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we have just over 24 HOURS TO RAISE $841!!!
(in order to meet our stretch goal of $13k)

and we have an incentive for all you procrastinators out there: Mireya was cleaning out her garage over the weekend and found 20 of these @yumisakugawa -designed tote bags (from pre-Failure Theater project @thecommonsweb ) in mint condition! THE NEXT 20 DONATIONS OVER $40 WILL RECEIVE ONE OF THESE LIMITED-EDITION TOTES! (It will look great with your Failure Theater/Yumi-designed “Divine Loser” hat!) And for the non-procrastinators, who have already donated, an additional donation of $25 will get you the tote!

Will we fail? Or will we be granted the chance to fail on a whole new level? Can’t wait to find out!

we have just over 24 HOURS TO RAISE $841!!!
(in order to meet our stretch goal of $13k)

and we have an incentive for all you procrastinators out there: Mireya was cleaning out her garage over the weekend and found 20 of these @yumisakugawa -designed tote bags (from pre-Failure Theater project @thecommonsweb ) in mint condition! THE NEXT 20 DONATIONS OVER $40 WILL RECEIVE ONE OF THESE LIMITED-EDITION TOTES! (It will look great with your Failure Theater/Yumi-designed “Divine Loser” hat!) And for the non-procrastinators, who have already donated, an additional donation of $25 will get you the tote!

Will we fail? Or will we be granted the chance to fail on a whole new level? Can’t wait to find out!

WE’VE REACHED OUR GOAL!
thank you so much for believing in this flock of flops!
as with all accomplishments, we are grateful for the opportunity to fail bigger that this success provides! so, with one week left in our campaign, we’re announcing our STRETCH GOAL OF 13k! we are only $1,020 away! will you be the $20 that gets us over the hump to the final thousand? link in bio

(also, had a merch meeting this am with designer @daleluiza / @thealiens.online - trust, you’re gonna want a t-shirt)

double your pleasure, double our funds:
ALL DONATIONS THIS WEEK WILL BE MATCHED! (up to $5000) thanks to a very generous donor!

mainstream beauty standards are rooted in pedophilia and fear of mortality. i (Merkel, artistic director of Failure Theater) am personally looking forward to being wrinkled and wise. AND YET i am nothing if not moisturized. sorry to brag, but i get asked for my skincare secrets on the reg. and that is something i am willing to capitalize on to fund my theater company.

my “secret” is surprisingly simple. it’s this little jar of oil i custom blend and use as both a cleanser and a moisturizer. i will blend it for you (and give you a list of the other inexpensive/commonsense items i use, plus instructions for making your own oil blend or continuing to order it from me) if you donate at a certain tier to Failure Theater’s crowdfunding campaign (link in bio)! it’s a higher-level donation, but this is a “teach a man to fish & he’ll eat for a lifetime” scenario.

i’ve included an unfiltered & unglamorous picture of my 41-y-o ‘tox-free face taken completely un-staged while i had a cold and absolutely no makeup on (i’m 42 now, but this picture is from January, so i don’t wanna falsely advertise). also, my baby had just had his first birthday, so this is after a year of light, but chronic, sleep deprivation. the purpose of this is not to impress you, but just so you have all the information

mainstream beauty standards are rooted in pedophilia and fear of mortality. i (Merkel, artistic director of Failure Theater) am personally looking forward to being wrinkled and wise. AND YET i am nothing if not moisturized. sorry to brag, but i get asked for my skincare secrets on the reg. and that is something i am willing to capitalize on to fund my theater company.

my “secret” is surprisingly simple. it’s this little jar of oil i custom blend and use as both a cleanser and a moisturizer. i will blend it for you (and give you a list of the other inexpensive/commonsense items i use, plus instructions for making your own oil blend or continuing to order it from me) if you donate at a certain tier to Failure Theater’s crowdfunding campaign (link in bio)! it’s a higher-level donation, but this is a “teach a man to fish & he’ll eat for a lifetime” scenario.

i’ve included an unfiltered & unglamorous picture of my 41-y-o ‘tox-free face taken completely un-staged while i had a cold and absolutely no makeup on (i’m 42 now, but this picture is from January, so i don’t wanna falsely advertise). also, my baby had just had his first birthday, so this is after a year of light, but chronic, sleep deprivation. the purpose of this is not to impress you, but just so you have all the information

mainstream beauty standards are rooted in pedophilia and fear of mortality. i (Merkel, artistic director of Failure Theater) am personally looking forward to being wrinkled and wise. AND YET i am nothing if not moisturized. sorry to brag, but i get asked for my skincare secrets on the reg. and that is something i am willing to capitalize on to fund my theater company.

my “secret” is surprisingly simple. it’s this little jar of oil i custom blend and use as both a cleanser and a moisturizer. i will blend it for you (and give you a list of the other inexpensive/commonsense items i use, plus instructions for making your own oil blend or continuing to order it from me) if you donate at a certain tier to Failure Theater’s crowdfunding campaign (link in bio)! it’s a higher-level donation, but this is a “teach a man to fish & he’ll eat for a lifetime” scenario.

i’ve included an unfiltered & unglamorous picture of my 41-y-o ‘tox-free face taken completely un-staged while i had a cold and absolutely no makeup on (i’m 42 now, but this picture is from January, so i don’t wanna falsely advertise). also, my baby had just had his first birthday, so this is after a year of light, but chronic, sleep deprivation. the purpose of this is not to impress you, but just so you have all the information

wow thank you we are humbled. in the first day of our crowdfunding campaign you got us over 1/3 of our way to our goal!

and SURPRISE! we have ONE MORE Failed Artist to introduce to you (for now).

look, i am not into AI at all, but if i were to design/program my DREAM PRODUCER it would be Sophie Blumberg. of course, that would be impossible because it’s her humanity that makes Sophie such a creative, generous, genius, and thoughtful producer. a budget review with Sophie is better than therapy (it was paradigm-shifting for me when Sophie talked about accounting for emotional labor in the budget)!

& lucky for you, a budget review with Sophie could be yours! it’s one of the many priceless ARTIST SESSIONS available as a reward on our crowdfunding page. 🔗 in bio!

wow thank you we are humbled. in the first day of our crowdfunding campaign you got us over 1/3 of our way to our goal!

and SURPRISE! we have ONE MORE Failed Artist to introduce to you (for now).

look, i am not into AI at all, but if i were to design/program my DREAM PRODUCER it would be Sophie Blumberg. of course, that would be impossible because it’s her humanity that makes Sophie such a creative, generous, genius, and thoughtful producer. a budget review with Sophie is better than therapy (it was paradigm-shifting for me when Sophie talked about accounting for emotional labor in the budget)!

& lucky for you, a budget review with Sophie could be yours! it’s one of the many priceless ARTIST SESSIONS available as a reward on our crowdfunding page. 🔗 in bio!

wow thank you we are humbled. in the first day of our crowdfunding campaign you got us over 1/3 of our way to our goal!

and SURPRISE! we have ONE MORE Failed Artist to introduce to you (for now).

look, i am not into AI at all, but if i were to design/program my DREAM PRODUCER it would be Sophie Blumberg. of course, that would be impossible because it’s her humanity that makes Sophie such a creative, generous, genius, and thoughtful producer. a budget review with Sophie is better than therapy (it was paradigm-shifting for me when Sophie talked about accounting for emotional labor in the budget)!

& lucky for you, a budget review with Sophie could be yours! it’s one of the many priceless ARTIST SESSIONS available as a reward on our crowdfunding page. 🔗 in bio!

wow thank you we are humbled. in the first day of our crowdfunding campaign you got us over 1/3 of our way to our goal!

and SURPRISE! we have ONE MORE Failed Artist to introduce to you (for now).

look, i am not into AI at all, but if i were to design/program my DREAM PRODUCER it would be Sophie Blumberg. of course, that would be impossible because it’s her humanity that makes Sophie such a creative, generous, genius, and thoughtful producer. a budget review with Sophie is better than therapy (it was paradigm-shifting for me when Sophie talked about accounting for emotional labor in the budget)!

& lucky for you, a budget review with Sophie could be yours! it’s one of the many priceless ARTIST SESSIONS available as a reward on our crowdfunding page. 🔗 in bio!

Launching a crowdfunding campaign on Tax Day because… FAILURE!

Link in bio for the “Understudy Vanya” workshop fundraiser. Your (yes, tax deductible) donations will help make the dream of Failure Theater into a reality. We also have some highly desirable rewards, like a DIVINE LOSER (image above) baseball cap designed by @yumisakugawa !

We haven’t decided on a colorway for the hat yet, so give us your suggestions (or vote for your favorite with a heart) in the comments!

Launching a crowdfunding campaign on Tax Day because… FAILURE!

Link in bio for the “Understudy Vanya” workshop fundraiser. Your (yes, tax deductible) donations will help make the dream of Failure Theater into a reality. We also have some highly desirable rewards, like a DIVINE LOSER (image above) baseball cap designed by @yumisakugawa !

We haven’t decided on a colorway for the hat yet, so give us your suggestions (or vote for your favorite with a heart) in the comments!

Launching a crowdfunding campaign on Tax Day because… FAILURE!

Link in bio for the “Understudy Vanya” workshop fundraiser. Your (yes, tax deductible) donations will help make the dream of Failure Theater into a reality. We also have some highly desirable rewards, like a DIVINE LOSER (image above) baseball cap designed by @yumisakugawa !

We haven’t decided on a colorway for the hat yet, so give us your suggestions (or vote for your favorite with a heart) in the comments!

ANNOUNCING FAILURE THEATER’S INAUGURAL PRODUCTION (although we failed to keep it a secret - it’s been on our website for weeks now):

UNDERSTUDY VANYA — a devised work, following the rehearsal process of an understudy cast for a production of ‘Uncle Vanya.’ Directed by Caitlin Ryan O’Connell, and featuring Joe Curnutte, Bill LeSueur, Sallie Merkel, Boomie Pedersen and Ezra Rose, with design and dramaturgy by Ásta Bennie Hostetter.

A weeklong developmental workshop will take place May 2026 in Charlottesville, VA, with a full production to follow in the fall

image by @thealiens.online

The Failed Artist Finale is none other than Lauren White!

If you know Lauren, you know Lauren is funny. We did improv together for years and I was NEVER nervous before a show because I knew Lauren would make ‘em laugh (unfair of me to lean on her like this? Probably).

But did you also know that Lauren has been there for me in some of my most difficult moments, listened to me without judgement and said words that I clung to like the life preservers they were?

The Failed Artist Finale is none other than Lauren White!

If you know Lauren, you know Lauren is funny. We did improv together for years and I was NEVER nervous before a show because I knew Lauren would make ‘em laugh (unfair of me to lean on her like this? Probably).

But did you also know that Lauren has been there for me in some of my most difficult moments, listened to me without judgement and said words that I clung to like the life preservers they were?

Today’s Failed Artist is Ezra Rose!

Yes, every conversation with Ezra is laced with giggles and profundity, but can we also please talk about the talent here? Not only is Ezra a deeply thoughtful writer and director, but they also hand-knit the absolute coolest booties you have ever seen for my baby.

Failure Theater is beyond fortunate to announce that Ezra will be coming out of retirement as an actor for our first project! (They’re basically our very own Daniel Day Lewis)

Today’s Failed Artist is Ezra Rose!

Yes, every conversation with Ezra is laced with giggles and profundity, but can we also please talk about the talent here? Not only is Ezra a deeply thoughtful writer and director, but they also hand-knit the absolute coolest booties you have ever seen for my baby.

Failure Theater is beyond fortunate to announce that Ezra will be coming out of retirement as an actor for our first project! (They’re basically our very own Daniel Day Lewis)

Join us next month for ACTING IS FAILING or HOW TO ACT LIKE MERYL with @salliemerkel of @failuretheater!

Acting is both easy and impossible. At its core, acting is simply doing the thing every child knows how to do: playing pretend. But you get into trouble when you try to act too well. To attempt a polished and predictable performance is to deliver a lifeless, boring recitation. Acting demands that we embrace failure. A very famous American movie star is rumored to say “pray for mistakes,” because mistakes allow spontaneity and specificity to crash through the well-choreographed artifice.

In this two-day acting workshop, we will employ exercises from the worlds of clowning and improv in order to give award-worthy performances of contemporary theatrical texts. But we will fail! And we will revel in our failure!

No prior acting experience is necessary. But Academy Award Winners are also welcome! Everyone will have fun. Even if you never act again, the joy of failure you’ll discover in this class will enrich your daily life.

More info and sign-up through our bio. Spots are limited!

Introducing Failed Artist Hayley Phelan!

Hayley is someone I just love to share ideas with, plain and simple. Whether in-person or over email, conversations with Hayley are electric and enlivening, and open up my sense of the possible

Introducing Failed Artist Hayley Phelan!

Hayley is someone I just love to share ideas with, plain and simple. Whether in-person or over email, conversations with Hayley are electric and enlivening, and open up my sense of the possible

Next up on the roster of Failed Artists: Caitlin Ryan O’Connell!

Caitlin is directing the first Failure Theater production (to be announced later this week) and frankly, thank gawdexx. Whenever I lose the faith, when making art feels frivolous in the face of the ongoing exploitative violence we are faced with, and implicated in, daily, I talk to Caitlin about this project and something not quite articulable is restored. Conversation with Caitlin reconnects me to the creative spark, fueling a sense of purpose that look, even if it is frivolous, is also essential and nourishing

Next up on the roster of Failed Artists: Caitlin Ryan O’Connell!

Caitlin is directing the first Failure Theater production (to be announced later this week) and frankly, thank gawdexx. Whenever I lose the faith, when making art feels frivolous in the face of the ongoing exploitative violence we are faced with, and implicated in, daily, I talk to Caitlin about this project and something not quite articulable is restored. Conversation with Caitlin reconnects me to the creative spark, fueling a sense of purpose that look, even if it is frivolous, is also essential and nourishing