MISSION

To produce and promote theatrical productions that inspire and challenge audiences to explore the questions of modern sexuality, gender, and body politics.

our story

Torn Out Theater, founded in August 2016, is a home for theater projects that push the boundaries of how we see the human body and what we assume about modern sexuality. Alice Mottola and Kara Strait, co-founders, believe that everyone's body tells a story, sometimes many stories. By adapting classic texts and devising unique audience experiences, Torn Out attempts to navigate a culture where private and public blur together, where the shocking and common trade places, and where magic is real.

In the spring of 2016, Mottola was approached by the Outdoor Topless Pulp Fiction Appreciation Society about directing a nude production of Shakespeare's The Tempest. After developing the core concepts of this world, finding a way for nudity and Shakespeare to blend together seamlessly, she invited Strait, longtime friend and collaborator, to join her as co-director. Together, they brought a performance like no one had ever seen to Central Park. A cast of brave and proud actors, dancers, and musicians played to overflowing crowds, leaving sorcery, beauty, and wonder in their wake.

In the weeks that followed, coverage of the performance circled the globe, igniting controversy and conversation. Thousands of people debated the role of the nudity in art and in society, the politics of reinventing classic plays, and the conflicting ways we perceive bodies of different genders. Seeing the power of theater to bring simmering tensions to the surface, where they could be confronted and explored, Mottola and Strait decided to form a company dedicated to starting more difficult conversations.