Tier5 is head over heels to be in our TENTH YEAR of producing theatre, and even more enamored with our Shakespeare in Love: Spring 2026 season! You’re going to fall in love with it!
2025 was a big year- we presented a full production in NYC, a collaborative full production with Southwest Shakespeare Company in Arizona, and continued our partnership with The Tank: presenting four staged readings of brand new works (including our 2nd ever SpookyFest series). We reached new audiences, included new artists, and provided new opportunities for both those on stage and off.
We’re kicking off 2026 back at El Barrio’s ArtSpace with two Shakespeare romances, Romeo & Juliet (a pop-up mini production, two nights only) and Twelfth Night (a full production, two week run), plus we’re planning ahead for our upcoming Spring/Summer new play reading series… and to do all that, we’re going to need some help, y’all, cuz creating theatre in the current landscape is EXPENSIVE.
And that's where you come in!
The biggest expenses for every production is renting our theatre space and making sure that our actors, creatives, and designers are compensated. With shows that feature as many as 20-25 people on the production, making sure our talent is compensated in a small way can add up!
And unfortunately, as most theatres across the country are experiencing: ticket sales alone cannot completely cover the cost of creating art, so…
We are looking to raise $3,000 to assist with our Spring 2026 Season and beyond. Raising this amount guarantees we can move forward producing the work at the quality we want. It gives the company the financial security to keep creating exceptional and boundary pushing art that reframes classical texts, tropes, and moments in history, and places those previously excluded from the narrative front and center.
This Spring, Tier5 is all about LOVE, and what better way to celebrate love (and all it entails) than with Shakespeare’s most iconic love stories. Join us as we return to El Barrio’s ArtSpace for a a little romance!!
Romeo & Juliet (A Fundraiser)
By William Shakespeare
March 22nd and March 23rd, 2026, at 7pm at El Barrio’s ArtSpace PS109
The Capulets and Montagues hate each other. No one is quite sure why, but they do. So, when Romeo (of the Montagues) and Juliet (of the Capulets) fall truly, madly, deeply in love- things are going to be a little wild.
The greatest love story of all time: and we’re putting it together in a week. Our actors and creatives are being given one week of rehearsal to put together an (almost completely) staged pop-up production of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. You are invited to El Barrio for libations and love, as we raise money for our 2026 MainStage productions and New Play Reading Series.
William Shakespeare’s TWELFTH NIGHT (or WHAT YOU WILL)
April 23- May 3rd, 2025
at El Barrio’s ArtSpace PS109
Welcome to Illyria: Crossroads of the World. A place where music reigns supreme and the joy is overflowing. Well, at least that’s how it once was. After a series of tragedies, our rock ’n’ rollers and pop monarchs just aren’t making the hits like they use to: and the once colorful, full-of-life, and musically magical Illyria is a little off-key.
Duke Orsino is looking for the Britney to his Justin, and his eyes are set on pop legend, Olivia (no last name necessary). But things are little Lilith Unfair for Olivia, who just experienced the tragic loss of both her brother and father, and she’s wants Orsino to go bye-bye-bye.
So when a devastating storm washes newcomer Viola up on Illyria’s shore- her debut is about to take her to the top of the charts. Viola takes “if I were a boy” to heart, as she disguises herself as a dude to get into Duke Orsino’s boyband. But, when Orsino sends the androgynous Viola to help seduce Olivia, well… Olivia can’t help falling in love with this new kid on the block- but Viola’s can’t take her eyes off of Orsino- It’s getting messy af, but maybe a little love can be the inspiration that turns Illyria’s flop era into the ultimate comeback?
Completing Tier5’s ShakesQueer Comedy trilogy (after A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2024, Much Ado About Nothing in 2025), we’re taking Shakespeare romantic comedy about gender bending mistaken identities and turning it up to 11. Come fall in love at El Barrio: join us for a night of laughter, romance, and music supreme.
NEW PLAY READING SERIES
We recently completed a call for new scripts, in which we have received the highest volume of script submissions ever for us, over triple what we have received in the past. Our literary team is hard at work reading through each and every script, and we’re already so excited to present as many of these new works as possible through New Play Reading Series (similar to our popular SpookyFest) this Spring, Summer, and beyond.
Stipends for our actors, creatives, designers, and talent.It's vitally important to us at Tier5 to compensate all for their time.
Theatre and rehearsal space rental. Having a theatre to perform in and a space big enough to rehearsal our main stage productions is an absolutely necessity.
Insurance coverage. One of the less glamorous parts of the process, but making sure we're insured to create a safe place for our teams is a must!
Printing. From scripts, to posters, to programs- it all adds up.
Filling out our costume, props, scenic, and lighting budgets. Help us make the visions of designers dream up come to life exactly how they want them to!!
Any other bits and bobs that come along, because they ALWAYS come along.
Since Tier5 is fiscally sponsored by Fractured Atlas, your donation can be partially or completely tax deductible! Wow!
We understand that times are difficult right now for many us, so any size contribution will be vitally and dearly appreciated. Art is absolutely vital right now, and creating spaces to safely create that art is of utmost importance- and you’re support will help make that happen!!
Thank you in advance for you support. We love you.
A $25 contribution covers one evening of rehearsal space rental for one of our productions.
Patrons who are a part of Tier 1 will receive a shoutout on our social media pages and their name in our program!
Tier 2
Donate $100.00 or more
Amount over $30.00 is tax-deductible.
A $100 contribution covers 1/5 of our budget for costumes for our mainstage production.
Tier 2 patrons will receive a shout out on our social media pages, your name in our program, as well as one (1) comp ticket to be used for “Twelfth Night"
Tier 3
Donate $300.00 or more
Amount over $60.00 is tax-deductible.
A $300 contribution covers an actor's stipend for our mainstage productions.
Tier 3 patrons will receive a shout out on our social media pages, their name in our programs, as well as two (2) comp tickets to be used for “Twelfth Night”
Tier 4
Donate $500.00 or more
Amount over $120.00 is tax-deductible.
A $500 contribution covers our entire set/prop/printing budget for the production.
Tier 4 patrons will receive a shout out on our social media pages, their name in our program, as well as four (4) comp tickets to be used for “Twelfth Night"
Tier 5
Donate $1,000.00 or more
Amount over $260.00 is tax-deductible.
A $1000 contribution covers one week of our theatre rental for the production.
Tier 5 patrons will receive a shout out on our social media pages, their name in our program, as well as four (4) comp tickets for every production in the 2026 season, including “Twelfth Night," "Romeo & Juliet" and our upcoming new play reading series, and to be listed as a producer for the season.
