The Playhouse
What is the Playhouse?
The Playhouse is a grassroots community space in Knoxville. It is a space for play: Theatre, arts, crafts, games, dance, circus, improv, and playing with ideas. All events are free.
(On a practical note: The current location is not a longterm venue. It will move when I do, most likely in Summer 2024.)
The Playhouse is a venue for small, countercultural gatherings and communities. It focuses on activism, the arts, and queer community. Other values include physical health, mental health, educational flourishing.
Most events decentre alcohol and drugs. Alcohol is provided, but largely ignored.
Events
Scruffy City Salon
The signature event is the Scruffy City Salon, a monthly countercultural gathering. Every salon explores a different theme.
Acro Jams
The Playhouse is the Winter Space for Knoxville Acro Jams.
All welcome.
No partner needed.
Free instruction.
Handstands, Rehearsals, and Dance
The venue hosts a handstand club and various rehearsals and dances. There is a dance studio, with large mirrors on each wall.
This space can be used, free-of-charge, for community art or health initiatives.
Saph Nights
A series of gatherings for queer women and non-binary people.
Knoxville has very few sapphic spaces, and most queer spaces center on alcohol and late night clubbing. Saph Nights offer an alternative.
Saph nights usually involve an optional group art project, or similar arts activity.
Other Community Uses
Craft nights, massage nights, co-works, activist meetings, rehearsal space, consciousness raising groups, small theatre shows, aerial apparatus shows, big group art projects, and orgasm education through the Orgasm Advice Circle.
Other Uses
The neighbourhood kids comandeer the outdoor spaces. Its their gathering ground.
Regular events
Health: Acro jams, massage nights, and a handstand club.
Community: Craft nights, co-works
Saph nights:
The Playhouse hosts a wide variety of public events
Woman's Discussion Group
Therapeutic Stretching
Philosophy Research Group
A Sample of Scruffy City Salon Themes
Third Spaces
Finding comunity in place
Scale Down
When less is more
The Cycles We Live By
Finding community in time
What Art Does
The roles in our lives
A Sample of Other Events
The Playhouse is a place to be rebelliously cooperative. It asks how to flourish together in welcoming community and constantly experiments with the answers.
This event is designed to try new ideas and share healing arts techniques.
"Healing arts" includes dance, movement, massage, and meditation.
Na'la Phillips (Renegade) and Maddei Collins (Knox Community Street Dance & The Bottom) graciously helped facilitate by providing some activities.
Enter a room. There is a selection of items. Maybe a beach ball, flip chart, and three strong magnets.
As a group, we play with them until we invent a game. We play the game, and move to the next room, where there is another random assortment of objects.
We do this in each room, and co-create a variety of games.
Beltane is the ancient Celtic coming of Summer.
Together we decided how to mark this and co-created a moment of ritual and community.
Flower crowns, tarot, a may pole, fire jumping, releasing bay leaves into the flame, and the traditional Beltane toast.
