Dear friends,

We are so excited to have a busy May! We want to invite you to our upcoming events and share some of what we’ve been up to behind the scenes.

Below, you’ll find our new Community Care and Transparency initiatives; a list of the organizations we’ve been amplifying at Cold Readings; and the dates for our next production: The Debates 2021!

Thank you all for your support of our work and this community. You make it all worth it. Thank you.

Hope to see you soon!

Peace, power, and love to you,
Paul, Katie, Kathryn, and Hilarie
Theater in Asylum

Taking care of our community and being transparent

Theater in Asylum has been busy revising the inner workings of our company with the implementation and publishing of new ways to live our values.

On our new Community page, you can find the Community Agreements we ask those entering our space to follow, as well other resources we utilize to take care of our community.

On our Transparency page, you can find details on how Theater in Asylum’s decisions are made and money is spent.

Part of our mission is to challenge and empower our community. We hope that these resources will help us do that, while keeping everyone safe and supported along the way.

All the organizations we’ve supported so far this year in Cold Readings

Cold Readings are still happening every week and we are so grateful to the lovely folks who’ve joined us. So far this year we’ve read 18 plays, including four from Jeremy O. Harris’s Golden Collection. In addition to reading and discussing a great play, at each Cold Reading we ask our attendees to support an organization doing good work. Below, please find a list of who we’ve supported this year. We invite you to learn about these organizations and, if you’re in a position to, please consider supporting them yourself.

• The Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival
• American Indian Community House
• Audre Lorde Project
• Asian Americans Advancing Justice
• Black Urban Growers
• Communities United Against Police Brutality
• Fair Fight
• Heart of Dinner
• Irish Arts Center
• Looking for Lilith
• National Alliance on Mental Illness
• National Black Theater
• Sound Thinking NYC
• Working Artists and the Greater Economy
  
  

Tickets for The Debates 2021 are now on sale!

The Debates 2021 is an original theatrical adaptation of New York City's 2021 Democratic primary. With electoral contests for mayor, comptroller, and many city council seats, we ask, "What do we want our city to be?" We'll explore the candidates and issues in an online presentation not to be missed. With our unique blend of mimicry, abstraction, and earnest curiosity, we seek to illuminate the candidates, the issues, and ourselves.

Learn more about The Debates 2021 here and see our voter guide here.

Dear friends,

New York City’s primary election is quickly approaching! If you haven’t checked it out already, our voter guide is packed with lots of useful information.

It seems like only a few minutes ago we began working on The Debates 2021 but our Civics Happy Hours are now complete. Next up is the first actual mayoral debate (not a forum). We hope you’ll join us before, chat with us during, and dig into it afterwards. Let the campaign truly begin!

Hope to see you soon!

Peace, power, and love to you,
Paul, Katie, Kathryn, and Hilarie
Theater in Asylum

Debate Watch Party & Political Analysis Meeting
Thursday, May 13, online

Join Theater in Asylum to watch and discuss the first official mayoral debate! We'll meet before to say hello, then watch the debate, and finally discuss and unpack. We'll go through what was said, issues that came up, and begin fact-checking the candidates' assertions.

6:30pm - Pre-debate Party & chatting on Zoom
7-9pm - Debate Watch Party (we all watch on our own, with a chat running)
9-10pm - Post-debate discussion
Attendees are welcome to attend part or all of this event.

Dear friends,
We hope you are safe and taking care of yourselves (and each other) during this tumultuous time. As you know, Theater in Asylum meets each Wednesday night on Zoom for a Cold Reading, and these gatherings have been a space of essential community for us this year. In addition to discussing the news of the day and sharing in a great play, each week we amplify an organization doing good work. We’d like to share this week’s organization with you and encourage you, if you’re able, to donate to their good work.

Communities United Against Police Brutality is a Twin-Cities based organization that was created to deal with police brutality on an ongoing basis. CUAPB works on the day-to-day abuses as well as taking on the more extreme cases. Their overriding goal is to create a climate of resistance to abuse of authority by police organizations and to empower local people with a structure that can take on police brutality and actually bring it to an end. They provide support for survivors of police brutality and families of victims so they can reclaim their dignity and join the struggle to end police brutality. You can donate to CUAPB here.

We would also like to direct your attention to DontCallthePolice.com, a directory of organizations you can call instead of the police.

Finally, we would like to invite you to another Civics Happy Hour. This Thursday we’ll be gathering to discuss the mayoral candidates for NYC’s upcoming Democratic Primary. More information and RSVP are below.

Thank you so much, and stay safe.

Peace, power, and love to you,
Paul, Katie, Kathryn, and Hilarie
Theater in Asylum

Civics Happy Hour
The Mayoral Candidates
Thursday, April 22, 7-9pm
on Zoom
Join Theater in Asylum for a discussion about some of the leading candidates for NYC mayor. We’ll survey the field, explore the candidates' backgrounds, read some of their public statements, and discuss their policy positions. While we’re no experts at any of this, we are theater makers and politics enthusiasts who believe in learning about these things together and empowering each other in the process.