One of the most powerful tenets of theatre is its ability to enlighten and challenge social norms. We are pleased to offer new work this summer that explores our connections during a time of isolation. We had to cancel our 5th Annual Women in Theatre Festival due to the global pandemic, with our home base of NYC as one of the first epicenters of the virus. As we began to reimagine different ways our small company might still support the creation of new works by female-identifying playwrights, the entire world was embarking upon a widespread response to the longstanding, systemic racism that Black people in America continue to be subjected to. Project Y Theatre Company folks have joined in as individuals to unequivocally support, lending our bodies, funds, skills, and voices, to the Black Lives Matter movement. We intend to use our artistic platform as a producing entity to develop work in an environment that is dedicated to antiracist practices at every step of the artistic process.

See below for the three projects that will come to fruition this summer, as a part of our LIVE ONLINE Women in Theatre 2020.
While we believe our work as a small, independent theatre that supports individual artists is important - indeed, small companies like ours are the backbone of the American theatre - we have decided to amplify other needs and voices.

We also want to lend our support to organizations that make a difference in the lives of individual artists who are struggling to meet their basic needs, and organizations whose programming and mission directly supports, produces, and amplifies the work of BIPOC theatre makers. We will thereby stop all fundraising through the summer to Project Y and ask that you instead consider donating to one (or all!) of the organizations listed below:

The Fire This Time Festival
The Fire This Time Festival’s Executive Director & Founder, Kelley Nicole Girod, was one of commissioned writers of THE HROSTHWITHA PROJECT last summer as part of WIT 4. She runs this incredible theatre dedicated to providing a platform for early career playwrights of African and African-American descent. This company is amazing and has been an incubator for so many major playwrights as they honed their voices.

American Slavery Project
This NY-based company provides theatrical programming as a response to revisionism in American discourse about enslavement and its aftermath.

National Black Theatre
This Harlem company has provided theater for by/about/for the black community for over 45 years. They also provide residencies for producers/writers/directors at different levels in their careers.

Alliance of Resident Theatre (ART/NY)
ART/NY serves 400 members organizations (including us!) in NYC. They provide funding, training, advocacy, and space to small companies like ours.

League of Independent Theaters (LITNY)
The League is an advocacy organization formed to empower, unify, and protect the voices and interests of those who work and enjoy independent theater across the five boroughs. They have been providing emergency funds to artists in need during the pandemic.

LIVE ONLINE Women in Theatre 2020 begins:

ALL HANDS ON DECK
July 26th
a play festival created and curated by
Antu Yacob, Associate Producer

The ALL HANDS ON DECK series is a play festival that shares 4 new works by Female Playwrights of the African Diaspora. Featuring plays written by award winning notable playwrights France-Luce Benson and Nikkole Salter, as well as up-and-comers Banna Desta and Sienna Jones, the series will share different perspectives of the Black experience in America. Conceived by Antu Yacob, this session’s theme is a Conversation with the Ancestors, Past/Present/Future. Weaving in live music, the series aims to explore theater as ritual and activism in our times.

The Playwrights:
France-Luce Benson, Nikkole Salter, Banna Desta, and Sienna L. Jones

Stay tuned for information on directors, actors, and how to watch!

Zoom Plays: Reading Series

In March we put out an open call for plays and scenes written to be performed on the Zoom platform. We currently have over 285 submissions (and counting!) from around the world. We have put together two teams of readers to read every single play that was submitted to our open source ZOOM PLAYS database. Through a multi-step process, we are choosing a handful of plays to present as public readings in July and August. Stay tuned for announcements about the plays!

The One & Only Amanda Palmer
August 15th
by Kat Mustatea
directed by Michole Biancosino

As part of our continued experimentation with new media and with new tools gained through our participation in the Orchard Project’s Liveness Lab, Project Y will produce a world premiere play digitally.

About the play:
Amanda Palmer’s world comes undone when she discovers she is not the only Amanda Palmer in the world who can turn into a cat at night.

Visit our Women In Theatre 2020 site to view the plays when they go live!