After two incredible weekends of performances, Occupy Prescott is drumming up lots of buzz online! Check out these profiles, articles and interviews to learn a little more about the story behind the show and the process of creating independent theatre in the current landscape.

And head’s up: this weekend’s last two performances are now SOLD OUT! Thank you all for your incredible support throughout this run - we couldn’t pull this off without the amazing TIA community. Keep in touch and read more about the show at the links below!

Transitions: “Ten Years After Zuccotti Park, 'Occupy Prescott' Considers the Legacy of a Movement”
In Boyd’s play, momentum proves more elusive. Divides form within the group once they are instructed to leave Courthouse Square or be arrested, raising the question of how much each of them is willing—or able—to sacrifice for the movement. That statement of principles never does gets completed. Still - connections have been formed, and some seeds may have been planted.” - Joey Sims

Go See a Show Podcast: Interview with Andy Boyd, Katie Palmer, and Paul Bedard
Listen in as Occupy Prescott's co-directors and playwright discuss the creative process and historical context around the play with fellow artist Robert A.K. Gonyo.

Adam Szymkowicz: Interview with Andy Boyd
As part of his “I Interview Playwrights” series, writer Adam Szymkowicz chats with Andy Boyd about Occupy Prescott, the state of the theatre world, Andy’s favorite playwrights and more!

The independent theater company’s first in-person production since early 2020 examines the historic movement’s impact on a small town in Arizona.

BROOKLYN, NY -- September 28, 2021 -- Theater in Asylum, a New York-based ensemble-driven independent theater company, today announced the company’s first in-person production since 2020, Occupy Prescott by Andy Boyd. The production will run from October 16, 2021 through October 31, 2021 at the Jalopy Tavern in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

Ten years ago this fall, activists gathered in Lower Manhattan to peacefully occupy Zuccotti Park and to declare opposition to an economic system clearly inadequate for the majority of Americans, the 99%. Occupy Wall Street galvanized people around the world and inspired hundreds of activist occupations, big and small, united in a call to radically rethink the economic order.

Occupy Prescott follows five Occupiers in the small, southwestern city of Prescott, Arizona in their efforts to change their town and the world. The protestors broadly agree that the one percent is too powerful, but that agreement breaks down as they search for specifics. Reaching consensus on what a better world looks like—and how to get there—is frequently frustrating and rarely glamorous. Never easy, but urgently necessary.

“After many months of virtual productions, readings and community events, Theater in Asylum is so excited to be making live, in-person theatre again,” said Katie Palmer, Co-Artistic Director of Theater in Asylum and Co-Director of Occupy Prescott. “The issues raised by the Occupy movement are just as relevant today as they were ten years ago and we look forward to exploring them with audiences at the Jalopy this October.”

"We are living in a world created by Occupy Prescott - with the Fight for 15, the fight for Medicare for all and the recent push to expand the social safety net," said Paul Bedard, Co-Artistic Director of Theater in Asylum and Co-Director of Occupy Prescott. "In many ways these struggles were propelled by the Occupy movement. We want to pay homage to the people who planted the seeds and encourage our audiences to keep dreaming and fighting."

Occupy Prescott stars Julie Cai as Connie, Christopher DeSantis as Devin, Alec A. Head as Rex, Emily Johnson-Erday as the Musician, Regina Romero as Dolores and Fernando Vieira as Father Carlos. The production features stage management by Cody Hom, dramaturgy by Al Parker, scenic and lighting design by Dan Stearns and costume design by Andrea Lynn. The play is directed by Paul Bedard and Katie Palmer and produced by Kathryn Appleton and Theater in Asylum. Rounding out the production team are Hilarie Spangler (Community Engagement), Charlotte Dow (Marketing and Publicity) and Fatemata Krubally (Ticketing and Front of House Management).

A very limited number of tickets for Occupy Prescott are on sale now at theaterinasylum.com. All performances will take place in Jalopy Tavern’s outdoor patio with contingencies in place for inclement weather. Audience members must show proof of vaccination to enter Jalopy Tavern and must wear a face-covering throughout the duration of the performance.

Occupy Prescott is presented as part of the City Artist Corps Grants program, presented by The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA), with support from the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) as well as Queens Theatre. The program is funded by the $25 million New York City Artist Corps recovery initiative announced by Mayor de Blasio and DCLA earlier this year. The grants are intended to support NYC-based working artists who have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.

Listings Information
What: Occupy Prescott by Andy Boyd
When: October 16,17, 23, 24, 30 and 31 at 3 PM
Where: Jalopy Tavern, 317 Columbia Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Tickets: $20 General Admission, $30 Hero Admission, $10 Student/Artist/Low Income Admission. All performances will have a $0 ticket option and all tickets to the first performance on October 16th are FREE.

About Theater in Asylum
Theater in Asylum (TIA) is a New York-based theater company founded in 2010 to challenge and empower its community. TIA joyfully pursues rigorous research and an ensemble-driven approach to theater-making to create performances that investigate our past, interpret our present, and imagine our future. TIA prizes space to process, space to question—asylum—for its members and community. Past TIA productions include Hephaestus by Willie Johnson at LPAC’s Rough Draft Festival; Totally Wholesome Foods by Alice Pencavel at the Episcopal Actors’ Guild; The Brontës by Katie Palmer, Lucas Tahiruzzaman Syed and Sarah Ziegler at Brooklyn’s Old Stone House; and ¡Olé!, conceived and directed by Paul Bedard, presented at the Prague, Rochester, and Chicago Fringe Festivals. Other ongoing TIA projects include The Debates, a series of plays inspired by local and national elections, the Cold Readings series and TIA’s Cabarets.

Media Contact
Charlotte Dow
Marketing & Publicity, Occupy Prescott
[email protected]
theaterinasylum.com