leave a Theater in Asylum event whenever we need to, no need to explain.
  2. Be mindful of difference, and value it. We acknowledge that each of us moves through the world with different privileges and obstacles. We honor our differences and respect each other's experiences and identities, including pronouns. We use "I" statements, and we resist assumptions and generalizations about experiences that are not our own. 
  3. Make space / take space. If we are someone who tends to speak a lot, or are of an identity that has been historically privileged to take space, we challenge ourselves to make space for others. If we are someone who tends not to speak a lot, or are of an identity that has been historically discouraged from taking space, we challenge ourselves to take more space. 
  4. Assume good intent while acknowledging impact. We strive to give each other grace and work together if harm occurs.
  5. Strive for growth as individuals and as a community. We listen, learn, and love with intention. We follow Maya Angelou’s advice to, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”

As a community we will hold ourselves to these agreements. 

If any of these Community Agreements are not being lived up to, or if there is something Theater in Asylum can do to support your full engagement, please know that dialogue is welcome.

Communication

Theater in Asylum seeks open communication and always welcomes feedback. Should you have ideas, feedback, or need to get in touch with us, you can reach us here:
If you would like to provide feedback anonymously, you can do that here.

Reporting Harm

Should the Community Agreements not be followed, or should harm/potential-for-harm have occurred, or that Theater in Asylum has not lived up to its values, we encourage folks to speak up and inform anyone they feel comfortable approaching (emails above). You may also file a Harmful Incident Report here. Reports may be filed anonymously. Each report will be sent to the four people listed above and all incidents will be taken seriously and confidentially.

Resources

Here are some articles and videos that inspired us and may offer more insight into some of the concepts above.

Theater in Asylum's values

This page is part of our larger efforts to clarify and live up to our values: