A special announcement from Nothing for the Group
consider this my subscription brochure
Hi friends (and enemies),
Next week is the one-year anniversary of this newsletter, which I schemed up in the wake of my layoff from Studio Theatre. I was already mourning the parts of my job that I loved, including compiling a semi-weekly institutional digest of theatre news, reviews and occasional salty asides. At my Zoom department farewell, I floated the idea of doing my own spin on it — “I’m thinking of calling it Nothing for the Group?” — and my soon-to-be-former colleagues told me I had to do it.
When I launched the newsletter, I put my Venmo/Paypal information in the header. I was floored by the response: your contributions paid for the entirety of my COBRA (a criminal amount of money) and covered my living expenses until I secured a new full-time job months later. It’s a profound act of community generosity that I haven’t forgotten.
Over the last year, I’ve received feedback from several readers who wanted to send tips, but didn’t use or felt wary of payment apps. (To the Studio board members who mailed me physical checks: you’re all real ones.) I wanted to wait to formalize a new system for ongoing financial support, and now’s the right time:
I’m launching paid subscriptions.
So, first of all: The weekly Friday round-up of news and takes will remain free for everyone.
The weekly round-ups will always be the core of this project, and I want them to be as widely available and accessible as possible.
But I’ve proofread enough subscription brochures to know that I need to offer some perks, so: all paid subscribers will receive monthly-ish bonus content.
What kind of content? It’s in the works, but I’m thinking essays (“Is The Nanny’s Maxwell Sheffield A Good Producer? An Investigation” is absolutely happening), bonkers Caity Weaver-style artist profiles, and my long-desired season planning betting pool. As I continue to detangle myself from institutional voice, I’ve been craving a space for more experimental/deeper writing and thinking beyond quick takes.
There are three subscription tiers. Choose your fighter:
$100 a year
$50 a year
$5 a month
You can upgrade your free subscription by clicking the subscribe button above or below. Payments are securely processed via Stripe. (If you run into issues while signing up, let me know.) And if you want to keep reading the newsletter for free, that’s 100% A-OK by me. Go donate to an abortion fund or a food bank!
I’ll write more next week about the past year of newsletters, but just know that I’m deeply grateful for every kind word, share, email, DM, and tip (financial and gossip). You’ve all kept me company during a chaotic, distressing time for the industry, and forced me to visualize and articulate my own hazy dreams for what the American theatre can be. I hope you’ll stick around for another year.
xoxo
Lauren
