1 What inspired you to start Ring of Keys?
Andrea: As the Co-Founder of Ring of Keys, I was inspired to create this organization in 2018 because there was no existing support or community for the specific demographic Ring of Keys serves—that is of queer women, trans, and nonbinary artists working onstage and off in musical theatre. My co-founder and I, Royer Bockus, met and bonded over our queer identities—specifically as cis queer women performers—during rehearsals for a staged reading. It was thrilling to work with another lesbian performer; it felt rare and new. We were surprised to realize that there were no spaces for our community, and we desired to make this experience more common. “Where are our people?!” we exclaimed.
Prior to this, the director, our mutual friend and a cis gay man, said: “Andrea, I want you to meet Royer.” Then he whispered, “She’s a lesbian,” and he winked and laughed. While he was just being silly, it was indicative to me that we were still quite literally being whispered about and living on the margins.
My slogan is: “musical theatre is so gay but not queer.” Which is to say: we know that theatre is LGBTQ-friendly, but it’s still a space run by cis gay men that centers this gaze. Ring of Keys aims to create a more inclusive musical theatre landscape benefiting all, amplifying the full spectrum of queerness.
The inspiration also grew out of spending many years in audition rooms wishing the people behind the table knew I was gay, but because of the illegality of asking those questions in a job interview, it was challenging to telegraph it. I started Ring of Keys as a problem-solving initiative, living at the intersection of technology and queerness through our outline Directory, a public resource for the theatre industry showcasing our “Keys,” what we call the people we support. Our Directory connects Keys with employment opportunities, showcasing their skills to producers, casting directors, administrators, and potential collaborators nationwide, enhancing their visibility and employment prospects.
2 How has Ring of Keys evolved as an organization since its founding in 2018?
Andrea: The first gathering took place in my living room with a handful of queer artists. I have a theatre and gender studies degree, and I was inspired by the consciousness-raising living room circles of the feminist movement that I studied in college. Royer and I thought Ring of Keys may be a monthly potluck for queer women, trans, and nonbinary artists. But within six months, the Ring of Keys community evolved exponentially into a national network of 200 artists. Today, we represent over 1000+ Keys in 40 US cities, Toronto, and London. My grassroots community-building was driven by our community’s organic need to find an affinity space, to gather with like-minded artists, seek job opportunities, and to connect with other queer collaborators. The organization grew alongside the artists it serves, meeting the desire to foster community engagement and widening public engagement with queer artists and stories.
In 2020 during the pandemic, I became the Founding Executive Director and formalized it into a non-profit artist service organization! I developed a concert series, Queering the Canon, which has become our signature series. Queering the Canon complements canonical musical theatre songs with new works by Key songwriters, celebrating and expanding the canon. This series has successfully held sold-out concerts across New York City and Chicago. To date, Ring of Keys has commissioned 43 new songs to create the future musical theatre canon.
In the last seven years we’ve seen the theatre industry thankfully evolve toward more queer storytelling that amplifies the full spectrum, but that doesn’t mean Ring of Keys should go extinct, since we believe that our affinity space is still a necessary one. I passed the torch as Executive Director and transitioned to Board Chair, and with new leadership, Ring of Keys has evolved to provide more learning and professional development for Keys as well as community-building opportunities. Ring of Keys hosts Open Mic Nights and Queer Community Nights in partnership with regional and off-Broadway theatres like Out of the Box Theatrics and Playwrights Horizons. This programming helps Keys find collaborators and form a network that encourages the collective elevation of queer artists in musical theatre.
Just this past month, our former Executive Director passed the leadership torch to Jess Ducey and Liz Neitge, who joined as co-directors, giving our organization a shared leadership model that represents the collective and the community we foster. Take it away, Jess!
3 What are its current goals?
Jess: I’m looking forward to getting to know our Keys, from the founding members who built this community to those who’ve just joined, and finding out what they need to thrive in this industry and how we can advocate for them. Liz and I are both excited about more programming and events by and for Keys. We want to highlight the myriad skills of all our members and facilitate ways for them to meet and collaborate. I believe that relationship building is vital work in and of itself—when you make space for smart, talented people to meet and connect, magic happens.
A big part of that starts with taking a broad view of musical theatre that goes beyond the artists on stage. Ring of Keys is here for the off- and backstage artists too—the producers, stage managers, designers, directors, choreographers of all stripes, dramaturgs, props artisans, costumers, arrangers, composers, writers, musicians, and more. It takes a village to make musical theatre, and all of those roles are equally important.
On a personal note, I’m especially excited about uplifting choreographers and dancers in our community. Dance was my artistic gateway and can add so much to the spectacle of musical theatre. So, look out for dance numbers at our next Queering the Canon!
4 What are your hopes for Ring of Keys for the next five years?
Jess: To keep growing our community, especially in smaller American towns and in new countries! My first project as co-director at Ring of Keys was producing our inaugural concert in partnership with Prospect Musicals’ IGNITE Festival of new work—Amberland, a beautiful folk musical about queer community in rural America by Will Shishmanian—and it was a great example of “starting as you mean to continue.” Much like artists are not just on stage, queer people are not just in big cities, and I want to celebrate those voices and stories, too.
As we expand our network, I hope it will be easier for new folks to find and join us and build the collaborations and connections that will shape the future of musical theatre. When I first moved to New York in 2022, it was affinity groups built around shared values, identities, and passions—both informal and formal— that helped me find my people and place in this city, and I want Ring of Keys to be that for others.
Given increasing targeting of trans and queer people and artists, we need each other now more than ever. The realities of funding and trying to get your work on stage can make the arts feel like a competitive, zero-sum game that pits artists against each other, but I don’t think it has to be that way! Funding cuts and closures are forcing us to get creative in thinking about how we collaborate, whether that’s co-productions and partnerships or creating new mechanisms for creating, testing, and developing work. I want to move away from the hierarchies and gatekeeping that keep so many people out of the arts, and toward collective models that draw on everyone’s diverse strengths and skills to build a more inclusive and equitable industry for all.
5How can interested dramatists get involved?
Jess: Become a Key (ringofkeys.org/apply)! It’s free, and it’s the entry point into our community. That gets you added to the Directory, where we encourage industry folks to search when looking for particular types of artists (or, more frequently, the tool we use when someone asks us for recommendations). Then, come to our events and make some new friends! Pitch ideas for workshops and gatherings. Tell us what you want to see, and we’ll work with you to find ways to make it happen.
