Our Programs
Creation Story
This Southwest-inspired musical by Octavia Chavez-Richmond follows a writer and her disobedient characters as they wander from the jungles of Eden to the caverns of the underworld searching for signs of life and history. As the worlds of creator and created collide, so do the forces of human
and mother nature, rupturing the world and threatening the very existence of life on earth.
CAFE UTOPIA
Amazon and Starbucks are the behemoths of the 21st Century, much like Big Steel and Big Auto were at the beginning of the 20th Century. Now, as then, mass strikes herald a labor uprising that may shape the working person's future for decades to come. Café Utopia by Gwen Kingston engages the individuals and organizations behind the current unionization movement in the creation of an original dystopian comedy that speaks to this urgent moment in America.
Remember 2019
Since 2017, this effort to make space for the congregation of Black communities in the Arkansas Delta has resulted in a touring blues concert, publication of a book, a community mural designed by youth, a story sharing institute and annual artist residency,
and much more.
Time Exiles
Spearheaded by playwright Liz Appel, this program investigates the experience of gratitude through a digital, community-engaged process to foster collective healing and understanding.
Wild Home
Co-created with Jessica Kahkoska, Wild Home takes an odyssey across America, collaborating with rural towns significantly pressured by fossil fuel industries.
Through TIme
Through Time is in it's fifth year of creating original theatrical events with refugees and asylees to address the issues these communities face in trying to find home.
GERSTL TOOK THE
EASY WAY OUT
This comedy by Lydia Blaisdell dives into the love triangle between the renowned composer Arnold Schönberg, Schönberg’s wife (Mathilde), and Austrian painter Richard Gerstl. The project partners with non-binary and Trans community members to challenge how we frame historical narratives and to interrogate who we center in those stories.
Recovery
Co-developed with Jayne McLendon, Recovery brings communities in recovery (from traumatic injury, addiction, loss and grief, eating disorders, ancestral and generational trauma and more) together in the creation of an interdisciplinary performance to raise awareness, build community, and create spaces for managing recovery.
Anna Karenina: A Riff
Russians play melodicas to an original, folk-punk score in Gwen Kingston's comedic reimagining of this classic tale. Set in 1880s Russia, the play moves at the speed of a runaway train as it examines the consequences of female rebellion and its echoes today.
Voices from a pandemic
This play series and digital story bank project is a communal creation, collaborating with more than 100 cultural workers, community members and artists and continuing to grow with each new story and production.
Fit
Conceived by Marina Morrissey and written by Gwen Kingston, this play follows the story of Carrie Buck, who in 1927 was the test case for a Supreme Court ruling allowing the forcible sterilization of women deemed “feeble-minded,” a ruling that has never been overturned. Developed in partnership with members of the intellectual disability community, and featuring actors with down syndrome.
Ghost
Notch ensemble member Ashley J. Hicks authored this play to bring attention to the little known reality for people with
Albinism in Tanzanian
Dick
In 1850, one man sinks an entire ship to settle a Moby Dick measuring contest. In present day an all womxn and non-binary cast battles thunderstorms, whirlpools, boredom and the occasional whale to resurrect
the Pequod and ask: ...why?
Fiscal Sponsorship
Notch is proud to fiscally sponsor The Pack. Mitchell Winter, Christopher Bannow, Esco Jouléy, Nicole Villamil, Brian Quijada, Lexy Leuszler, Hansol Jung, and Dustin Wills make up this award-winning new play collective, which explores alternative models for
creating live theater.
Fellowships and Retreats
Notch offers three annual fellowships: the Generous of heART Fellowship, the Policy in Action Fellowship, and the Fair River Fellowship. Additionally, we periodically host retreats where female-identifying artists are invited to connect, commune, recharge, and workshop new Notch programs.