The Story:YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING. is a play about when intimacy feels tainted. Written by
Ryan Drake and directed by
Ryan Dobrin, it follows our protagonist Teddy as he explores his Queer identity growing up during the nascent years of social media and the internet. Teddy shifts from childhood and adulthood as he interrogates the haunting impact of a 10 year online “friendship” with Clark. It's funny, it's scary, it tracks the connection from Omegle and Chatroulette to AIM Chat Rooms to Grindr. It's a deeply sad and thrilling play.
The Premiere and How Your Support Helps Us: YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING. has received prior development with Mercury Store and Less Than Rent Theater. In October 2022, the play received a 3B Development Residency at IRT Theater to continue exploration of the play in three dimensions. Using a workshop production model, we conceptualized what our full production will look like, and sketched out the beginnings of our staging and design. We are giddy to premiere with our dream venue, HERE Arts Center in February 2024.
Your help is crucial in fairly paying our artists. We are raising $25,000 for cast and company fees. Our exciting team of brilliant actors and innovative young designers look forward to fully realizing this story after a fruitful period of development, and with your help, we can be sure their creative vision is uninhibited.
We are raising $10,000 for production design and insurance. This will ensure we do not have to scale back on the world of the play. This play spans eras in time and on the internet, and it would not serve the play to cut down. With your help, the design will do this justice. We have a duty to protect our team, so insurance is an absolute must.
Finally, we are raising $5,000 for press and marketing. We seek to make sure this impactful piece is seen by as many people as possible. We look forward to incorporating robust community outreach into our strategy, and providing accessible ticket options.
Your donation not only supports this project, but a community that values and uplifts independent theater and expression in a difficult climate.