history

Notch is a 501(c)(3) organization founded in


2017 out of an Embark Award for

Social Innovation in Entrepreneurship from

the Swearer Center for Public Service, in

partnership with the Jonathan M. Nelson

Center for Entrepreneurship.

Notch's productions and partnerships have presented at the National Performance Network Conference, the Children’s Defense Fund Advocacy Conference, the Appalachia Studies Conference, the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture's Artist Salon on Creative Strategies for Commemorative Justice, the Ubumuntu Festival in Rwanda, Arctic Fest, the Tagiugmi Music+Health Festival in Utqiagvik, Alaska, the International Human Rights Festival, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Chautauqua Institute, the Lewis Prize for Music's Institute, the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center, Civic Ensemble, White Heron Theatre Company, Trinity Repertory Theater, Brown University, New York University, Live@Jacks in Denver, HB Studios, New Ohio Theater, The Tank, Hudson Guild Theater, La Mama Studios, the Center for Performance Research, Playwrights Horizons Downtown, the Flea Theatre and New Georges Jamboree and with St. Ann's Warehouse and The Walk Productions, among others.

Several people seated in chairs in a white room, with a ceiling of professional stage lighting and equipment. The individuals are engaged in conversation or listening, seated in a semi-circle arrangement.
Paired with Ashley Teague’s inventive direction, this declaration of Notch Theatre Company’s  visceral,  scintillating point of view is a force to be reckoned with as even the best of current day Broadway’s appeal to address  modern themes pales in comparison.
— Natalie Rine, New York Associate Critic

Group of women performing a theatrical scene or dance on stage, with some women standing and reaching out, and others lying on the ground, in a black background setting.

Notch's work has been profiled by American Theatre Magazine, featured on HowlRound twice, including once in their Theater in the Age of Climate Change series, on Playbill,  Monument Lab,  Broadway World for Wild Home and Anna Karenina, on Hollywood Soapbox, in N Magazine, on the Stage Whisper and HB insight Series podcasts, and by the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture

You can find Notch’s work reviewed on OnStage BlogTheatre Beyond Broadway Blog Critics, Theater Pizzazz, Thinking Theatre NYC and Broadway DNA.

Notch Theatre Company creates community-responsive cultural work to drive change around the pressing issues of our time, offering communities nationwide a platform to tell their stories and be their own change makers.

Our work engages populations that brick and mortar theaters are not reaching, personalizes important social issues for people on all sides of a conversation, raises awareness in a compelling way, drives change on a national scale, and prompts meaningful, lasting engagement at a grassroots level.  

Vision Statement

There is a cultural deficit in this country. When the civil liberties of historically underrepresented groups continue to face serious threats and our nation is stalled in an ever-polarizing inability to engage in productive dialogue, we artists and cultural workers must engage communities to which we might not normally find ourselves in proximity, excavate the barriers standing between us, address community concerns with artistic ferocity, with bold questions and daring choices, and provoke audiences with questions (old and new) about who is given access to our nation’s promise of opportunity and who is being
systematically shut out.​ 

anti-racism and
anti-oppression community guidelines

VALUES

A group of six young adults performing a scene on stage, saluting with their right hands to their foreheads. The stage is dark with a large screen above them displaying a face with goggles, and the performers are dressed casually.

ANITA CASTILLO-HALVORSSEN
A smiling African American woman outdoors with trees in the background.

ANITA CASTILLO-HALVORSSEN

ANITA MARIE MAYO HARRISON

A young man with short hair wearing a yellow knit shirt, standing against a beige background.
A woman with curly blonde hair and a black top making a skeptical or confused facial expression against a green background.

ANTHONY ADU

ASHLEY J HICKS

ASHLEY WALDEN DAVIS

CALYPSO MICHELET

ELI WASSERTZUG
Elinor T Vanderburg

ELI WASSERTZUG

ELINOR T VANDERBURG

GABRIELA SAKER

GABRIELA SAKER

ISABEL PASK

KARISHMA SWARUP
A young woman with dark, curly hair, smiling, wearing a green sleeveless top and hoop earrings, against a yellow background.

KARISHMA SWARUP

KAT GUERRERO

KATHLEEN MARY CARTHY

KATHLEEN MARY CARTHY

LENNOX T. DUONG

LISA JAI

LIZ APPEL

A woman with a voluminous curly gray and black hairstyle looking at the camera. She is wearing hoop earrings and a black top.

LOUIS REYES MCWILLIAMS

NADIRA SIMONE

Close-up of a young man with dark skin, short dreadlocks, and a well-groomed beard, wearing a black T-shirt against a light blue background.
OCTAVIA CHAVEZ-RICHMOND

NAYIB FELIX

OCTAVIA CHAVEZ-RICHMOND

Close-up photo of a young man's face with dark hair, brown eyes, facial hair, and a slight smile, wearing a light-colored shirt, against a black background.

ORLANDO HERNÁNDEZ

SERGIO MAURITZ ANG

Close-up of a woman with medium skin tone, black curly hair, and wearing a green top.
Aaluk Edwardson

ALEXIS GREEN

AALUK EDWARDSON

Close-up of a smiling young man with dark hair and facial hair, against a blurred wooden background.

SINAN ECZACIBASI

Board of Directors

STAFF

A woman with long, curly brown hair wearing glasses, smiling outdoors with a blurred green background.
A man with dark hair and wearing a blue dress shirt looks at the camera while standing outdoors next to a metal fence, with a blurred background of trees and a pathway.
Close-up of a young woman with dark braided hair, light brown eyes, and natural makeup, wearing a sleeveless knit top against a dark teal background.
Close-up portrait of a man with gray curly hair wearing a black shirt, looking at the camera against a plain background.

LIZZY BROOKS,
DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE

MIKE SPARA,
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

DIEGO LANAO,
CULTURE & IMPACT EXECUTIVE

ASHLEY OLIVE TEAGUE,
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Close-up of a woman with long, curly platinum blonde hair, smiling at the camera.

RAQUEL MORRIS,
CULTURE & IMPACT MANAGER

“THERE IS NO GREATER AGONY THAN BEARING AN UNTOLD STORY INSIDE YOU.”

— MAYA ANGELOU

A diverse group of people gathered in a brightly lit room, participating in a community event or meeting. Some are seated, others are standing, with individuals holding papers or books. The atmosphere appears engaged and collaborative. The room is decorated with colorful artwork and motivational signs.