Theater In Asylum Hosts Civics Happy Hours As Part Of THE DEBATES 2021

The New York-based theater company, Theater in Asylum (TIA), announces more political theater events in April, presented in conjunction with the Company's upcoming production The Debates 2021.

The Debates 2021 marks the Company's fourth iteration in their political-theater series. The 2021 edition centers on New York City's 2021 Democratic primaries that include electoral contests for mayor, comptroller, and a huge swath of city council.

In The Debates 2021, Theater in Asylum asks, "What do we want our city to be?" As in past years, the Company will host a slew of events including debate watch parties, political analysis meetings, and finally, an original play about the election. The project seeks not only to get out the vote, but to empower the voter to engage in the electoral process with understanding and confidence. Blending mimicry, abstraction, and earnest curiosity, The Debates 2021 seeks to illuminate the candidates, the issues, and ourselves.

New collaborators, friends, and audience are welcome to engage with the process and learn about voting at theaterinasylum.com/debates. Before the full production premiers online this spring, Theater in Asylum invites New Yorkers to its pre-production events listed below.

Civics Happy Hour: Comptroller, Public Advocate, and Borough President

Thursday, April 8, 7-9pm on Zoom

Join Theater in Asylum for a discussion about the roles, responsibilities, and opportunities of NYC's comptroller, public advocate, and borough presidents. We'll give a brief overview of the positions, dig into a few key activities they perform, and then open things up for a discussion. Although we're not experts, we are theater makers and politics enthusiasts who believe in learning about these things together and in empowering each other in the process.

FREE. RSVP at theaterinasylum.com/debates.

Civics Happy Hour: The Mayoral Candidates

Thursday, April 22, 7-9pm on Zoom

Join Theater in Asylum for a discussion about some of the leading candidates for NYC mayor. We'll survey the field, explore the candidates' backgrounds, read some of their public statements, and discuss their policy positions. Although we're not experts, we are theater makers and politics enthusiasts who believe in learning about these things together and empowering each other in the process.

FREE. RSVP at theaterinasylum.com/debates.

Created by Theater in Asylum (TIA), The Debates is a process of adapting electoral debates into theatrical performances. After watching a debate, TIA artists and community members gather to analyze and discuss, eventually creating an original performance. Throughout the process, participants speak lines from the debate, imitate candidates' gestures, invent scenes that provide context or history, and analyze the candidates the way an actor would a character in a play. Behind the scenes, every word and assertion (whether from the debate transcript or generated by the participants) is rigorously fact checked by a team of dramaturgs. All sources are noted in a publicly-available script. The Debates aims to empower audiences to engage with the democratic process with knowledge and confidence.

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