Theater in Asylum Celebrates the Legacy of the Federal Theatre Project with The FTP Cabaret

The independent theater company’s latest cabaret celebrates the legacy of the Federal Theatre Project through theater, dance, music and poetry.

BROOKLYN, NY – April 21, 2022 – Theater in Asylum, a New York-based ensemble-driven independent theater company, today announced the latest endeavor in the Company’s cabaret series, The FTP Cabaret, a night of theater, dance, music and poetry inspired by the legacy of the Federal Theatre Project. The show will run from Friday, May 13, 2022 through Saturday, May 14, 2022 at the Jalopy Theatre in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

Operating from 1935–1939 and led by the incomparable Hallie Flanagan, the Federal Theatre Project (FTP) was a federally-funded enterprise, putting thousands of performers to work creating theater across the country. The project was instrumental in reviving American theater at a moment when all but the very rich were struggling. Today, Americans again face similar economic and socio-political struggles. This cabaret will feature the work of up-and-coming artist-activists interrogating what a different world could look like through new works of theater, dance, music, and poetry.

“The Federal Theatre Project was a truly ambitious collaboration between the government and artists the likes of which we haven’t seen since,” said Paul Bedard, Co-Artistic Director of Theater in Asylum. “We assert that it is the role of the artist-activist to set ourselves to the urgent work of imagining a more just and sustainable future. The FTP Cabaret is designed to give local artists the space to do just that.”

“The FTP Cabaret will be our first cabaret production since 2020, and we are very excited to be creating new work with our artistic community again,” said Katie Palmer, Co-Artistic Director of Theater in Asylum. “We have spent the past few months learning about the Federal Theatre Project under the direction of Hallie Flanagan, and have been incredibly inspired by the work that came out of this endeavor. We look forward to turning our exploration of the FTP into original theater pieces through this cabaret as well as in future projects.”

Presented by the Jalopy Theatre, The FTP Cabaret will feature new work from Theater in Asylum, The Anthropologists, Alexis Atkinson, Dmitri Barcomi, Lila Becker and Roger Q. Mason. The cabaret will also feature tech coordination and design consultation by Dan Stearns. Rounding out the production team for Theater in Asylum are Paul Bedard (Co-Artistic Director), Katie Palmer (Co-Artistic Director), Kathryn Appleton (Managing Director), Charlotte Dow (PR & Marketing Manager) and Shubhra Mishra (Photography).

Tickets for all performances of The FTP Cabaret are on sale now at theaterinasylum.com. Ticket prices for both performances are set to reflect the cost of tickets for FTP shows during the late 1930s. Patrons can choose between $10 (the price of a ticket to an FTP show on Broadway adjusted for inflation), $20 (the maximum amount, adjusted for inflation, that the FTP was allowed to charge for tickets by the U.S. Treasury Department), and $30 (TIA’s traditional “Hero Admission”) options. There will also be a “pay what you can” option available online and at the door.

All performances will take place at the Jalopy Theatre. Audience members must show proof of vaccination to enter Jalopy Theatre and must follow all venue mask, distancing, and hand-washing guidelines when in attendance.

The FTP Cabaret is sponsored, in part, by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, administered by Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC).

Listings Information

• What: Theater in Asylum presents The FTP Cabaret
  
• When: Friday, May 13, 2022 and Saturday, May 14, 2022 at 8 PM ET
• Where: Jalopy Theatre, 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231
• Tickets: $0 - $30

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 Occupy Prescott by Andy Boyd at the Jalopy Tavern; 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 and Katie Palmer, presented at the Prague, Rochester, and Chicago Fringe Festivals. Other ongoing TIA projects include The Debates, a series of works inspired by local and national elections, the Cold Readings series and TIA’s Cabarets.

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Media Contact
Charlotte Dow
PR & Marketing Manager, Theater in Asylum
[email protected]
theaterinasylum.com