mission statement
To create a refuge for artists to fortify their creative wellness in NYC & Worldwide.
our core pillars
Accessible Aftercare:
Our mission is to combat the transient and fickle uncertainty of our industry by offering tangible, affordable and relatable resources that bring ease, education and efficiency into the creatives overwhelming and busy life.
check out our resources
Consistent Culture & Community:
Our organization provides a stable outlet to foster connection, healing, growth and accountability—and all in an environment that is open, accepting and not determined by a gatekeeper.
how we can connect
Retreat, Rest & Recharge:
Environment dictates energy—and the vision of our wellness and community center is the building of a home base that is creative, welcoming, colorful, inspiring, cozy, energizing and above all else—a space where you can protect your peace.
learn more about recess
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Resources
Connection
Peace
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Vision:
our why
our why
our why
Who we are
Meet our
A team of visionary artists steering our mission
Board of Directors
Board of Directors
Board of Directors
“I strongly stand behind—and am thrilled to be a thought partner in an attempt to aid—the mission of creating more breath and community for artists in an industry (and world) where these things can sometimes feel difficult to find and hold on to.”
“We spend so much time critiquing ourselves, bettering ourselves, thinking constantly in “I”. When we gather we feel less alone. We understand we are all in this together. We build a community that can rally behind us.”
“This seems like the answer to everything this industry didn’t even realize we needed. With all the uncertainty and inconsistencies we face on the daily, this feels like a place where we can exhale.”
“It’s exciting to see space being created for artists to cultivate themselves and find connection and expansion. What we do is essential to the healing of the world and we have to have space to do our own healing first in order to do the necessary work.”
J. Harrison Ghee
L Morgan Lee
MiMi Scardulla
Eden Espinosa
A note from &
our founder
executive director
NYC has always been “the dream,” New York or nowhere, right?
Well, after nearly a decade in Manhattan, coming and going for jobs and feeling like I’m starting over every time I returned, a worldwide pandemic dismantling our industry and our world as a whole, and then creating a space for the community to grieve together with my first publication “When The Lights Are Bright Again” – the city has not held back when it comes to presenting me with trials, grief, and rejection.
But amidst all of this constant change, the one thing my body, mind and spirit has ALWAYS been craving the most…is community. And I don’t mean the community you get when you are lucky enough to “book the job,” I mean the community that comes from taking up space as an artist every day in this world and remembering WHY we got involved in this world in the first place.
I want to invite you to pause, close your eyes, and think back…what was the moment you fell in love with the arts? With theater? Where were you? How did you feel? What changed in you that day? And I mean before it was attached to money, a paycheck, a craft, a degree, a competition, a skill–but when you felt utterly in love with it, unconditionally, because it made you feel MORE like yourself.
That is what represents.
That is what Braving the Business represents.
Braving the Business
That is why we are building
the creatives wellness and community center.
Because every single one of us deserves ---
To return to curiosity.
To return to community without a gatekeeper.
To have affordable access to resources that make your life and hustle easier.
To have a space to breathe.
A space to not have the answer.
A space to celebrate process.
RECESS,
RECESS,
In a business fraught with instability, RECESS will be the home base our industry has always needed.
the home base
A space for the next generation of theater makers to be inspired and held.
A space for the jaded performer who misses the people deeply, but had to walk away from the system because no one was learning from their mistakes.
A space for the designer to cultivate and grow their impact.
A space for the writer to stop doing it alone.
A space for every artist to be in process at any stage of their career.
We all deserve a break.
We all deserve a safe space.
We all deserve to come home.
I’ll see you at Recess!
- Andrew
braving the business is...
“...a WeWork for theater people and beyond!”
“…a YMCA for creatives!”
“… a safe space to create community in a business that tends to focus on competition.”
“...like your hometown's community center!”
“...a gym for artists!”
“… Necessary.”
“… needed for upcoming artists in NYC, and all artists for that matter!”
Testimonials:
our impact
our impact
our impact
“There is no place like it!
You shouldn’t have to book a contract to be able to make friends in your industry!—I believe in this idea! We all need people, now more than ever. And it’s so easy to feel like everyone is against you or “competition” in this industry.”
- Kiara Wade
“BTB is erasing the lines between the ones who are doing it and the ones who want it.
This creates a space for students and performers to feel support, ask questions, get validation and to simply ask the questions of ‘What do I do next?’ and ‘How do I start opening doors?"
- Jack Sipple
“We need BTB because...
we need spaces to vent, to chat, to network, to uplift, to support, and to collaborate too.”
- Arnold Harper II
"If I had a space like what we are building at BTB?
If I had found structure and guidance at an early point, maybe I’d have had an easier time navigating the business, instead of learning on the fly like I did.”
- Sam Simahk
"A space in the city that allows you to connect to community while also providing a safe, and judgment free space is vital and necessary.
-Angelo McDonough
“ I feel the fear of burnout and anxiety in this business constantly, and if there was a place to go that had resources that would have been a lifesaver for me."
"Braving the Business is a community of people where I can feel comfortable sharing my insecurities --
- Sarah Ellis
I often stop to take stock of where I am because the motivation of the job is like this hungry mentality that fuels me, but there's also this other side that's very full of gratitude and belonging, and I think Braving the Business bolsters that.”
