PLACES PLEASE PROJECT Looks to Provide Rental Assistance to NYC Theater Workers

Places Please Project aims to provide $500,000 in rental relief to New York City-based theater workers who have been out of work for over a year and are struggling to pay rent. Led by board members Lilli Cooper, Kyle Jarrow, Andrew Lippa, Annie Schiffmann, and Kara Unterberg, this new nonprofit fund aims to give away $500,000 in rental relief to New York City-based artists, designers, musicians, technicians and administrators by April 2022.

"Even as theater begins to reopen, its workers still grapple with uncertainty," said Kyle Jarrow, Co-Founder and President of Places Please Project. "Those who've left New York City are struggling to return, and many of those who've remained are at risk of having to leave."

Places Please Project has a five stage plan to raise funds, assess applications, and administer the funds between now and April 2022. An anonymous donor has committed $50,000 to a matching grant as a way to help launch Places Please. This generous gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar through July 10th.

Jarrow continues, "Theater is a core part of New York City's identity, and New York City is a core part of the theater industry's identity too. We want to help keep theater workers in New York City, and help bring back those who've left."

Places Please Project will give rental assistance grants to theater workers currently living in New York City, and to those who have had to leave the city because of the pandemic and are now struggling to return. As Co-Founder and Treasurer Andrew Lippa asked in the tweet that inspired the project, back in late 2020, "How can we keep theater workers in their homes?"

To donate to Places Please Project and to learn more, go to PlacesPleaseProject.com.