Dear friends, 
​
Back in March, along with countless other collaboratives, OUT LOUD made the call to postpone all current in-person programming in a collective effort to keep our ensemble and our extended community safe. While so much has changed since this initial decision was made, supporting health care workers, essential employees, and all those on the front lines who have been impacted by this global health crisis, continues to be our top priority. OUT LOUD will not resume ANY form of in-person programing until it is definitively safe to do so. Our collective focus and energy will continue to be rooted in the safety and the wellbeing of our collaborators, providing new avenues to stay connected and creative as we all weather this storm. So while our in-person programing has been postponed indefinitely, our commitment to our ensemble and our community has not. 

If this Season has taught us anything, it's that Duality is truly everywhere. Season 8, from the very beginning, has been about investigating the spaces in-between : The Duality of Good vs. Evil. Fashion vs. Function. Organic vs. Technological. And over the past two months, our collective daily doses of Duality have been understandably overwhelming. Overwhelming doses of "Bad" swelling up to crash down around us, met with overwhelming doses of "Good" rushing to meet it - staring it down and combating it head on. It's no secret that none of this is easy. What comes next, for artists all over the world, will call upon incredible flexibility and perseverance. Allowing space and time to process - the "Good", the "Bad", and all the spaces in-between. 

Inevitably, with challenging circumstances comes the opportunity for reflection and innovation : What we can do vs what we can't, What we have access to vs what has been stripped away. Each member of OUT LOUD has a strong dedication to keeping the lights on, striving to provide and maintain a creative outlet rooted in community during these unprecedented circumstances. While we take time to process and hold space for the tremendous challenge our world has been presented with, we remain determined to recognize the opportunity we've all been given : to be there for one another as people, and to support one another as artists. Sixteen ensemble members signed on to participate in Season 8, and all sixteen ensemble members have made the leap to our virtual platform. 

Over the past two months, OUT LOUD has been piloting a virtual format, working to authentically transform and transition our collaborative structures to exist solely online. What OUT LOUD has landed on is phase one of our "Virtual Studio". A virtual space for our ensemble to connect and create, and an avenue for audiences and extended collaborators to engage with our work in real time. As a Movement Ensemble who thrives on physically driven modes of collaboration and storytelling, this ongoing transition will continue to be a team effort.​ We are grateful for the opportunity to uncover the full potential of collaborating and connecting in this new way and how that will undoubtably shape and influence our work moving forward. We still have so much to learn, so much to uncover, and so much to share. Thank you for helping us keep the lights on as we all take a collective breath. 

Stay safe. Stay home. Stay tuned.
​
With love, 

OUT LOUD 

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CONNECT WITH OUR ENSEMBLE

"Being able to continue to connect with this ensemble through the process that has been this pandemic has been enriching not only creatively but personally as well. Creatively, it’s been like being handed paddles on a stranded lifeboat. Personally, it’s been like the whole lifeboat altogether." 

-Audrey LAvin Crawley 

"Life in the basement. Well, here we are. Honestly, for me, it has not been too bad or all that different. As a nerdy introvert, this  'quarantine' regimen has been a fair part of my entire life. As the world quickly unraveled, OUT LOUD came to to the realization, along with all the other artists and arts, that the theatre life be a-changin'. It did not take long before Kira came up with an online plan and then brought the core ensemble in for a test run. The first meeting was  joyful and sad. We came up with an online base structure of how the Ensemble might be able to still feel connected and creative. Every member was interested and welcomed the chance to reconnect. We continue our 'check-ins' via online. There is a Zoom rehearsal day for each performance, which we continue to develop. The first week's mood was  tentative. Each individual needed some adjustment time to what was going on in their lives. Never mind trying to rehearse with an expanded Brady Bunch. But as the weeks progressed, the new 'normal' started to foster the same in depth discussions and discoveries. Smiles and laughter started to grow. We realized that the current situation has fostered a  longer continuation of our research and discussion phase. We may also be  able to incorporate some of our core foundation of movement into these meetings. That will require some further discussion and probably a fair  amount of laughter as well. The world will get better. To be able to  have these artists still be able to spark my and their creativity is a  godsend. It is not what we want, but it is what we have. The alternative  of just stopping and 'we'll come back later', was never really a consideration. You don't just stop being creative.​" ​

-MARC TIBERIIS (PAPA)

"Online rehearsals have been a fruitful endeavor for the brain meat in the OUT LOUD mind hive. It's been tough not being able to meet and rehearse in person but the sharing of experiences during these abnormal times has been a bonding experience. Experiencing life through a camera lens has been a struggle, but it has also paved the way for ideas and conversations we never would have had otherwise. This has been particularly interesting in combination with Deadly Sins, as we are now living the life we had hypothesized just weeks earlier. We also have stepped up our research game in this digital format, with everyone sharing multiple links to essays, articles, and media weekly. I am so thankful that I've had this community during the last couple of months to keep me sane and, more importantly, artistically stimulated." 

-JOSH RAYMO

"In a time where it looks like we can no longer stir the pot with each other's creative juices, OUT LOUD has proved it is still possible to remain active while the outside world is stagnant. Connecting with each other, even if only through dialogue has not only been beneficial to the artistic development of our process, but it also shines a little light on everyone's day. It’s been eye opening to take the time to check in with each other, as an ensemble, listening to the wide varieties of life’s B.S during this strange period. Listening and considering circumstances has also allowed me to realize we are all (hopefully) working together for the betterment of the community. A new meaning of ensemble? Probably not. My advice? Be considerate and TREAT YO SELF!"

-DAN GARCIA 

​"I’m so incredibly grateful to have a creative outlet in this time. Connecting creatively with my like-minded peers feeds my brain! It’s pretty amazing that we have all this time to be able to discuss and read and go deep into the world of a play. To think we would have opened and closed Tartuffe already is insane. Intellectually I know it would have happened, but it’s so hard to imagine. What will this show even become?!"

-OTTAVIA De Luca

"OUT LOUD Online has been a wonderful experience. It has been really great to be able to connect with our entire ensemble during such a complicated time. We have been able to continue rehearsals for both of our projects for Season 8 and that has truly kept me sane during this experience. I have been trying to look for all of the positives in this experience and I have found that it has really enabled us to think and create in a totally different way. Remote rehearsals and discussions have really opened my eyes to the way art can be created with a group of people. Even if those people are not in the same room. I look forward to continuing to explore this new world and wish everyone in the theatre community the best!"

-MARC TIBERIIS II 

​"This pandemic has definitely taught all of us a little bit more about ourselves. How we can handle stress on a global scale, and how we handle many of our life services to be reduced, limited, or closed off indefinitely. In a time where such things are difficult to obtain and day-to-day routine has been simplified to incredibly sedentary means, OUT LOUD Online has been an invaluable resource for me. Like toilet paper, artistic fulfillment is one of those things you don't expect to need the most when you're going into a pandemic like this. Having a weekly check in with trusted friends you can just sit back and make some no-pressure art with taps into a part of your brain that might atrophy if you let it stagnate for too long. Kira and the crew have been invaluable in helping me keep my head above water in that regard."

-DEREK SMITH