You may or may not be aware, but there are dark and powerful forces in the universe that seek to break the willpower of artists through a slow war of attrition.

Q: Yikes! What do these infernal monsters want?

A: Why, nothing more or less than to see us give up! To toss aside our youthful creative fire and get salaried jobs, so we may take out big loans on fancy cars and houses and begin filing away money for retirement.

Q: But aren't there national grants and foundations to support the arts?

A: Sure, but far from enough. Thus, these granters are pressured to reward the safest and most easily trackable organizations year after year, such as symphonies or ballets with six- or seven-figure annual budgets. And private foundations aren't even legally required by the IRS to donate more than 5% of their annual holdings every year (crazy right?). So that's exactly what most foundations donate -- five percent. Still, they are frequently held aloft as great engines of charity and patronage, while countless worthy organizations are forced to fight over their pathetically meager scraps.

Q: So what is to be done? Do we simply let young creatives toss aside their passion projects and get "stable" jobs that the world might not even need?

A: No, we support them! But not the way a king supports his royal painter. Because, when an artist depends on just a few large sources for income (grants and large donors), their survival is dependent on these sources continuing to value them. This means that this artist is not making art for the world, they are making art for the ones writing the checks. Survival always comes first.

Instead, we must support artists the way a village supports a farm, with tiny amounts coming consistently from lots of people. Because, like a farm, art feeds people! And it feeds people best when it is free and independent and accessible.

Q: It looks like all three of your Patreon tiers ($2, $3, and $4) offer the same rewards. What's the difference?

A: Nothing. We believe that not everybody always has four dollars to spare. Sometimes, you might just have a couple! And we didn't feel like it felt fair to reward the wealthier people with things that we weren't giving everyone else. Right?

Ok, now that we're on the same page, let's talk about who we are!

[drum roll...]

The Fox & Beggar Theater tells stories about imaginary gardens with real toads in them.

[cymbal crash!]

We explore the spaces between street theatre, dance, circus arts and acrobatics, mask-and-puppet theatre, music, and illustration. The FBT currently and happily resides in Midtown Minneapolis, MN, and is a part of Springboard for the Arts' Incubator Program. Founded in 2013 by Nat Allister, the FBT has performed on the East Coast at the Montford Park Amphitheater, The Orange Peel, The Diana Wortham Theatre, The UNSCA Stevens Center, The Bardo Performing Arts Center, 7 Stages Theatre, The Peace Center, The Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, as well as at LEAF Community Arts and Gratifly Music and Arts Festival. The FBT has performed on the West Coast at Oregon Eclipse Festival, Portland’s Alberta Abbey, and the Lookout Arts Quarry. Our mission is to bring provocative, innovative, and enchanting storytelling to a troubled world, through a broad fusion of both performing and visual arts.