What is "indie theater?" Martin Denton, founder of nytheatre.com, offers this definition:

* Indie theater is cheap art.
* Indie theater is diverse - by, for, and about people of every stripe.
* Indie theater looks backward, foreword, sideways, at itself, in every direction.
* Indie theater takes risks.
* Indie theater challenges audiences, its creators, and, most important, the status quo.
* Indie theater is entertainment.
* Indie theater is political.

In other words, indie theater is for those of us who love theater, who are physically and emotionally bound to express ourselves and our societies through it, but who - like the indie musicians and filmmakers before us - cannot or do not wish to do so through mainstream channels. We want to trouble, challenge and provoke. Like mainstream theater, we also want to entertain. But entertainment cannot come at the expense of social thought. Nor can artists depend on a handful of institutions to represent our diversity.

This group is a place for dialogue and debate - about our values as artists, our experiences of making art, and the challenges we face as independent artists and companies. It is also a place for sharing our successes and - most importantly - for building community.