WHO ARE WE?
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CRITICAL POINT THEATRE was founded in 2013 by a number of purposed young artists. The goal was to create an ensemble-governed space where new works were developed, utilizing a lengthy critical process before opening. We constantly ask ourselves if the stories we select are worth telling. Rather than immediately jumping in, we like to question “why?” or “why not?” Currently, we are in a multi-year collaborative process that is thematically exploring righteousness versus justice. CPT emphasizes transmedia approaches that look to all mediums - broadening stories that emphasize places of difference between peoples and how stories might bridge those gaps.
Along the way, we've performed at Dixon Place, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and off-Broadway and won the Audience Choice Award for A List of Irrational Fears for Future Leaders of the World at FRIGID New York 2014 and several AudioVerse Awards and the Rod Serling Memorial Award for our sci-fi anthology podcast The Grayscale.
OUR MISSION: We are inventors at our core. We seek to take in stories unknown, combine them with vision and action, and bring these experiences to life through performance. Our ensemble strives to pair our own development with that of changing communities. We want to stand among and between states of matter to explore beyond boundaries.
WHAT IS JERK?
James claims to be a sex addict. Elizabeth isn't so sure. What they do know is that neither one of them is alright. What appears to be a play about the contemptuous relationship between a patient and his doctor, devolves into madness after a sudden change in everyone's circumstances, ending in a nightmarish frenzy of self-medicating. JERK is a psychological drama about the state of monogamy in burgeoning adults. A nightmare that lies somewhere between an expressionistic dream sequence, and a series of worn out memories.
JERK was created through the hand of a singular artist, Andrew Terrance Kaberline, and washed and rinsed through a developmental process with Critical Point Theatre that encompasses the ideas, stories, and feedback from the ensemble. ![]()
Our first reading of the production took place in Blacksburg, VA in 2014. During this time, the concept was wildly different than the play was now. Another stab was taken in NYC in early 2015, with a revamped script. Eventually, we held a series of feedback sessions as Andrew evolved the work, culminating in a second staged reading in Manhattan in October 2016. We've spent years seasoning JERK to perfection, and now the project is ready to simmer. We will be performing at The HIVE Art Space in Brooklyn in late August in a production led by CPT's Dylan James Amick. But as an ensemble company full of book publishers, electricians, hotel workers, and bartenders, we're hoping to gather community support in order to ensure all of our artists are paid and production costs are minimalized. That's why we are coming to you!
WHY DONATE?
We produce all of our shows independently, financing only from collective donations from individuals like you. It's next to impossible for artists without a long business history and legal help to obtain large grants, so we rely on small, grassroots funding campaigns like this one in order to produce our work. CPT operating costs have been funded 70% from individual giving over our four year history.
This year, we're hoping to get that extra boost from individual, small donor amounts. They say it takes a village to raise a child, and we say it takes only a small portion of the East Village to forgo a single nitro cold brew and raise an independent theatre production. Amounts of $5 are being posted here in order to get to our goal - to raise the funds we need for our base production costs. Any funds raised above these goals will go to the salaries of our actors, director, stage manager, and production help.
We're trying to stretch the breadth of our networks, not the depth of your pockets. Any amount makes a difference in pushing bold art onstage, and if you can't lend a buck or two, lend us a share on Facebook, Twitter, or Insta. We appreciate that you're living for the 'gram, and we'll help you do it.
- If 300 people each give $5, we will have our venue cost paid.
- If 100 people each give $15, we can get three actors their much needed due in a city where "credit and copy" doesn't pay the rent.
- If 60 people each give $25, we make our goal and there's a pizza party. Better than the one your third grade teacher threw after you aced the spelling test.
ATTENDING THE PERFORMANCE
JERK is more than a performance. It's a night out in a box with a Brooklyn bow on it. If you can't donate but you're planning to come by, know that there will be food, drinks, music, and a killer way to call out the jerks in your life. To get an all-inclusive ticket (open bar? heck yeah), choose the Perf + Party option and know that your appetite for food, cocktails, and fun will be supporting the ensemble continuing to produce bold ideas in a laboratory space.
JERK runs August 24th-September 2nd, on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 PM, as well as 2:30 PM Saturdays.
BUY TICKETS HERE
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CRITICAL POINT THEATRE was founded in 2013 by a number of purposed young artists. The goal was to create an ensemble-governed space where new works were developed, utilizing a lengthy critical process before opening. We constantly ask ourselves if the stories we select are worth telling. Rather than immediately jumping in, we like to question “why?” or “why not?” Currently, we are in a multi-year collaborative process that is thematically exploring righteousness versus justice. CPT emphasizes transmedia approaches that look to all mediums - broadening stories that emphasize places of difference between peoples and how stories might bridge those gaps.
Our first reading of the production took place in Blacksburg, VA in 2014. During this time, the concept was wildly different than the play was now. Another stab was taken in NYC in early 2015, with a revamped script. Eventually, we held a series of feedback sessions as Andrew evolved the work, culminating in a second staged reading in Manhattan in October 2016. We've spent years seasoning JERK to perfection, and now the project is ready to simmer. We will be performing at The HIVE Art Space in Brooklyn in late August in a production led by CPT's Dylan James Amick. But as an ensemble company full of book publishers, electricians, hotel workers, and bartenders, we're hoping to gather community support in order to ensure all of our artists are paid and production costs are minimalized. That's why we are coming to you!