Encmpss. The Arts Collaborative.

06/02/2022

Guess who’s back, back again?

03/10/2021

With heavy hearts, and endless gratitude beyond belief, our journey with Encmpss. The Arts Collaborative is coming to an end. This is no way an indication of our failure, but just like any good classic tv show, we know when to conclude. Our goal was to provide a space for marginalized performers who are often shutdown as a result of the color of their skin, never their talent, we did that. Our goal was to openly challenge the status quo of a broken and heavily political local theatre scene, we did that. Our goal was to amplify diverse voices, raise awareness for relevant social issues, pay performers for their tireless efforts, and so on, and we did that all and did it successfully. To bookend, we are immensely happy with the virtual space that we created, happy with the family that we created. It was not an easy journey as we self-funded every project, self-produced and engineered every project, and overall, we did what usually takes an army of creatives with just the two of us.

We had a vision. Two best friends, both veterans of the same toxic structures that exist within our very own community theaters, set out to accomplish a very specific goal. That goal, as displayed by our one-of-a-kind virtual (and live) showcases, could not have been possible without the talent shared with us by our performers. There is no Encmpss. without them. Knowing that we inspired, educated, and entertained, even if just one dark-skinned boy from the middle of nowhere, is enough for us. We told the story that we committed to tell, the one we wanted to tell, and the one that all of our performers needed to tell.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us throughout this uniquely challenging journey. Thank you for your dedication, your financial and emotional support, your talents, your willingness to hear us, and for trusting us to tell YOUR story.

Continue to create a space of your own instead of trying to assimilate and conform to what is a very self-involved, self-congratulating, and abrasively anti-inclusive, landscape of community theatre. We started this mission to exploit the unjust nature of community theatre, and just because we are stepping away from creating, we will never step away from being critical and creating a dialogue that needs to be happening.

More work needs to be done. To those in power in the Lehigh Valley community theatre scene, and beyond, do better. If you’re going to claim to love diversity, to celebrate it even, make your actions match your brochures, and your work.

We hope that you keep Encmpss. The Arts Collaborative. in your memory, and more importantly, we hope that we inspire you to create something of a similar vein. If systemic oppression is going to run rampant throughout the the Lehigh Valley, and beyond, take the bait and create your own story. Eventually, as you have witnessed with Encmpss. diversity will prevail. You, my friends, will prevail.

- Ricky Negron & Andrew Mark Schaffer

02/19/2021

Join us LIVE on YouTube at 2:30pm EST / 11:30am PST. For a quick flex, and a quick hang on the live chat! New graphics and a new original composition! Subscribe to our YouTube and turn on notifications!

Remember to consider donating to Venmo - , so we can do even more, and pay our artists even more!

couldn't have done it without you! We love you all!Over $1,200 in donations to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund!Over 2,000 followers across a...

02/17/2021

To keep up with what we’re doing for our local arts community, and beyond, subscribe to our YouTube channel now and turn on notifications. Thanks so much for your continued support!

https://youtu.be/bWhf4PeHPtM

02/16/2021

The love train continues. Justin P. Lopez is the GOAT. Throw respect on the name!

As an organization run by two Latinx performers, this hits home.

ENCMPSS. is committed to sharing art! Even if it isn’t part of our shows!

⛽️

02/16/2021

We’re insecure, don’t know what for. We’re turning heads when we walk through the 🚪.

AUDITION NOW for our latest work, a virtual cabaret that’s all about the boy bands and girl groups! Yes, N.W.A. is certainly considered a “boy band” by ENCMPSS. standards. Backstreet Boys, Danity Kane, 5 Seconds of Summer, BTS, Spice Girls, B2K, we want it all. Dare we say, we WANT IT THAAAAAAT WAY. Bonus points if you slip in some slick dance moves.

Submissions are due March 1st by midnight. Submit now to [email protected]. If you have any questions about the submission process, feel free to contact the same e-mail for more info! Please submit the full song to us (in a horizontal video if possible). Your audition will be used for the show, if chosen.

Paid opportunity. Performers will receive a flat fee of $5.00. There is opportunity to earn more as 20% of all donations for the month that the show airs will be shared amongst performers.

As always, especially as a continued goal of our company, we strongly encourage submissions from those artists that represent marginalized communities. It is imperative that we celebrate inclusivity in everything that we do.

Thank you! The show itself will stream live on YouTube Sunday, March 14th at 9pm EST / 6pm PST.
....

ALSO, THERE IS STILL TIME TO VOTE FOR US!

VOTE “ENCMPSS.” FOR BEST VIRTUAL PERFORMANCE in Lehigh Valley Style’s Best of 2021!

A vote for ENCMPSS. is a vote for diversity in the arts, a vote for inclusivity, and a vote for just pure entertainment. Your support would mean the world to us!

All you need to do is click on the link below, scroll down to BEST VIRTUAL PERFORMANCE (CATEGORY #114), WRITE IN “ENCMPSS.,” and click done!

CLICK HERE TO VOTE: https://lehighvalleystyle.com/best-of

Thank you! Voting runs through February the 28th. Feel free to join our Facebook group, to never miss an update! ENCMPSS. The Arts Collaborative.

02/15/2021

In case you missed the livestream yesterday of “F*** Love: A Heartbreaking Virtual Cabaret,” you can still watch in full HD here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bWhf4PeHPtM

If you can’t view the full show yet, go to the description to click on your favorite performers timecode and go straight to their performance!

To our wonderful performers, just know that you are valued, you are loved, and you inspire us to create more work of value. This wouldn’t exist without any of you.

ALSO, THERE IS STILL TIME TO VOTE FOR US!

VOTE “ENCMPSS.” FOR BEST VIRTUAL PERFORMANCE in Lehigh Valley Style’s Best of 2021!

A vote for ENCMPSS. is a vote for diversity in the arts, a vote for inclusivity, and a vote for just pure entertainment. Your support would mean the world to us!

All you need to do is click on the link below, scroll down to BEST VIRTUAL PERFORMANCE (CATEGORY #114), WRITE IN “ENCMPSS.,” and click done!

CLICK HERE TO VOTE: https://lehighvalleystyle.com/best-of

Thank you! Voting runs Feb. 1 through the 28th.

The Lehigh Valley's reader-voted survey on the Valley's top businesses.

02/10/2021

Breakup with your other plans THIS VALENTINE’S DAY and tune in to Encmpss.‘s heart-wrenching virtual cabaret. As a gift to our community, we are reducing our ticket price from FREE to MORE FREE. Link will be available soon, but in the meantime, spread the word.

While we still have your attention...

💓 VOTE “ENCMPSS.” FOR BEST VIRTUAL PERFORMANCE in Lehigh Valley Style’s Best of 2021!💓

A vote for Encmpss. is a vote for diversity in the arts, a vote for inclusivity, and a vote for just pure entertainment. Your support would mean the world to us!

All you need to do is click on the link below, scroll down to BEST VIRTUAL PERFORMANCE (CATEGORY #114), WRITE IN “ENCMPSS.,” and click done!

CLICK HERE TO VOTE: https://lehighvalleystyle.com/best-of

Thank you! Voting runs Feb. 1 through the 28th.

02/02/2021

💔 WE ARE STILL ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS THROUGH FEBRUARY 10, 2021 💔

Forget a love song, we want a breakup song instead! Join us for our next virtual livestream project, “F*** Love: A Heartbreaking Cabaret.” What is it that we want to see? We want your favorite breakup songs, don’t need nobody but yourself songs, or your teenage angst making a reappearance! We’re taking mushy and throwing it in the trash. All artists are welcome to submit, it is not just a cabaret exclusive to singing. We are now accepting submissions through February 10, 2021. Only final videos that are completely edited will be considered.

It is imperative that we showcase BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ performers. We strongly encourage you to submit.

Thank you so much! We look forward to all the angst flooding our inbox. Please submit all materials to: [email protected]

The cabaret will stream live on Valentine’s Day at 7PM EST.