Hiring: Video Designer

Theater in Asylum is seeking a video designer for The Debates 2021.

About Theater in Asylum
Theater in Asylum (TIA) is a New York-based theater company founded in 2010 to challenge and empower our community. TIA joyfully pursues rigorous research and an ensemble-driven approach to theater-making. We create performances to investigate our past, interpret our present, and imagine our future. We prize space to process, space to question—asylum—for ourselves and our community.

Core programs include original productions; themed cabarets, presenting new work from our community; and Cold Readings, a program to read and discuss published plays.

Community is of utmost importance to Theater in Asylum and some of our strategies for community safety and empowerment may be found here.

About The Debates
The Debates 2021 will be our fourth iteration of The Debates. While in 2016 and 2020 we focused on the presidential races, this year we turn to New York City’s Democratic primaries and the conversation around what we want our city to be. New Yorkers will soon elect a new mayor, comptroller, and many city council members. As in past years, we will host many events including debate watch parties, political analysis meetings, scripting sessions, and finally rehearsals and a performance. Our process will culminate with a get-out-the-vote effort before the NYC primary on June 22, 2021.

What does The Debates actually look like? The show aims to tell the story of the election and illuminate the candidates clearly and accessibly, breaking down the political speech and spin. Some scenes are mimicked reproductions of moments on the campaign trail, while other scenes are invented, providing context or exploring the history of a policy position. We hope that our process and show will demystify the candidates and issues, ultimately emboldening the voter. With our unique blend of mimicry, abstraction, and earnest curiosity, we seek to illuminate the candidates and the issues to empower the voters of New York City.   

About The Position: Video Designer
The Debates 2021 will be a hybrid show with both live and pre-recorded scenes. Pre-recorded scenes will be filmed both in rehearsal rooms and on-location (for example: the subway system or the steps of city hall). Live scenes will have the actors in their homes performing on Zoom. The performance will oscillate between these live and pre-recorded scenes. In a Video Designer, we are looking for a collaborator to help guide that process and differentiate what can/should be live or prerecorded. While we have ample experience making plays, we crave collaboration with someone who is both knowledgeable and enthusiastic about video. This role will fit somewhere between the roles of a traditional video designer, a videographer, and an editor.

Responsibilities

• Work with the directors to film the pre-recorded scenes (we are intending to use iPhones as well as auxiliary microphones for filming)
• Edit footage, potentially both footage of candidates and footage we have filmed ourselves
• Create and apply graphics to videos (especially title cards)
• Advise the actors as they prepare for live scenes in their apartments
• Manage and organize the video files for the show

About You

• Passionate about New York City and its politics.
• Passionate about theater and our mission to bring compelling and useful work to audiences.
• Skilled and enthusiastic about video production, particularly how video and theater can work together.
• Comfortable working with and editing video files
• Familiar with Zoom, iMovie, and Google Docs
• An enthusiastic team member. The Debates is a huge undertaking and it’ll take 100% of the full team!
• A great communicator
• Commitment to keeping the project non-biased with regard to candidates. The Debates 2021 is focusing on the Democratic primaries and seeking a diversity of political opinion in our rooms and in the show. We don’t want to tell audiences who to vote for, but instead illuminate the options.

Logistics

• Start: As soon as possible
• End: Video work will finish June 1, 2021.
• Regular meeting with the directors over Zoom.
• Filming pre-recorded scenes mid-May in-person.
• Pay: $200 honorarium.
  • Please note that all collaborators on The Debates 2021, regardless of role, are paid the same. We know that this honorarium is less than you (and we!) are worth. We understand that this is not a living wage and certainly limits things. We commit to do everything we can to respect and support folks whom we know have multiple jobs. We're right there with you and seek to make a sustainable, rewarding experience for all of us.
• This position will be considered an independent contractor of Theater in Asylum.

Safety during the  Pandemic
We want to ensure that everyone is both safe and supported in this work. Currently, TIA is conducting all of its activities on Zoom. While the audience-events for The Debates 2021 will be on Zoom, we do plan to film pre-recorded scenes together, in-person. We are keeping safety top-of-mind and invite all collaborators to a discussion of safety so that we are all safe and comfortable with how we gather.

To Apply

• Please send a resume and a cover letter to [email protected]. In the letter, please tell us:
  • A little about yourself.
  • What is your experience with theater video-work, or film?
  • We’d love to know a little about your relationship with NYC politics or politics more generally.

Theater in Asylum believes in Equal Opportunity Collaboration. We are committed to diversity in all areas of our work, on and offstage. We encourage applicants with a unique cultural perspective inclusive of race, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, class, physical ability, and sexual orientation to apply.