Support The Broken Planetarium
We can’t do it without you.
Your financial support is what makes Broken Planetarium possible.
Your support helps The Broken Planetarium create risk taking, imaginative theatre, bring professional artists and community members together to make new work, and bring theater to new and underserved audiences. Contributions help TBP continue developing original productions, collaborating with local artists, and creating accessible opportunities for audiences to experience new work.
What We Do
Productions
The Broken Planetarium develops and produces original theatre in Portland while also creating opportunities for people to experiment with and share their own art. Its history includes full theatrical productions, staged readings, collaborative projects, monthly creative prompts, concerts, gatherings, and other multidisciplinary events.
- New works: TBP strives to produce one original musical per year.
- Full productions: Full productions have been produced almost every year since 2015, with productions at The Clinton Street Theater and The Siren Theater.
- Staged readings and Workshops: TBP often produces staged readings or workshops before their full productions, offering a sneak peek for audiences to upcoming work.
- Collaborative productions: TBP has collaborated with local arts nonprofits including a choir musical with Resonate Choral Arts and a standing relationship with The Queer Jam Collective.
Artist Support
TBP creates opportunities for artists across disciplines to work together on original projects. Productions bring together writers, performers, musicians, directors, choreographers, designers, technicians, and other creators, giving collaborators space to experiment and contribute to the development of new work.
Community Engagement
TBP works to make theatre welcoming and accessible while creating opportunities for the community to participate in artistic life. Past programming has included community art gatherings, creative prompts, concerts, collaborative events, and performances with sliding-scale admission and Arts for All access. TBP has also incorporated accessibility measures including ADA-accessible venues, ASL interpretation, and mask-required performances.
Who We Serve
Because our productions are often accessible to collaborators from underserved populations, our audiences tend to expand to outside the normal theater demographic through word of mouth. Our audiences tend to be younger, averaging 20 to 40 years old. Our accessible ticketing model allows people from lower economic brackets to access theater financially and without the barrier of calling or reserving ahead of time. Often at least 50% of our patrons are using Arts for All or Pay What You Can.
Why This Matters
Not everyone has access to spaces where they are encouraged to create, experiment, and think of themselves as an artist. TBP helps bridge that gap by bringing experienced artists together with people who may never have had the opportunity to participate in theatre while creating imaginative work that connects contemporary questions with music, storytelling, and performance.
Multiply Our Impact
Keeping the lights on is just the beginning.
By the Numbers
- 9 original productions presented
- 150 artists supported
- >10,000 audience members reached
- 200 community events held
- 5 partner organizations
- 50% of programming offered free or at reduced cost
Beyond the Numbers
TBP’s impact also lives in the relationships and creative opportunities surrounding each production. The organization creates space for artists across disciplines to collaborate, invites community members to see themselves as creators, and uses imaginative theatre to start conversations about subjects ranging from environmental change and political division to identity, agency, history, and belonging.
Why Your Donation Matters
Ticket sales and program revenue alone do not cover the full cost of creating accessible, artist-centered theatre. Contributions from individuals, foundations, businesses, and community partners allow TBP to invest directly in artists, productions, and opportunities for the community.
Current Funding Priorities
Upcoming Production: They Crossed the Ocean
Funding will support:
A new original musical by Laura Christina Dunn, exploring her Sri Lankan immigrant family’s story through the lens of the Hindu epic The Ramayana. The new show explores themes of dislocation, community response after trauma, and like the character Hanuman’s step across the ocean to find Sita, the steps we take to find connection and healing in this world.
Why it matters:
Funding of this show would allow TBP to create a new full production in 2027.
Funding goal:
$5,000
Artist Accessibility
Funding will support:
Funding will allow us to compensate artists for child care, missed wages, transportation, instrument or equipment rental (if they do not own their equipment needed to participate) or any other barrier to participation.
Why it matters:
These funds make it possible for people who normally would not be able to financially participate in a theater production to have access to this kind of creative expression. Our collaborators include parents and caretakers, single parents, people with mobility issues and disability, and people who live below the poverty line.
Funding goal:
$2,500
Audience Accessibility
Funding will support:
Funding will allow us to offer Arts for All and Pay What You Can tickets, allowing accessibility to lower income audience members that cannot afford a full price ticket. It also helps us cap our ticket prices at $20-$25, allowing greater access for all.
Why it matters:
This funding matters because it allows us to not compromise on compensation for artists or production quality while still providing accessibly priced tickets.
Funding goal:
$1,250
How You Can Help
Your financial support gives us the stability to create original theater.
Use the Donate button below to make a one-time contribution to The Broken Planetarium. Better yet, become a monthly donor to help our program to be sustainable for the long term.
Use the following name and address if you prefer to donate by check:
The Broken Planetarium
PO Box 15281
Portland, OR 97293-5281
Thank you so much for your support of The Broken Planetarium. Our artists make our productions happen, but you make them possible.
The Broken Planetarium is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit which means your contributions are tax-deductible.