Arts Watch: League of Indie Theaters to Host Nickel-ympics

Our friends at The LIT Fund are hosting their first fundraiser and it looks like a great way to support independent theater.  They write:

On Saturday, June 14^th from 3pm to midnight The LIT Fund will host the first annual Nickelympics at the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center (197 Suffolk Street between Rivington and Delancey) with carnival games and kid friendly activities, live music, and an outside beer garden. In addition to being a fundraiser for the LIT Fund’s next grant cycle, the event will also serve as the official launch party for the Sh.I.T. List, a new web-based database that independent theater companies in and around NYC can use to sell, rent, lend or swap basic set pieces, furniture, props and costumes.

The LIT Fund protects, sustains and strengthens independent theater presented in the five boroughs of New York City. In addition to granting vital financial resources to theater companies and individual artists, we stimulate the growth of independent theater by seeding projects that support and develop the community as a whole.

At the core of the LIT Fund is the simple idea of theater people helping theater people, from Off-Off to Broadway. Money for the LIT Fund comes from organizations, companies, venues and individuals donating five cents ($0.05) per ticket sold to their performances. Additional donations will be solicited from patrons of the arts. The Fund is conceived as an additional source of funding for the independent theater territory and not a “re-granting” mechanism.

The Sh.I.T. List is a web-based database that independent theater companies in and around NYC can use to sell, rent, lend or swap basic set pieces, furniture, props and costumes. Most small theater companies in New York City lack storage space, so set pieces and props hit the dumpster after a show closes. The S.H.I.T. List is a low-cost solution for reducing waste, lowering design costs, and moving small theater companies toward a greener process.

You can find more information on their Facebook page here.

The LIT Fund’s Nickelympics // Saturday, June 14th // 3:00 p.m. to Midnight //$10; $15 after 8pm; FREE for kids // 107 Suffolk Street.