Dear Friends,
Almost three years ago, the world pronounced itself to be a post-pandemic one but so
many of us are still recovering. Arts organizations are still recovering too.
Over the last 2 years, institutions that stood solid for decades, giving birth to some of
American theatre’s boldest and most beloved plays, have shuttered their doors for good.
Well, we’re not going anywhere. Thanks to you.
Art is hard work. It is expensive to make, and increasingly expensive to experience.
Today, most Houstonians cannot afford to see a play. Really. 40% live paycheck-to-
paycheck, struggling to make ends meet, while 14% live in poverty. Others are doing
better but still have too little disposable income to afford a single theatre ticket, which
averages about $50. Many can’t afford $20.
We don’t believe the arts should be a luxury and we’re pretty sure you don’t either.
That’s why we are proud to celebrate our 15 th season as a Pay-What-You-Can theatre.
If making theatre accessible to all Houstonians at a price they can afford were a business
model, it would be a poor one. But Pay-What-You-Can isn’t a business model—it is a
core value.
When you support Catastrophic you help to fulfill that value, ensuring that all
Houstonians can afford the theatre experience. What a meaningful bang for your buck
when more and more people are engaging online than they do in person, feeling more
isolated, more alone than ever before. We see you.
We see you, we appreciate you, we are honored by you, and you belong. We do what we
do so we can do it with you.
Leonard Cohen sang “Let’s be alone together, let’s see if we’re that strong.” We believe
we are—because when we feel alone or dissatisfied with the world we live in, we can
make new ones. Together. We already have. We already do.
If you can afford to make a donation, please do. To keep this community going, this
community we share. To join us in holding open the doors, helping to find our way to
the people who’ve yet to find their way to the rest of us, to help them find a place they
can feel they belong, we thank you.
If you can’t afford to donate financially but you share your time and your very selves
with us, we thank you too. We need each other. We are together in that, all of us. So
even if you feel alone, all alone in yourself, you’re not, not entirely. And because of you
neither are we.
Thank you for you. You matter. You make it all worthwhile.
Jason Nodler
Founding Artistic Director
Donate Now