Theater Breaking Through Barriers Corp

Advocacy: Throughout the 2023/2024 season, TBTB continued to represent the disabled community by participating in both online and in-person meetings, round tables and symposia with various city and community arts and activist organizations, including NYU/Langones LEAP Program, which provides support to amputees and people who are newly disabled. As the call for equity, diversity, and inclusion continues to grow, TBTB remains a pioneer, leading by example and demonstrating that the integration of disabled and non-disabled artists off all races, genders, and sexual orientations from every corner of our community leads to a more level playing field, collective unity, and richer, more impactful art for artists and audiences alike. In 2023, TBTBs work was recognized by New York Citys Off-Broadway Alliance by naming TBTBs Artistic Director, Nicholas Viselli as one of their 2023 Legends of Off-Broadway.

From January 23 through January 28, TBTB presented our 3rd Hybrid Playmakers Intensive, creating eleven original short plays by artists from within our own ranks. All eleven plays were performed before a live studio audience. Six of those plays were also streamed to TBTBs social media platforms via Zoom. In total, over 1940 people tuned in/attended our plays over the 7-day period.Both disabled artists themselves and their unique perspectives are severely underrepresented in theater. Our Hybrid Intensive allows these artists to showcase their talents, hone their craft, and add to the canon of plays created with the benefit of their voices. To date, TBTB has created over 300 original short plays through our Playmakers Intensive series, employing over 700 artists and helping to amplify the voice of disability in our society.