What a year...!
Dec. 20, 2018It has been a year, to say the least, for the city, for the U.S., for the world. When we sat down to put together this year end recap, we realized that we seriously accomplished a lot this year. Did we bend the space-time continuum? Did you? Regardless, here’s some of what we somehow managed to cram into the last 365 days! (Help us with the next 365 — donate today!)
We started 2018 by officially opening up our space, our new office in Times Square! We’ve been able to host our own internal meetings, rehearsals, trainings, movie nights, and so much more!
Our Red Hook Community Justice Center Theatre Troupe strikes a pose after their December 6 performance, Welcome to Hostile School!
Over the course of the year, we had 43 performances, with over 2000 spect-actors!
We started our Rapid Response troupe, and they performed at rallies, conferences, and townhalls throughout the city! (Excited by the idea of a rapid response theatre troupe? Email us!) And, relatedly, we began our Advocacy Delegate program, and TONYC repped with great organizations like Riders Alliance, Just Leadership USA, NYCLU, and more!
We organized and implemented a summer-time (Re)boot Camp where actors and community members could learn various TO techniques and jokering skills!
Resident Joker Mike engages in some image theatre at the Jana Sanskriti Centre for Theatre of the Oppressed in Kolkata, India!
Our staff flew all over the world and brought Theatre of the Oppressed and our Legislative Theatre style to PTO in Pittsburgh, ECLA in Chicago, the Allied Media Conference in Detroit, the Grantmakers in the Arts in Oakland, the Connecticut Mental Health Center Residency in Connecticut, With One Voice in Manchester and Toronto — and now we have staff training in Kolkata, India at Jana Sanskriti!
We ran our annual online fundraising campaign, REPRESENT!, and raised $23,000, and then had our annual celebration, ACTIVATE, in the autumn, which raised $30,400! All thanks to you!
We coordinated several actor-focused events and series, looking to elevate and educate — we learned improv from Bethany Hall, how a budget works, how to move our bodies, and more!
The boss just won't take no for an answer in our Legislative Theatre Troupe's show, Compromising Positions: Stay & Pay
Our Legislative Theatre Troupe tackled sexism, racism, transphobia, and sexual harassment in the workplace — and the work will continue into 2019!
Katy Rubin stepped down as Executive Director — and Meggan Gomez stepped up! (Join us for a spacewarming welcome party on January 23!)
All of this work wouldn’t be possible without our fantastic funders and donors — like you! Consider giving today to Theatre of the Oppressed NYC. 100% of your donation makes it possible for us to continue this important work and run our operations as ethically as possible in this capitalist world.