3% Cover the Fee

Make space for the stories that need to be told

At High Desert Playback, our commitment to racial and social justice is rooted in our promise to center and highlight the stories of folx who have historically been erased, devalued, and marginalized.

We are facing a far-right movement focused on criminalizing queer + trans stories, burying Black stories, and otherwise silencing the stories and voices of any form of dissent.

In response, we must be prepared to preserve, defend, and honor these stories at all costs.

Why Donate to High Desert Playback?

  • High Desert Playback (HDP) makes theater for social change in New Mexico and beyond. Our multiracial, queer and trans-centered company uses the art of playback theatre to mobilize and amplify social issues through community outreach, engagement, dialogue, and celebration.

    HDP was founded in 2023 by by Lynn Johnson and Allison Kenny. Since 2002, Lynn and Allison have built their lives together as a married couple, co-parents, and business partners dedicated to the arts and social change.

  • We use our talents as artists, theater makers and storytellers mobilize and amplify social change work.

    We partner with other artists, activists, local governments, social impact businesses, and non-profit organizations to facilitate:

    • Community engagement

    • Community outreach

    • Meaningful dialogue

    • Celebration

  • We are living in an historical moment of intense cultural division and an immense threat to the safety of historically marginalized groups.

    Our work at HDP is to create processes and experiences focused on equity and inclusion. This work invite participants to flex their empathy muscles, listen to each other with compassion, and connect on a human level. This inevitably leads to outcomes centered in true belonging where the most marginalized folks—feels seen, heard, and valued.

    This sense of belonging not only reminds us of our inherent value, it also gives us the fuel we need to stay activated and engaged in the work ahead.

  • Playback Theatre is an interactive form of improvisational theatre in which audience members tell stories from their lives and watch them enacted on the spot. Created in 1975, Playback Theatre is now used in over 70 countries around the world to help build bridges across differences and to honor the human condition.

  • In addition to playback theatre, we also devise original documentary theater pieces from the real life stories of real life people. We collect stories using Playback Theatre, conduct 1-on-1 interviews, and gather secondary research sources. Then, our team of highly skilled playwrights creates original scripts to be performed back in the communities where the stories came from.

    An example of this work is Queer Futures Now, a blend of sci-fi, thriller, adventure, and dance party that follows four queer youths on their journey to safety and shows the path to LGBTQIA+ paradise is closer than we think.

  • As a business still in the start up phase, your donation provides the crucial runway we need to:

    • Perform public shows throughout the community (in NM and beyond) at a low cost to audience members while paying our performers well

    • Pay salaries and benefits for our full-time leadership team as we build brand recognition and trust and establish our value with prospective clients

    • Support our Queer Futures Now project, in collaboration with Health Equity Alliance for LGBTQ+ New Mexicans (HEAL+NM), an arts-based project designed to equip parents, family members, and caregivers with the skills and tools to listen, understand, support, and advocate for the LGBTQ+ youth they love.

  • HDP is a Black/queer/women-owned for-profit social enterprise. As a new company, we need the financial support of friends, family and fans like you to give us the runway we need to grow. When you donate directly to us, your donation will not be tax deductible.

    However, if you need your donation to be tax deductible, you can make a donation through our fiscal sponsor, the New Mexico Foundation. You can do that here.