Find out why organizations like Intel, Google, Twitter, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Carl Zeiss, Harvard, MIT, and Nokia have all tapped into IA Innovation’s unique and effective training approach to help them continue to be leaders in their space. Now, what can we do for your team? Let us know by contacting bob@iainnovation.com.
Asylum / Emerson College Partnership Proposal
Asylum our 25th season
Emerson College has established itself as the preeminent institution of higher education focusing on the entertainment and comedy industries. It holds a unique and important position in Boston’s cultural landscape. The Asylum has been the leading professional live performance, training and production company that focuses on comedy in Boston and New England for the last 25 years. Structured correctly, we believe that a strategic partnership is a logical pairing that will benefit both of our organizations, students, customers and fans. With small , medium and moonshot approaches to working together, we believe we can develop a mututally beneficial relationship where both institutions can benefit from each other’s experience and expertise. Let’s throw traditional thinking to the wind and create something that can transcend both of our organizations and the arts and entertainment landscape in Boston for the next century. We’re in the business of creativity, so let’s show the world just how bold and creative we are!
We know Emerson values internships as a developmental benefit — as demonstrated by the Los Angeles campus and all the professional opportunities there. By developing similarly meaningful industry opportunities here, we can together provide hands-on experiences to an even greater number of students while they’re in Emerson’s backyard. The Asylum can provide Emerson College’s Comedic Arts majors practical experience with internships at any of our venues and business offices. Getting these students exposure to the “real world” of comedy is an invaluable experience. While Emerson has no shortage of performance spaces, the Asylum and our subsidiaries own multiple venues around Boston. Much like providing students with hands-on internships and professional experience, we can provide students with opportunities to perform at our venues. As students prepare to graduate, it’s critical to encourage students to develop further by performing away from the safety-net of campus. Comedy is about taking risks, and we believe there’s nothing scarier than leaving the confines of your friends and performing for the public.
While the Asylum is known for its improv, sketch, and stand up comedy classes, the training center’s offerings have expanded to include acting, screenwriting, writing for television, acting for camera, voice over, directing for camera, music, and dance. Our goal is to become a landmark institution for performance-focused training. Traditionally, the Asylum’s demographic has been post- college age students looking to pursue creative endeavors for personal development rather than professional. A branded partnership between our organizations would signal to the post-college / adult education student market that there are meaningful opportunities to explore creative pursuits after one has left higher education, or if one has chosen to not pursue higher education at all. How does this benefit Emerson? By jointly marketing these classes, a revenue sharing plan can be put in place. Secondly, when students inquire about classes unavailable to them, Emerson will now have a logical place to direct them. Lastly, as the Asylum Performance Institute continues to grow, this will afford Emerson faculty an avenue to generate income for themselves, as they will be able to work as teachers within our organization.
Beyond the immediate opportunities for Emerson’s student body, there are other opportunities to explore that can benefit both institutions — namely a co-branded comedy festival. While the Boston Comedy Festival is an annual event, their acts don’t get any major venues, as there’s little incentive to co-produce such a production. For example, Improv Asylum and Laugh Boston are generally sold out or at near capacity, so why split the revenue? Now imagine a major industry comedy festival that leverage Asylum’s working professional relationships and Emerson’s long and storied alumni network — together we could produce a festival that is appealing to audiences, industry and sponsors alike. A high profile festival would also be a fantastic marketing vehicle for both of our brands. Beyond a festival, one off and signature events can be co-produced throughout the year. From talks by Emerson alum to secret shows, industry networking events and more, both Emerson and the Asylum can provide immense value to our students beyond just the typical classroom setting.
In addition to being at the center of the comedy scene in Boston, New York, and — somehow inexplicably — Louisville, Kentucky, The Asylum is also in the process of becoming a major player in production and casting for comedy. Our alums have gone on to write, direct, perform in, and produce major tv shows, feature films — some of their most recent credits include Saturday Night Live and Shrinking on Apple TV+ — and we’re looking to deepen the pipeline even further. So we’re making moves. We’ve recently acquired one of Boston’s most established casting agencies and we’re rebranding it and bringing it in-house to complement the full suite of classes. We believe that getting the practical experience required to land these jobs begins here and now.
While Improv Asylum is a landmark of Boston’s North End, and Laugh Boston established an early foothold in the Seaport, our latest space is in the center of Boston’s historic Faneuil Hall . The Asylum CoLab was developed in response to the growing need for additional classroom, performance and meeting spaces.
With over sixteen thousand square feet, the CoLab features:
• Classrooms • Podcast Studios • Editing Bays • Voice Over Rooms • Large Meeting Rooms • Multi-Purpose Function Spaces
We have a pitch so wild, so audacious, so out of the box in its thinking, that if executed together with Emerson, it could change both the theoretical and physical landscape of the City of Boston for the next one hundred years. But like any good story, we’re going to end with a cliff hanger! This concept is best pitched “in the room.” So we will leave you with this tantalizing idea, and when the time is right, we can meet in person and blow your mind. We believe the creative arts, both in terms of the talent and business ends, is a growth industry. Emerson College and the Asylum can forge a meaningful and mutually beneficial relationship for our institutions, our students and even the City of Boston. The talent and expertise that each organization brings to the table is undeniable. Together, we can lead the next generation of comedic talent and remind the rest of the country that Boston is a comedy town. We look forward to taking the next steps with Emerson College. And don’t forget about that Moonshot. To Be Continued…
Page 1 Page 2-3 Page 4-5 Page 6-7 Page 8-9 Page 10-11 Page 12-13 Page 14-15 Page 16Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog