Laughter brings us together, even when we're apart. Each June, the Arcade Comedy Theater community comes together to celebrate Pride Month. While Arcade may be temporarily closed due to COVID-19 for in-person fun, we're still focused on providing laughs for all online! Donations made to this page for Pride Month will be used to support both Arcade's Diversity Scholarship and Arcade's operations during its temporary closure due to COVID-19. 

Specifically, 50% of the donations to this page will be used to support the next cohort of Diversity Scholarship recipients at the Arcade Academy, and the other 50% will be used to support Arcade's operational costs during its continued closure due to COVID-19. We want to build up our resources for the future of this important Arcade Academy initiative while supporting our current operations as we prepare to safely reopen to the public.

We know that not everyone is financially able to lend their support right now and that there are many causes to aid. We are grateful for any and all donations given through this page and love seeing positive messages on our social media. Your continued support and sharing of this page makes a huge difference each week--you can use bit.ly/ArcadePrideAtHome! You'll notice there is an option to set recurring monthly donations after you click the "Make A Donation" button--if you are financially able to do so, setting up a monthly donation offers us a way to monitor donation income in a stable way to help plan for our future. And yes, monthly donations set up through this campaign page will count toward 50% Diversity Scholarship support and 50% operational support in the months to come.

If you are able to contribute, share this page, or just enjoy some of our virtual content, we'd love to stay connected with all of you during this time. Sending you love and laughs from Arcade's Board and Staff. Stay well, friends! 

About Arcade Pride Month

Arcade Comedy Theater values queer voices. On our stages, in our classes, and working here behind the scenes. In honor of Pride Month, we are shining a bigger spotlight on the amazing comedic artists in the LGBTQIA+ community. Productions listed on this page are produced by or star queer artists from all over the Pittsburgh comedy community. Arcade strives to be an inclusive and welcoming space for everyone, as it’s the only way to truly elevate and advance the art of comedy. Laughs for all!

Arcade Pride at Home shows will include:

• DONATELLA
• LGBTQBert
• Knights of the Arcade: Pride Edition
• and more to be announced!
  

About the Arcade Diversity Scholarship

Arcade Comedy Theater launched its first scholarship opportunity in December 2019, for the Academy session beginning in January 2020: The Arcade Diversity Scholarship. Scholarship recipients receive a full education in improv comedy, which includes five 8-week sessions of classes, a value of $1,125. Upon completion of the program, these students have the opportunity to be placed on a regularly-performing Arcade Student Team. Throughout the student’s time in classes, they will learn lessons that build confidence in public speaking, collaboration, and creative expression — all while being immersed in Arcade’s community of performing artists. The goal is to train a new generation of comedic artists that will work and play in Pittsburgh as part of Arcade Comedy Theater’s premier comedy institution. While Arcade had originally planned to offer two scholarships for the first opportunity of this program, the Scholarship Committee ultimately awarded four scholarships for its first round of recipients in December 2019 to better our community and our artistic product with these individuals being part of it.

We believe that the best comedy reflects the diverse world in which it is presented, and we are dedicated to making our stages representative of our community. Applicants for the Arcade Diversity Scholarship may include people of color, the LGBTQIA+ community, people with mixed physical ability, the neurodivergent community, and other underrepresented groups that may not have access to invest in a comedy education. The Arcade Diversity Scholarship provides an opportunity for underrepresented voices in Pittsburgh to learn, practice, and perform comedy on the Arcade stage.

About Arcade's Temporary COVID-19 Closure

Due to the rapidly evolving nature of the national and local response to COVID-19, Arcade Comedy Theater decided to postpone or cancel all programming and classes starting on March 13th. We are eager to re-open our doors, and our team is committed to doing so as soon as we are permitted and recommended to do so. We will share a re-open date as soon as we have one, but rest assured we want to hear your laughter soon. The safety of our patrons, staff, students and artists is our top priority. The staff at Arcade will continue to monitor the situation closely, and look forward to welcoming you back into our theater as soon as we can. Stay tuned to our Facebook, Twitter, or website for the latest updates about our schedule. You can also check out our Community Update video from April 13th: Checking in with Our Community: April 2020.

The impact of this closure is immense, as Arcade is a bustling comedy community full of performances, events, classes, and rehearsals each and every week. During this hiatus, Arcade has had to cancel or postpone 149 primetime productions, 8 Penny Arcade children's shows, 25 class shows, 7 corporate events and rentals, 23 workshops, 158 classes, 4 kids camp class sessions, 2 birthday parties, 4 Pop-Up Nights, and 140 rehearsals.

Arcade has pivoted to online shows, classes, and workshops throughout the closure of physical operations. More information about upcoming online events can be found on Arcade Comedy Theater's website. As of May 28th, Arcade has presented 20 online shows to 2,986 viewers, and 8 online classes and workshops to 69 students.