Dear friends,

These are wild times, but these are also times when the ties of community and family become clearer. Thank you for all you're doing to support those around you, be it hand washing or FaceTime. We had our final performance of Hephaestus last night and it was such a joy. We'll be sending photos soon! But it is now with a heavy heart, and out of an abundance of caution, that we have to inform you of a few changes to our upcoming events:

• Debate Watch Party tomorrow *CANCELLED*
• Political Analysis Meeting Monday night *WILL BE HELD ONLINE* (RSVP)
• Cold Reading March 25 *CANCELLED*
  

We are watching the news closely and are discussing what to do next. We hope you are keeping yourself safe and healthy, but also hopeful and engaged with the community. If you are an artist and are struggling as we are with all the cancelled gigs, you can find lots of resources here.

Thank you so much and hope to see you online on Monday!

Love and gratitude,
Paul, Katie, Kathryn, and Hilarie

Growing up in Appalachia taught me many things about music, mountains and storytelling, and those ideas have influenced my work for the past 5 years. In a professional sense, I split myself between New York and Appalachia, and run around seeking ways that rural-urban exchanges can happen in our artistic endeavors. I work with Amy Brooks to cultivate spaces through our collective, Cardinal Cross. As a human, I have always been interested in how we create community and where music comes in. I love breve lattes, my fuzzy cats, making music, especially with others and Joni Mitchell.

I met Paul a few years back, as a fill in stage manager and really felt inspired by his work and his connection to community and politics. When I moved back to NYC, I really wanted to find a way to get back involved in the civic and political landscape of NYC, in the same way that I was always involved in Political groups in Kentucky, and The Debates seemed like a perfect fit. It was a super important, fun project, and I could collaborate with amazing people that inspire me, everyday. 

Art and politics mirror one another, in my opinion, and I don't necessarily believe that art can be outside of politics. Both art and the political landscape are outlets and spaces for conversation that encourage people, to actively use their voices, both as artists and as citizens, to speak up about the problems occurring in their community. Art is a vessel in which others are able to realize the strongest tool they have to foster change is their voices. In my opinion, these political voices belong to a greater, more profound catalyst for societal change that are found in our younger generation; the generation that defines what it means to be a modern human in trying times. And that's who we're seeing making a difference in the political sphere today. As artists, our work reflects our experience and the world we are living in today is inherently political. Right now especially, we have the power to shape our our narratives and hopefully, we can breathe new life into old traditions and pave the way for stronger systems to come in our communities and economies.

Learn more about Theater in Asylum's staff here.

March 11-13, 2020
LaGuardia Performing Arts Center
31-10 Thomson Ave, Long Island City, NY 11101
 
God of fire, god of the forge, the worker god: Hephaestus. At once a meditation on labor, dis/ability, and beauty, Hephaestus interrogates our relationships to our bodies, and our ideas of beauty and divinity. Drawing on texts ancient and new, Hephaestus explores the limitations of the body and the self, and our desire to transcend them.

Learn more and find tickets here.

The Debates 2020 is a theatrical adaptation of the Democratic Primary debates and we've got two events in March and a big show in April that we'll tell you more about later. In the meantime....

Debate Watch Party
Join us to watch the debate live as it happens.
Sunday, March 15 (RSVP)

Political Analysis Meeting
Help us figure out what happened and what should go in our show.
Monday, March 16 (RSVP)

Theater in Asylum is looking for a Video Designer for The Debates 2020! 

Theater in Asylum is turning the Democratic Primary Debates into theater this April, and we need a person to help us source and edit the videos from the debates!

Logistics

• Time Frame: March 15 - April 3
• Shows: April 3, 4, 5 and April 18, 19
• Work hours are flexible - we'll want you in rehearsal a bit but most editing will happen on your own time. 
• Payment: Everyone working on The Debates 2020 will be paid the same, a $200 stipend.

We are looking for someone who's enthusiastic, a team player, a self-starter and savvy with computers. If you don't already have video editing skills, still reach out to us - we'd be happy to train the right person. We use Qlab and iMovie and are happy to teach you what we know.

To Submit
Please email a short note about yourself and your resume to Hilarie Spangler, TIA's Community Engagement Manager, [email protected]

Any questions? Also reach out to Hilarie!