Supporting artists with communities invested and committed to new work

Peoplmovr twice joined with Sundance in support of an initiative called Sundance Tickets, which invited the public to experience the groundbreaking work supported by the Institute’s Theatre Program. Offering free or low-cost tickets to selected shows, Sundance Tickets connected the independent work that the Program develops at its six annual laboratories with people at theaters around the country.

Background

Sundance Tickets hoped to attract large groups for single evening performances with new work by playwrights whose development the Institute had previously supported.

Process

Taking our cues from the themes embedded in the plays while discovering what kind of communities the playwrights and theaters hoped to attract, we hit the ground running and contacted organizational leaders, union and community members, institutes, museums, and more in order to build awareness and design for involvement.

Outcome: Skeleton Crew at The Atlantic Theatre Company

Steinberg Playwright Award-winner Dominique Morisseau’s third play in her Detroit trilogy told the story of a makeshift family of workers at the last exporting auto plant in the city under the possibility of foreclosure. Through strategic partnerships with the New York City Central Labor Council and the nearby NYCHA Fulton Houses development, Peoplmovr built on the ideas expressed in the play to develop a theater filled with union leaders and members, retirees, and working class people of color. Approximately 100 people attended the performance and stayed for the post-show conversation which featured Morisseau, NYCCLC, and Fulton Houses.

Outcome: Caught at The Play Company

Obie Award-winning playwright Christopher Chen’s play Caught, a mind-bending exploration of truth, art, social justice and cultural appropriation, was Peoplmovr’s second collaboration with the Institute through its Sundance Tickets Initiative. This time, in strong collaboration with Chen, Sundance, and the Play Company, we connected with arts and cultural partners serving the Asian and Asian American communities. Organizations such as Asian American Arts Alliance, Asian American Writers Group, Asian Pacific American Institute at NYU, and Museum of Chinese in America were among our partners. A standing-room-only crowd in the theater came together for the performance and stayed for the post-show conversation.