SUMMER CLIMB 2026
Help Headwall Increase Artists’ Stipends
Every summer, Headwall Theatre Company begins the climb toward our next ledge.
This year, we are launching our Summer Climb with our most ambitious goal yet:
🧗 Our goal: Raise $25,000
Your support will help Headwall produce our next season of indie theatre in Long Island City, Queens, while taking a meaningful step toward increasing artist stipends.
Our long-term goal is to fully compensate theatre-makers for their time, labor, and artistry. While we are still a few years away from making that a reality, your support will help us take a real step forward this coming season.
✨ Double your impact
An anonymous donor has pledged to match the first $3,000 donated to the Summer Climb.
That means every gift will go twice as far until we reach the first $3,000 in donations, helping Headwall increase artist stipends and support our upcoming season.
🎭 Why we’re climbing
Making theatre in New York is expensive, even when we keep things lean.
A current two-week Headwall production costs roughly $15,000.
If we paid everyone minimum wage, that cost would increase to approximately $38,000.
To make up that difference through ticket sales alone, we would have to raise ticket prices from $30 to $110, which would make our work inaccessible to many of the people we want to reach.
Ticket sales help us recoup some of the cost, but they do not cover the full expense of producing the work.
For our last production, The Comeuppance, actor stipends were $330 for the entire production process, or approximately 150 hours of work.
That comes out to about $2.20 per hour.
We are deeply grateful to the artists who bring such care, skill, and generosity to Headwall’s work, but we do not want artist generosity to be our business model.
Artists deserve to be paid for their work.
Our $25,000 Summer Climb goal will not solve every challenge of making theatre in New York, but it will help us:
✅ Increase artist stipends
✅ Strengthen production support
✅ Keep ticket prices accessible
✅ Move toward a more sustainable model for Headwall and the artists who make this work possible
Your gift helps us keep climbing to the next ledge.
💛 How your gift helps
$25 helps cover one hour of low-cost rehearsal space
$50 helps cover 50 double-sided promotional flyers
$100 helps support artists’ meals during long tech rehearsal days
$250 helps cover liability insurance for one show
$500 helps us begin increasing artist stipends, plus includes 2 tickets to one show
$1,000 covers the deposit for the performance venue, plus includes 2 tickets to two shows
$2,000 covers rehearsal space for an entire show, plus includes 2 tickets to three shows
$3,000 helps cover one week of venue rental, plus includes 2 tickets to each show and complimentary drinks
$5,000 joins the Producer Circle, with Co-Producer credit on all shows this season, plus all of the above
🌱 Why your support matters now
As we head into uncertain times for arts funding, we feel incredibly lucky to have committed individual donors like you who believe in the importance of live theatre.
Thank you if you donated last year. Your support helped make this work possible, and we hope you will consider making the Summer Climb an annual tradition.
We also know there are many urgent causes that need support right now, so we are especially grateful for a donation of any amount toward the power of theatre to heal, challenge, and foster a sense of belonging.
🎁 Make your gift go further
Headwall Theatre Company is a 501(c)(3), so your donation may be eligible for a corporate matching gift through your employer.
After donating, check your company’s matching gift portal or HR benefits page to see if they will match your contribution.
🎟️ Our upcoming season includes
A Thousand Natural Shocks
A two-week run of a new play by Queens-based playwright Jacob Marx Rice, coming in October.
I’m Not Comfortable
A personal development performance by Lisanne Shaffer-Dickerson in November, continuing our commitment to intimate new work and community building.
The Thin Place
A three-week run of the haunting play by Lucas Hnath, author of A Doll’s House, Part 2, coming in March 2027.
🏙️ Help Queens theatre keep climbing
If you believe Queens deserves ambitious independent theatre, and if you believe artists should be supported with more than gratitude, we hope you’ll make a gift to this year’s Summer Climb.
Thank you for helping Headwall reach the next ledge.
With gratitude,
Headwall Theatre Company
Michelle Orosz, Founder/Artistic Director
Josh Lombard, Co-Artistic Director
Marianne Goodell, Managing Director
Nim Dhillon, Producing Director
Déjà Anderson Ross, Social Media Coordinator