We made it! As 2022 comes to a close, we want to reiterate our gratitude to the community who made this year possible. For the past few weeks we've been looking back at all we achieved this year. If you missed it, here are a few links:

• Budget Transparency Report 2022
• All the Organizations we supported in 2022
• Our favorite things from 2022
• Our 2023 plans and fundraiser

Below, find a review of all Theater in Asylum produced and accomplished this year. If you're in a position to do so, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to our dreams for 2023. Once again, thank you.

2022 was a busy and fruitful year for Theater in Asylum. We continued developing our show about the Federal Theatre Project, currently known as The FTP Show. We plan to premiere this piece next summer, and this year’s work brought invaluable growth to the project. We presented a 20-minute excerpt at The FTP Cabaret, alongside new work from 6 invited guest groups. A few months later, we convened for a week of dedicated development and generated both a solid script draft and ample photos and video which were useful in our grant applications this year. The piece will continue development with a public reading in January and finally a full production in August 2023. We are still deeply committed and beyond excited to share this story. Hallie Flanagan’s unsung legacy continues to reverberate in the American Theatre, but her mission remains unfinished. Why? Artists lack the support they deserve and audiences frequently cannot afford to experience the art they deserve. Public funding of the arts in the United States (the wealthiest country on Earth) is urgently needed, and we hope our show can provoke a conversation to this end.

Cold Readings continued to transform this year. For the first time, a curation team led the program and brought new variety to the plays we read. We are still in transition, slowly scaling back from the frequency of Cold Readings during the pandemic (every week at its height) to normal times (7-10 readings per year). While we initially thought we would fully transition back to in-person readings, our online gatherings have continued to excel with a community beyond New York. Looking ahead, we plan to continue a mix of in-person and online readings. Having fallen a little short this year, we also plan to redouble our efforts in curating at least 50% of plays by women and 50% of plays by BIPOC artists.

2022 also brought extensive internal reorganization to the company. This was our first year with an annual staff whose responsibilities carried throughout the year. This staff was paid bi-monthly for their work and did not receive project stipends. We found this model very helpful to the overall health of the company and we plan to continue it next year.

After reconsidering non-profit status for the millionth time, TIA leadership decided to follow our tax advisor’s recommendation and forgo it, instead beginning a reincorporation process to make Theater in Asylum a multi-member LLC. This will not only better-protect Paul from tax liability (we were previously a sole proprietorship) but this also opens doors to pay our artists more with the ability to issue 1099’s as a company.

Overall, 2022 was fast and bright, busy and productive. The FTP Show is beginning to spread its wings, Cold Readings continued to delight, the company’s internal workings and finances are solidifying into a more sustainable place, and Theater in Asylum continues to be a home for many. The community grew this year and we eagerly reach for 2023 and all the good work it will bring.

We are so grateful to the artists, audience, volunteers, donors, friends, and family who made Theater in Asylum's 2022 season possible. We are so lucky to have such a vibrant and supportive community.

As we turn the page on 2022, we look with hope to 2023. If you are in a position to do so, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to our 2023 season.

Happy New Year!

Each year, Theater in Asylum releases a list of plays, books, movies, and more that delighted us, challenged us, and changed us. Below find a list, crowd-sourced from our community, of our favorite things from 2022.

Also, Theater in Asylum’s fundraiser is live! If you’re able, please consider helping us reach our goal with a donation. Thank you so much!!

Fiction

• All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
  
• Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
  
• Chelsea Girls by Eileen Myles
  
• Red Clocks by Leni Zumas
  
• The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
  
• Satin Island by Tom McCarthy
  
• Sea of Tranquillity by Emily St. John Mandel
  
• A Season in the Congo by Aime Césaire
  
• A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
  
• A Visitation of Spirits by Randall Keenan
  
• White Noise by Don Delillo
  
• Bewilderment by Richard Powers
  

Poetry

• Loose Woman by Sandra Cisneros
  
• Time is a Mother by Ocean Vuong 
  

Non-fiction

• Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Kimmerer
  
• The Bright Ages by Matthew Gabriele and David M. Perry
  
• At the Center of All Beauty by Fenton Johnson
  
• Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
  
• The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow
  
• Delivered from Distraction by Edward Hallowell and John Ratey
  
• Eleanor and Hick by Susan Quinn
  
• On Freedom by Maggie Nelson
  
• Gentrification of the Mind by Sarah Schulman
  
• Meander, Spiral, Explode: Design and Pattern in Narrative by Jane Alison
  
• The Nutmeg's Curse by Amitav Ghosh
  
• Traveling While Black by Nanjala Nyabola
  
• Unbowed by Wangari Maathai
  
• The Women’s House of Detention by Hugh Ryan
  

Movies

• Dead Pigs
  
• Don’t Worry Darling
• Everything Everywhere All at Once
• Fire Island
• Grizzly Man
• Judas and the Black Messiah
• EO
• The Lady Eve
• My Name Is Salt
• Singing in the Rain
• Sea Gypsies

TV

• The Bear
  
• Creamerie
  
• Only Murders in the Building
  
• Our Flag Means Death
• Fleabag 
• Heartstopper
• Perfect Life
• Reboot
• Severance
• Superstore
• Too Hot To Handle
  

We made it! As 2021 comes to a close, we want to reiterate our gratitude to the community who made this year possible. For the past few weeks we've been looking back at all we achieved this year. If you missed it, here are a few links:

• Financial Transparency Report 2021
• All the organizations we supported in 2021
• Memories we'll cherish from 2021
• Performances we loved in 2021
• Books we loved in 2021
• Music we loved in 2021
• Movies & Television we loved in 2021

And below, find a review of all Theater in Asylum produced and accomplished this year. And if you're in a position to do so, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to our dreams for 2022. Once again, thank you.

We are so grateful to the artists, audience, volunteers, donors, friends, and family who made Theater in Asylum's 2021 season possible. We are so lucky to have such a vibrant and supportive community.

As we turn the page on 2021, we look with hope to 2022. If you are in a position to do so, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to our 2022 season.

Happy New Year!

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

Dear friends,

Can you believe this year is nearly over? As we count down the final days of 2021, we asked our community to look back at all the things that brightened the year. What was unforgettable? What are we grateful for? On our blog we recently posted crowd-sourced lists of performances, books, music, and films we loved this year. And below here, find a list of moments we’ll never forget from 2021, as well as aspirations for 2022.

However you are spending these final few days of 2021, we hope you’ll take a moment to reflect on this wild year, and spend some time dreaming into the new year.

Have a happy new year, and we’ll see you in ‘22!

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

Ps. Theater in Asylum is raising money for our dreams in 2022! Help us achieve them!