Hit The Lights! Company

Less talk, More rock.

HTL! 2026: The Makers Season

Supporting artists, creating new work, and building what's next together.

New York, US

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Fiscally Sponsored by Fractured Atlas

Over the years, we have reached thousands of audience members and students, sharing our unique approach to storytelling and collaboration. As we step into our next chapter, Hit The Lights! Company is building our foundation for the future. One that supports artists more deeply, expands access to our work, and strengthens the creative community we call home.

At our core, we are Makers. To be a Maker is to believe in possibility before there is proof. It’s to gather collaborators around an idea and trust that, together, you can give it form. This year asks us to lean into that belief. To invest not only in what audiences will see onstage, but in the relationships and tools that will sustain our work. This year, we’re not just producing a season, but building what comes next.

SHEDDING LIGHT ON HTL!:

We are an award-winning theater ensemble born from an artistic agreement to create and perform stories through collaborative non-hierarchy. We follow the motto ‘Less Talk, More Rock.’ in our creative, administrative, and producing processes. This culminates in work that is often:

Hyper-theatrical: where we as performers multitask onstage in real time to create the technical, musical, and narrative components of a story simultaneously.
Hand-made: Shows are meticulously built by the performers themselves, often including shadow puppets, direct manipulation puppetry, vintage overhead projectors, flashlights, original live music, and immersive techniques.
Dialogue-light: Believing that motion, color, sound, and atmosphere are more evocative and experiential than spoken text, a heavy emphasis is placed on dialogue-less, action-oriented storytelling. Consequently, this allows the work to connect with audience members of varying theatrical experience and physical ability. All HTL! shows are accessible, offering audio description, ASL, and other elements that help bring the work to life.

The core company is comprised of five multidisciplinary artists who write, perform, puppet, direct, and produce our work as a collective. We basically all do a little bit (a-lot) of everything!

OUR MISSION:
Hit The Lights! Theater Company is a multi-disciplinary ensemble based in Astoria, Queens. Together, we devise hand-crafted stories and educational programming centering innovation, accessibility, and fun.

OUR VISION:
We envision a future in which artists are empowered to create unencumbered by the barriers of traditional producing structures and hierarchies; a new generation of contemporary artists engaged in healthy collaboration, where their experience in the process matters just as much as the product.

LOOKING AHEAD: THE MAKERS SEASON
The 2026 season is a turning point. This season includes:

The Off-Broadway Premiere of ISLA

A multigenerational story of women, migration, and resilience, brought to life through puppetry, music, and visual storytelling.

Queens Artist Connection (QAC) & Community Programs
Supporting Queens-based artists through resources, connection, and education programs for youth and adults across NYC. We are also launching new initiatives, including a grant for artists with dependents, because no one should have to choose between their creative work and their family.

The Start of Something New
We begin our next piece , SUNK, which is also the final show in our Signature Cycle. Stay tuned for what's next.

WHY YOUR SUPPORT MATTERS

Much of our funding comes from institutions like the Jim Henson Foundation and the New York Foundation for the Arts. While vital, this support is often restricted to specific projects.

Your contribution provides the flexible support that makes everything else possible:

Paying artists fairly
Covering rehearsal and performance space
Supporting new initiatives and community programs
Sustaining the long-term health of the company

JOIN US

Hit The Lights! has always been built by a community of makers, collaborators, and supporters who believe in the work.

As we launch The Makers Season, we invite you to be part of what comes next.

Hit The Lights! Theater Company is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the charitable purposes of Hit The Lights! Theater Company must be made payable to “Fractured Atlas” only and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.