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.

This was originally posted April 18, 2021. We have since developed how we community transparency, which you can find in the form of our 2021 Transparency Report.

Completed 2020 Budget
Major projects

• Two productions (Hephaestus — commissioned by the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center — and the online, free version of The Debates 2020)
  
• One cabaret (The Electability Cabaret)
• Cold Readings
• In lieu of the planned party to commemorate our 10 year anniversary, we published a retrospective magazine. Many plans changed throughout the year due to COVID-19.

Expenses

• Personnel: $4,418 (38%)
• Production Costs: $2,361 (20%)
• Space: $1,203 (10%)
• Administrative: $3,418 (29%) **This is largely our magazine publication
• Anti-oppression training: $370 (3%)
• Total: $11,770

Revenues

• Donations: $8,121 (61%)
• Grants: $0 (0%)
• Tickets: $0 (0%)
• Special Events: $1,142 (9%)
• Commissions: $4,000 (30%)
• Total: $13,263

Projected 2021 Budget
Major projects

• Two productions (The Debates 2021 and Occupy Prescott)
• Cold Readings

Expenses

• Personnel: $11,900 (47%)
• Production Costs: $6,930 (27%)
• Space: $3,900 (16%)
• Administrative: $1,100 (4%)
• Anti-oppression training: $600 (2%)
• Contingencies: $1,092 (4%)
• Total Cost: $25,522

Revenue

• Donations: $12,500 (50%)
• Grants: $3,000 (12%)
• Tickets: $6,600 (26%)
• Surplus from previous years: $3,000 (12%)
• Total Revenues: $25,100

How Theater in Asylum is paying people in 2021

• In 2021, we project hiring 54 people (18 for The Debates 2021, 18 for Occupy Prescott, 18 for Cold Readings).
• Company leadership (4 people) is not paid for their administrative work.
• For The Debates 2021: All collaborators (regardless of role) will be paid a $200 stipend.
• For Occupy Prescott: All collaborators (regardless of role) will be paid a $300 stipend.
• For Cold Readings: Individual Guest facilitators are paid $50 per reading and theater companies guest facilitating are paid $100 per reading. Theater in Asylum facilitators (Paul, Katie, Hilarie) and Readers are not paid.
  

Dear friends,

We hope you are enjoying this early Spring and getting to spend some time outside. Theater in Asylum has just begun talking about in-person events, especially ones that can be held outdoors. We are so eager and excited for the year ahead!

Coming up this week is another Civics Happy Hour, this time focusing on NYC’s Comptroller, Public Advocate, and Borough President. This is our fourth event for The Debates 2021, for which we are also hiring! If you know of a video designer who might be interested in working with us, please let us know!

Thank you again for all your support. We hope to see you soon!
Peace, power, and love to you,
Paul, Katie, Kathryn, and Hilarie
Theater in Asylum