as•sem•bly |ə-sěm'blē| (noun)
1. a group of people gathered in one place for a common purpose.
2. a public facility to meet for open discussion.
3. the action of fitting together component parts of a machine or
other object.
4. a collective of artists dedicated to realizing a new American theater.
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ANNUAL REPORT 2021
Dear Valued Client:
We, The Assembly, are, as you know, an established name in the field of theatrical innovation. To that end, we would like to inform you about our new venture, IN CORPO. An original folk-rock musical about corporate culture, communication, and autonomy in a not-terribly-distant future freely inspired by Franz Kafka’s The Castle and Herman Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener,” IN CORPO is poised to become a market leader in the competitive world of catchy songs that get stuck in your head for days. It is with immense pleasure that we invite you to be part of the launch of our long-awaited world premiere.
As you evaluate this “investment,” you will probably find these key points of considerable interest:
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The Assembly has always placed collaborative artistic excellence as our top corporate value. We have consistently maintained the highest levels of dramaturgy and design.
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The Assembly strives to provide an artistic home where all collaborators feel valued, and have a stake in the works we create. 60% of our budget goes towards paying artists.
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We’ve recruited a top-notch creative team with years of experience in the field whose design innovations for IN CORPO are poised to revolutionize the sector.
Nate Weida
(composer & lyricist)
Mr. Weida represents the pinnacle of banjo-based musical synergy. His work has been performed across New York City at The Atlantic Theatre Company, Playwrights Horizons, Ars Nova, Bushwick Starr, Judson Memorial Church, and Lincoln Center.
MEET OUR PERSONNEL
MUSIC DEPARTMENT
Our funding requirement will go directly towards compensating a diverse team of industry leaders and cultural innovators. IN CORPO demands only the brightest in theatrical talent, and we are thrilled to introduce you to the team behind our glorious musical stylings.
Dante Green
(musical director, Dollar Pizza)
Mr. Green is a thought leader and disruptor who somehow keeps everyone on beat. Dante is the Founding Artistic Director of The Makers' Ensemble and has worked with The Public Theater, Playwrights Horizons Theater School and Atlantic Acting School.
THE YEAR AHEAD
As we return to working in-person in 2022, The Assembly emerges from hibernation with an audacious slate of long-awaited and brand-new projects coming to life:
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A winter workshop of IN CORPO, focused on in-depth script development, choreography and staging.
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Supporting two new resident artists leading bold experiments in collaborative theater-making in the third year of the Deceleration Lab.
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Virtual + in-person educational offerings in The Assembly’s generative process for students, arts professionals, and corporate partners.
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Incubating our next new work—a feminist, slapstick spectacle inspired by the Marx-Brothers helmed by Jess Chayes—and two additional brand-new Assembly projects.
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A sizzling Spring Gala teasing our upcoming work.
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The world premiere of our BIG NEW MUSICAL in November at Theatre Row—IN CORPO!
Assembly members (clockwise from left) Emily Caffery, Meredith Lucio, Stephen Aubrey, Ben Beckley and Jess Chayes at the Annual Retreat in Massachusetts, August 2021.
THE YEAR IN REVIEW
While 2021 was not a record year for robust theatrical performance, it has been a time of considerable growth and reflection. Our DEI commitments, published in fall 2020, articulate our vision for The Assembly’s evolution (www.assemblytheater.org/commitments). Our spring Telethon gathered far-flung Assembly friends from Tony winners to key collaborators in a joyous and successful fundraiser extravaganza. Our summer Pop-Up Assembly featured feminist and political new works by Assembly collaborators. This month, we organized public showings for our second cohort of Deceleration Lab Artists — Dante Greene and Melisa Tien — and are currently reading proposals for next year’s cohort. And thanks to the Bel Geddes Design Grant, we were able to spend November working with our designers to develop wearable technology and futuristic ergonomic office chairs for IN CORPO. It’s been a while since we’ve been able to gather with all you, but we hope that can change soon.
We understand that as a reputed and respectable investor, you want to support only the highest quality projects, projects that share your values. We assure you: "investing" in IN CORPO and The Assembly this season will make you an essential part of bringing to life this groundbreaking new musical and ensuring our company’s continued support for collaborative ventures as well as ensuring the continued growth of your reputation and clout.
Thanking You,
Yours Truly,
The Assembly
*The Assembly is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit in the United States, and all gifts to us are tax deductible in the United States to the fullest extent allowed by law. This Annual Report is for donation purposes only and not an offer of investment.
A Note from the CEO (sorta),
This year’s winter campaign – this prospectus – was cheekily inspired by the world of our new original musical IN CORPO. While we are no strangers to long-term, deep development into original work, I have to admit that the extended process necessitated by the global pandemic stretches even our patience. We are all so terribly eager to show you (and the world) what creative, ambitious dreaming in concert with strategic, comprehensive planning can achieve.
Just before Thanksgiving we completed an interdisciplinary design workshop in which our award-winning team of designers experimented with the execution of their bold design concepts, supported by ART/NY’s Edith Lutyens and Norman Bel Geddes Design Enhancement Fund. Our composer Nate and music director Dante, along with a team of musicians and singers, began exploring the electronic orchestration possibilities of music and sound within the piece. Oh the discoveries we made! The “uh oh that’s not gonna work” followed soon by the “Eureka! But this could” moments only strengthened my passion and dedication to a celebratory and victorious return to live theater. It’s never been clearer that we have an extraordinary team of artists working together to tell this story.
I thought of you, our supporters, friends, colleagues – our community – so often during this workshop. Wishing you could be in the room with me to see these wonderful moments of art- making. We’ve been through a lot these last few years. There’s been so much uncertainty...in so many things. And it feels like it’s never gonna end sometimes. I feel that sometimes too.
But what I want most to share with you today: art IS happening! The Assembly’s most ambitious project in our history is going to premiere in 2022 and we couldn’t have done it without you thus far. We are so close, you and I, to bringing something amazing into the world. As you make your giving plans, please know that every donation, every dollar you contribute, helps us cross that long-awaited finish line.
This new year promises to chart a new path for The Assembly, the art we create and the artists with whom we create it. And we can’t wait to be sharing it in a room, together.
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Meredith Lucio*
Producing Director, The Assembly
*and the whole Assembly team
In Corpo | Deceleration Lab | Education | Pop-Up Assemblies | Marx Sisters