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
chardow913@gmail.com
theaterinasylum.com

Dear friends,

We hope you are having a lovely summer, keeping cool and staying safe. We have been quite busy with projects, as have our friends. See below a bunch of exciting projects on the horizon.

Hope to see you soon,
Paul, Katie, Kathryn, and Hilarie Theater in Asylum

Paul is back with Bread and  Puppet!

Paul is in Vermont working with the iconic Bread and Puppet Theater on their Domestic Insurrection Circus. The show, director Peter Schumann says, is “in response to our totally unresurrected capitalist situation, not only the hundreds of thousands of unnecessarily sacrificed pandemic victims but our culture’s unwillingness to recognize Mother Earth’s revolt against our civilization. Since we earthlings do not live up to our earthling obligations, we need resurrection circuses to yell against our own stupidity.”

See the show and visit the gorgeous farm in Glover, Vermont any weekend in August. The circus will play in Brooklyn on Friday, September 10 and tickets are going fast!

Katie is diving back into The Brontës!

After a dormant period, Katie is thrilled to be sprucing the show back up to send The Brontës across the pond! A MFA candidate at the University of East London is going to direct and produce the show in Spring 2022. As a precursor to that, 4 songs were presented in a floating book store on the Thames! Check out the beautiful video here. We can't wait to share more Brontë news over this next year!

Hilarie is working on Governor's Island!

Herstory of the Universe@Governors Island Richard Move & MoveOPOLIS!
This series of six free, site-specific dance performances, held two Saturdays in October, will lead visitors on a movement journey across Governors Island—from the ancient trees of Nolan Park to the secluded lawns of Hammock Grove and the dramatic topography of the Hills. Conceived, directed and choreographed by acclaimed choreographer Richard Move, each piece is inspired by and in conversation with its unique site on Governors Island, including the ecosystems, architectures, materials and species that dwell within. From the abstract to the fantastical, the work embodies various biological and natural processes in a kind of biomimicry—telling the stories of Governors Island through a series of kinetic, strikingly costumed dance installations. Learn more.

The Big Learn is starting up again!

Theater in Asylum’s leadership participated in The Big Learn last year and cannot recommend it highly enough. The program’s goal is to create space for anti-racist learning, training, and community healing that will address the needs of the large and diverse community of “downtown” and “indie” theatre artists living and working in New York City. Apply here.

Our friends at Boxcutter Collective have a free show at Jalopy!

Boxcutter Collective returns to the Jalopy Theater on Monday, August 16th to share the bill with the amazing puppeteer, Deborah Hunt, all the way from Puerto Rico! Boxcutter will be performing a short new work made in collaboration with Peter Schumann of the Bread and Puppet Theater. Learn more here.

Ama Encore (Alexis Atkinson) has a new music video!

And we are so cool with you watching this video and feasting upon Ama’s incredible music.

Jesse B Koehler’s eery play The Garden is streaming online!

“A story whose bewitching form is only matched by its fantastical content.”
Streaming online until August 15th. Learn more.

Liquid Din Din is back!

For years our dear friends Jessie Bangarang Atkinson and Kiley Etling have hosted racaus cabarets themed around dinner party guests. August looks at Hippie Grandma. Check them out for a night full of songs and stories featuring some of your favorite local artists. Learn more.

Ali Dineen is teaching an online Joni Mitchell class at Jalopy!

Tuesdays 7:30-8:30pm
8/17, 8/24, 8/31, 9/7

In honor of Blue's 50th Anniversary, join Ali to learn 4 songs from Joni Mitchell's iconic album, for guitar and voice. Intermediate guitar level preferred, meaning: ability to decipher guitar tablature (but not sight-read) and basic comfort with finger-picking. Learn more and register.

One year ago today, George Floyd was murdered. He is one of many Black people who have been brutalized as a result of a vicious white supremacist system. We commit to rooting out white supremacy in ourselves, in our theater, and in our communities. We assert unequivocally Black Lives Matter.