The Story Stick team and Danger Boat Productions were roommates. The cast of The Theater of Public Policy regularly rehearsed in the Story Stick office. We are proud to support Tane, Brandon, and the many cast members we know and love. Join us to keep this innovative theater performing.
T2P2 has a show on Monday night, May 4 at 7 PM on Facebook and YouTube. (I'll be back with the links). Join us for a watch party and donate to support the cast of T2P2.
BACKGROUND ABOUT T2P2
Since 2011, The Theater of Public Policy (T2P2 for short) has done more than 500 live performances all across Minnesota and the country. We do a variety of things, but our primary show features an on-stage interview with an expert on some issue. That conversation then inspires our cast of improvisers who do improv comedy scenes about the topic. My favorite description was in the Star Tribune which said, "It's like C-SPAN being swarmed by the cast of SNL."
We have done shows on virtually any topic you can imagine, no matter how seemingly dry or difficult: educational equity to highway funding, the Farm Bill to longterm healthcare.
Along the way, we have had some of the sharpest, funniest improvisers in the universe as part of our cast. We pride ourselves on having one of the most diverse casts in the region in regard to age, race, gender, LGBTQ and other markers of diversity. We also believe that diversity makes us a better, stronger artistic company.
We have made paying those performers for their tremendous time and talent a priority. We do not ask our cast to work for free, and as obvious as that may sound, it is not the norm in the improv world. Since 2012, we have paid our performers over $402,000.
Our theater company has largely been able to sustain itself and grow through ticket sales and people hiring us to perform at conferences and events. But all that changed with the outbreak of COVID-19.
We are continuing to produce programing: we've done a half dozen of our shows online now, along with online workshops and even virtual art museum tours. But we are depending on charitable giving unlike ever before. It is now the largest portion of our budget and what is keeping us going.