Summary
Organization name
Motus Theater
2011
Tax id (EIN)
90-0716569
Category
Arts, Culture & Humanities
Organization Size
Medium Organization
Address
P.O. Box 6080Boulder, CO 80306-6080
Boulder County, CO, US
Motus Theater
A nonprofit organization
$2,155 raised by 17 donors
4% complete
$50,000 Goal
About
Impact
Overview:
Motus Theater creates transformative storytelling that builds bridges, fosters dialogue, and reminds us of our shared humanity At a time when many in our communities face dehumanizing rhetoric and policies, our work is more essential than ever.
Get Involved:
Communities storytelling for impact -- whether LGBTQIA+, immigrants, or people impacted by the criminal legal system -- have made incredible strides with the help of allies, families, and courageous advocates. But there's still much work to do.
At Motus Theater, we amplify these voices through powerful storytelling, fostering dialogue, and inspiring action. Show your support for these communities by making a gift today.
Every contribution helps us bring transformative stories to the stage and into the hearts of audiences. Whether you can give $15 or $150 (or more), your generosity is greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
WHY SUPPORT MOTUS THEATER THIS GIVING SEASON?
Amplify Courageous Voices. Motus spotlights civic love stories from leaders on the frontlines of oppression -- undocumented immigrants, transgender and gender-expansive people, and people impacted by the criminal legal system -- transforming their personal stories into art that inspires dialogue, understanding and action. Your generosity brings community connection through 44 programs reaching almost 17,000 yearly attendees, and engaging 38 monologists and playback actors, musicians, poets, and visual artists who share their stories and talents on stage, galleries, and museums.
Change Narratives, Change Lives. Studies show that hearing personal stories helps dismantle prejudice. This year, Motus presented 14 TRANSformative Stories performances, including one at the Colorado State Capitol for International Transgender Day of Visibility. With your support, we'll take these stories on tour, reaching even more hearts and minds.
Healing Through Art. In a divided and challenging time, Motus Theater serves as a refuge and a catalyst for civic courage. Our 2025 autobiographical monologue projects include stories from parents of transgender youth and 'Youth Behind and Beyond Bars" JustUs monologues, which shed light on the experiences of those incarcerated in adult prisons as children.
Your Impact Is Doubled - Developing Stories is Not Enough, Help Us Distribute These Stories Far & Wide! Help us raise $50,000 by Colorado Gives Day (Tuesday, Dec. 10) to match seed funding we've secured to develop and tour autobiographical monologues with parents of gender-diverse children.
Make Your Gift Today
Help us reach our overall goal of $150,000 by December 31st and ensure that these life-changing stories continue to inspire and transform communities in Colorado and beyond: $50,000 through CO Gives Day and $100,000 through December 31st, 2024.
Together, we can create a brighter, more just future where everyone's humanity is recognized and celebrated.
Your generosity brings courage, love, and light to our communities. Thank you for standing with us.
Mission
The mission of Motus Theater is to create original theater to facilitate dialogue on critical issues of our time. We aim to use the power of art to build empathetic alliances across diverse segments of our community and country.
Background Statement
Moving Stories that Move Us Forward: Motus Theater’s History
Motus Theater, established in Boulder in 2010 by Kirsten Wilson, creates multimedia and autobiographical monologue performances spotlighting marginalized communities. Its multimedia shows, "Rocks Karma Arrows" and "It's Only a Paper Moon," received National Endowment for the Arts funding. Since 2013, Motus has concentrated on immigration themes, with productions like "Do You Know Who I Am?" showcasing undocumented individuals' experiences, and "SALSA Lotería," reflecting Latina immigrants' stories.
A notable 2017 performance involved Boulder County law enforcement officials reading DACA recipients autobiographical monologues, gaining wide attention. The "UndocuAmerica Performance & Media Project" started in 2018, featuring autobiographical monologues by young DACA leaders, live performances, and two podcasts with contributions from renowned personalities and musicians.
Motus collaborated with Boulder Weekly on performances about sanctuary, including "Women of Resolution" and "Invisible Lines," blending storytelling with various art forms. In 2019, the "JustUs” Project began, focusing on the criminal legal system through the eyes of formerly incarcerated people. In November 2023, Motus premiered the TRANSformative Stories Autobiographical Monologue Project, supporting transgender and non-binary leaders in sharing their experiences with oppression and liberation.
Motus' first multimedia history performances, "Rocks Karma Arrows" (RKA) (2009-2012) and "It's Only a Paper Moon" (2017) were commissioned with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2012, '14 and '15. For RKA, Wilson received the Arts Innovation Award from CU's Alliance for Art Technology & Society.
Since 2013, Motus has been focusing on the issue of immigration. In "Do You Know Who I Am?" (DYKWIA?) (2013), undocumented young people perform their experience of living without papers. DYKWIA? was seen by over 4,000 people and won 5 major awards. In "SALSA Lotería" (2015), a co-production with Programa Compañeras of El Centro Amistad, Latina immigrants perform stories about holding their families together across the divide of countries, cultures, and deportation injustice.
In 2017, Motus premiered an unprecedented performance in which the Boulder County (BoCo) DA and Sheriff, 5 Police Chiefs and the CU-Boulder Vice-Chancellor for Safety stood in solidarity with DREAMers by reading their autobiographical monologues. 250 people saw the performance live, 13,000 watched it online, and thousands more tuned in on KGNU. The performance was featured on NPR, USA TODAY, American Theater Magazine and in local newspapers.
In 2018, Motus created the "UndocuAmerica Performance & Media Project", which has 3 components: 1) An autobiographical monologue workshop in which young leaders with DACA artfully crafted their monologues. 2) Live performances featuring the monologists reading their own stories, as well as "allied leaders" reading their stories. Musicians including Yo-Yo Ma, Grammy-winning Arturo O'Farrill, the Flobots, and jazz great Robert Johnson provide musical responses. 3) 2 podcasts featuring the first season as the "UndocuAmerica Series." In the "Shoebox Stories" podcast, prominent Americans such as John Lithgow, Gloria Steinem, and Nicholas Kristof, read the stories of our monologists. In the "Motus Monologues" podcast, monologists read their own stories. Podcasts feature musical responses by Yo-Yo Ma, Arturo O'Farrill, Ozomatli and others.
Since 2018, Motus has been collaborating with the Boulder Weekly to create performances about sanctuary. In "Women of Resolution" (2018), Colorado State Representatives read the stories of 4 Colorado women who sought sanctuary to prevent deportation and the separation of their families. The stories are woven with photography by Joel Dyer and acapella music, and conclude with a poetic response by world-renowned slam poet Dominique Christina. "Invisible Lines" (2020) focuses on stories of immigrants in sanctuary across the country through improv theater, audience engagement, live music, photography, and poetry.
In 2019, Motus began working with formerly incarcerated people to develop autobiographical monologues about the criminal justice system for the "JustUs Project", which premiered at the National Association of Community & Restorative Justice for an audience of 1,600 and was presented as a plenary at the Grantmakers in the Arts Conference.
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Organization Data
Boulder, CO 80306-6080