Dear Friends,

Our hearts are breaking and our blood is boiling. The systemic de-valuing, persecution, and killing of Black people in the United States is abhorrent, unjust, and unacceptable at all times and in all places. But the murder of George Floyd demands further statements of solidarity and soul-searching. 

The assault on black lives this week, months, and throughout our nation's history, is devastating, outrageous, and unacceptable. Black Lives Matter.

It is part of the bigger systemic problem of white supremacy that has oppressed, injured, and killed millions of Black people, Indigenous people, people of color, disabled and immunosuppressant people, LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, refugees, and people in poverty. Every death and every ruined life is too many.

We know that as an arts organization run by white people, Theater in Asylum is a beneficiary of the brutal system of white supremacy. We recognize this, and through each action we do and each space we hold, we try to create a room of good faith and equality. It is not enough. We will continue to listen, watch, read, protest, and stand next to Black people, Indigenous people, people of color, and all who are hurt by white supremacy. We believe it is important to send this email, to state clearly that we believe Black lives matter.  It is only one step and we will continue the work of making ourselves and our theater company anti-racist.

Here are some resources we have found that we would like to amplify:

Natl Resource List #GeorgeFloyd+
Compiled JaLoni Amor Owens, a New York based community organizer and freelance writer


@LoveLettersToBlackPeople
Inspired by What To Send Up When It Goes Down by Aleshea Harris


Black Lives Matter Syllabus
A website full of resources, readings, and videos created by Frank Leon Roberts


Nothing to add: A Challenge to White Silence in Racial Discussions
An article on white silence by Robin DiAngelo


43 Bail Funds You Can Support Right Now
Compiled by Carmen Phillips, published on BlackLivesMatterSyllabus.com and Autostraddle.com


Another unarmed black person has been killed. It’s no wonder we can’t breathe.
An Op-ed by Ben Crump, lawyer representing George Floyd's family

We would like to assert again a truth we believe deeply:

Black Lives Matter.

Safety, power, and love to you,

Paul, Katie, Kathryn, Hilarie, and Samantha
Theater in Asylum

We are thrilled to announce that we'll be presenting an online version of The Debates 2020 on Friday, June 19. It's going to be an experiment and we hope you'll join us. The piece will be a mix of live and pre-recorded scenes, live-streamed, and will tell the story of the 2020 campaign for the Democratic nomination of president. We start way back in 2017 when the first candidate got in the race, and continue all the way to present day.

 SAVE THE DATE
The Debates 2019
Online performance
One night only!
Friday, June 19
More details to come

Learn more about The Debates here

Photos by Ryan Prado, LPAC/Rough Draft Festival. See the full set here.

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)