Confidential · Spring 2026
An Invitation to Invest
Los Angeles · Edinburgh · The World

We are still
here.
We are still
making.

Family Affairs Studio is a cultural production company developing original performances, publications, and live experiences rooted in queer life, critical inquiry, and the stubborn belief that ambitious storytelling has a home in Los Angeles. This summer, we are taking two productions to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Total Campaign $195,000 Across five initiatives · Gifts & investment welcome
01 02 03 04 05 06 07
Join the Family →

The story

01 / 07
Bottoming for Jesus — Michael with arms raised, audience seen from behind, warm golden stage light

"We didn't leave. We built the infrastructure ourselves."

The world is contracting. Books are being banned. Queer, Trans, and Black voices are being legislated out of libraries, out of classrooms, out of public life. And the infrastructure that was supposed to protect ambitious cultural work was already failing before the politics caught up. Spaces close. Organizations collapse. Artists leave, or stop making work, or keep making work inside systems that extract their value and offer nothing back.

This is not new. What is new is the scale of it, and the speed, and the silence.

Family Affairs Studio is a counter-argument. Founded in Los Angeles in 2021, at the end of a decade of building and operating cultural infrastructure in this city, we made a decision to stay, to build, and to make the work we believe the world actually needs. Not because the conditions were right. Because we were done being extracted from and watching the value leave the room. We believe artists deserve stability, homes, families, health care, wealth, and that the way to get there is to own the infrastructure, own the work, and build a company where the value stays with the people who create it.

We own and operate LINT, a 10,000-square-foot production house in Downtown Los Angeles. We develop original performances and touring works. We hold the rights. We fund our own operations through consulting. We have two productions going to Edinburgh Fringe in August 2026. We are not going anywhere.

This is an invitation to be part of what we're building.

15+
Years of production
6
Works in development
3
Production studios, Downtown Los Angeles
$400K
Annual revenue, NAVEL (2017–2024)
2
Productions at Edinburgh 2026
$216K
Gross revenue, Family Affairs Studio 2022–2026

"An audacious but essential work of art."

Willamette Weekly on Bottoming for Jesus
Mandy Harris Williams performing Critique Cabaret — full stage, audience, haze, and theatrical lighting at LINT

The model

02 / 07

Family Affairs Studio is a production company that funds itself. Three engines (consulting, venue, and touring) are active today. Interdependent by design: each one makes the others more valuable and more sustainable.

LINT production house interior — wide open space with piano, plants, and natural light streaming in
Active
Engine 01 · Work◆Flow for Humans
Consulting
70–80% margin · Proven client base

Organizational design consulting for creative studios and mission-driven organizations. Generates operating capital at high margin. Proven client base: Rauschenberg Foundation, LA Commons, Denniston Hill, Angels Gate Cultural Center.

Year 1 range: $34–79K.

What it funds

Michael's time to develop productions. Studio development costs. Bridge capital between touring deals.

Active
Engine 02 · LINT
Venue & Infrastructure
50/50 STR split · 3-year lease secured

10,000+ sq ft in Downtown Los Angeles, co-operated with Studio 3XP, a Los Angeles-based production and fabrication company. Short-term rental revenue split 50/50 with LINT LLC. Not a profit center; a cost reducer. Family Affairs Studio productions rehearse and develop here at near-zero marginal cost.

Family Affairs Studio share: $12–18K annual venue revenue.

What it funds

Reduces production development cost by $5–10K per work. Enables residencies that build the programming pipeline.

Igniting
Engine 03 · Original Productions
Touring IP
40–60% margin · Edinburgh is the ignition

Two original works in the pipeline. Bottoming for Jesus, a queer solo performance by Michael R. Speciàle, has sold out runs in Los Angeles, Portland, and Pennsylvania. Critique Cabaret, a performance-lecture by Mandy Harris Williams, was commissioned by Performance Space New York (December 2025). Edinburgh Fringe puts both works in front of every international presenter who matters in one month. One presenting deal = $15–25K. Three deals = self-sustaining engine. Highest-ceiling revenue line in the company.

Year 1 range: $15–40K.

What it funds

Artist salaries. Development of next works. Touring costs for subsequent runs. International profile that drives commissions.

FAMILY AFFAIRS STUDIO FLYWHEEL WORK◆FLOW Consulting $34–79K Y1 LINT Venue $12–18K Y1 TOURING Original IP $15–40K Y1 Funds time Reduces cost Builds profile

Work◆Flow for Humans consulting funds the time to make productions. LINT reduces the cost to develop them. Edinburgh press generates presenting relationships. Presenting fees fund the next works. Each cycle, the company becomes more self-sustaining and less dependent on any single revenue line. Without any touring revenue, consulting and venue operations alone sustain the company at current levels. Edinburgh is an accelerant, not a dependency.

Camera operator filming inside LINT — projection, mannequin, production in progress
Beyond the Stage

Our roots are in theatre. We believe in live performance as the last true space for civic debate. But we are not limiting ourselves to the stage. Our IP is built for the screen. Our team has the film and television experience to develop our works across formats. We are investing in ourselves as filmmakers and content creators, because we believe our stories deserve the widest possible audience with the greatest possible control over how they reach the world.

The economics

03 / 07

Family Affairs Studio is not a startup. Since 2022, the company has generated $216K in gross revenue at a 62% net margin: lean by design, principal-led, low overhead. We are seeking $195K as bridge capital towards sustainability, not startup capital.

Actual Performance · 2022–2026, Cash Basis, QuickBooks
Line 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 YTD
Gross Revenue $20,098 $74,053 $59,484 $45,952 $16,793
Total Expenses $11,010 $17,861 $22,528 $26,465 $4,810
Net Income $9,088 $56,192 $36,957 $19,487 $11,983

Four-year totals: $216K gross · $83K total expenses · $134K net · 62% blended net margin. 2026 YTD (10 weeks) annualizes to ~$87K gross. Source: Family Affairs Studio QuickBooks, cash basis.

2023
Peak Year · $74K

Consulting drove the year, with two major institutional clients generating the bulk of revenue at strong margins showing the model works and the rates hold. This was also a year of dual focus: winding down a seven-year run co-founding and operating NAVEL, a non-profit, independent artist space in Downtown Los Angeles, while building the consulting practice simultaneously.

2024–25
Transition Years · $105K combined

Two years of deliberate transition: building out LINT as a production house, developing and touring Bottoming for Jesus, and doing the methodological work of separating Work◆Flow for Humans from Family Affairs Studio as distinct practices. Case study work with major clients during this period was foundational. Margins held and overhead stayed lean.

2026
Recovery Arc · ~$87K annualized

First 10 weeks annualize to ~$87K gross. Meaningful recovery with LINT now operational, Bottoming for Jesus touring, and Work◆Flow for Humans pipeline rebuilding. Edinburgh is the next inflection point.

Three-Year Forward Projection
Engine Year 1 · 2026 Year 2 · 2027 Year 3 · 2028
Work◆Flow for Humans $34–79K $80–120K $100–200K
LINT Venue Revenue (Family Affairs Studio share) $12–18K $20–35K $35–50K
Original Productions $15–40K $60–120K $100–180K
Total Revenue $61–137K $160–275K $235–430K

Year 1 Work◆Flow for Humans reflects conservative pipeline conversion; actual ceiling ~$150K at full utilization, proven by 2023 performance. Productions revenue assumes 4–6 post-Edinburgh presenting deals at $8–15K average. LINT reflects confirmed 3-year lease and 50/50 STR split. Year 3 high assumes 2–3 active touring works generating multiple annual presenting deals.

The landscape

04 / 07

There is no direct competitor to Family Affairs Studio. The organizations that come closest each occupy one part of what we do. None hold all three: a consulting practice that funds operations, controlled production infrastructure at favorable lease terms, and a touring IP catalog with international press. Family Affairs Studio sits in a white space between four adjacent categories.

LINT operates under a long-term lease at significantly below-market rates in Downtown Los Angeles, providing over 10,000 square feet of production space. That structural cost advantage compounds across every production we develop.

A24
Aspirational Comp · Film
A24

Founded 2012 as a distributor with no original content. Built a brand synonymous with uncompromising artistic voice. Became the first independent studio to sweep all major Oscar categories. Revenue model: distribution fees → production → IP ownership → cultural brand equity.

What Family Affairs Studio shares: Strong aesthetic identity, director-driven work, uncompromising voice, brand-building ahead of commercial pressure.

Key difference: Family Affairs Studio is in live performance and cultural production, a space A24 doesn't play in. No equivalent company exists at Family Affairs Studio's scale in this lane.

PSNY
Sector Peer · Performance
Performance Space New York

40+ years commissioning the most rigorous experimental performance in the country. Commissioned Critique Cabaret (December 2025). Operating model: nonprofit, grant-dependent, perpetually underfunded. Cannot own IP. Cannot tour without co-presenters.

What Family Affairs Studio shares: Programming sensibility, rigor, queer cultural centrality.

Key difference: Family Affairs Studio is structured to own the work it commissions and follow it all the way to Edinburgh and beyond. PSNY commissions work it cannot follow into the world.

SF
Hybrid Practice Model
Superflux

Design and futures studio founded 2009. Operates as both consultancy and art practice: client work funds the research; the research drives the reputation that commands client fees. Exhibits at MoMA and V&A while billing major technology companies and public sector clients globally.

What Family Affairs Studio shares: The hybrid model: consulting funds the creative practice, creative practice elevates the consulting brand.

Key difference: Superflux operates in speculative design, not live performance. No touring IP catalog, no venue infrastructure. Family Affairs Studio occupies the same structural position in an entirely different and underserved field.

AG
Community-Funded Model · Entertainment
Angel Studios & the Angel Guild

A film and TV studio that built a community-funded model through the Angel Guild, a membership program where fans invest in and greenlight projects. Produced The Chosen and Sound of Freedom. Revenue model: community investment → production → distribution → returns to members.

What Family Affairs Studio shares: The belief that audiences and supporters can be participants, not just consumers. Membership as the primary entry point. Community funds the work; the work builds the community.

Key difference: Angel Studios operates at massive scale in film/TV with faith-based content. Family Affairs Studio is building the same structural logic at a smaller scale in live performance and cultural production — the entertainment-industry precedent for what we're building.

A privately held cultural production company that funds its own operations through consulting, controls its own production infrastructure through favorable long-term lease terms, and develops original IP with international touring potential. All without requiring a donor class, a grant cycle, or an institutional parent to survive. That combination does not exist elsewhere at Family Affairs Studio's scale in queer performance and cultural production. It is a structural choice, not an accident.

Five initiatives

05 / 07
01
$50K
Edinburgh Fringe 2026
Priority · Time-Sensitive
Bottoming for Jesus & Critique Cabaret
at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Edinburgh Fringe is the world's largest arts festival with 3,500+ shows across 300 venues over four weeks in August. It concentrates the global performing arts industry in one place: press, programmers, international bookers, and audiences from every corner of the world, in one city, for one month.

Family Affairs Studio returns to Edinburgh Fringe 2026 (having co-produced Lottie Platchett there in 2022) with two productions. Bottoming for Jesus, Michael R. Speciàle's queer coming-of-faith solo performance, follows sold-out runs in Los Angeles, Portland, and Honcho Campout (Pennsylvania) and makes its Edinburgh debut. Critique Cabaret, created and performed by Mandy Harris Williams featuring Michael R. Speciàle, creatively produced by Family Affairs Studio and originally commissioned and presented by Performance Space New York, is planned alongside. Together, we share costs, share audiences, and present two of the most urgent voices in contemporary performance in the same Edinburgh season.

Bottoming for Jesus performance — purple theatrical lighting, confetti, triumphant moment on stage
  • Bottoming for Jesus: $50,000 covers venue (Zoo Venues), production, travel, housing, press, and marketing for August 7–30, 2026
  • Critique Cabaret: additional $15,000 (costs reduced by co-presenting together)
  • Success at Edinburgh directly drives future touring, presenting deals, and press coverage
  • Deadline: funding confirmed by May 2026
  • Raised to date: $15,000 committed from angel investor
  • "An audacious but essential work of art." — Willamette Weekly on Bottoming for Jesus
  • Watch the trailer →
  • bottomingforjesus.com →
Time-Sensitive
August
2026
02
$50K
Infrastructure investment
Production Infrastructure
LINT Production Upgrades
Infrastructure for Ambitious Storytelling

LINT is our production house in Downtown Los Angeles with 10,000+ square feet across three studios, co-operated with Studio 3XP. Now booking through 2029. It is the physical foundation of everything we make and the resource we offer to other artists making ambitious work in Los Angeles.

We are still here. We are investing in the infrastructure that lets ambitious storytellers (the ones who didn't leave) make work at the highest level. This upgrade fund covers lighting infrastructure, sound reinforcement, and the full build-out of our Black Box as a dedicated content, production, podcast, and small performance studio. The city needs this space. We are building it.

LINT Black Box — purple and magenta projection orb on raw concrete, production equipment on floor
  • Lighting and rigging infrastructure for theatrical and film production
  • Black Box build-out: dedicated content, podcast, recording, and intimate performance studio
  • Production equipment available to resident artists at no or reduced cost
  • Directly enables the artist production fund (Initiative 03)
Ongoing
2026–
2027
03
$30K
Annual production fund
Artist Support
Family Affairs Studio Artist Production Fund
Hosting the Work That Needs to Exist

A curatorial production fund for work Family Affairs Studio believes in. This gives us the ability to host 1–2 artists or companies per quarter at LINT, invest in their development, cover production costs, and co-produce work we want to see in the world.

This is not a grant program with a committee and an application portal. It is a production company with resources and relationships, investing in specific artists and projects we believe in. We are acquiring rights, seeding development, and making strategic investments in work that aligns with our vision.

Mandy Harris Williams — close-up in sequin dress, blue and purple haze, Critique Cabaret
  • 4–8 artists or companies hosted annually at LINT
  • Access to studio space, production support, and Family Affairs Studio network
  • Documentation and relationship-building that feeds Family Affairs Studio's own development slate
Annual
Year-
round
04
$35K
Seed funding
Open Infrastructure
SpaceFlow
Open-Source Infrastructure for Creative Spaces

SpaceFlow is an open-source infrastructure project emerging from over a decade of operating independent creative spaces. It represents the accumulated operational knowledge of what it actually takes to run a space sustainably. We are building it as a shared resource for spaces like ours around the world.

The seed fund covers the first phase of development: documentation, community building, and the technical infrastructure to share the tools we've built. We are actively seeking grant funding for SpaceFlow's first phase of development, with applications in progress to Annenberg Foundation, Metabolic Studios, Krupp Family Foundation, Perenchio Foundation, and Snap Foundation.

  • Open-source operational tools for independent creative spaces globally
  • Rooted in 10+ years of hands-on Los Angeles arts space operation
  • Grant applications in progress: Annenberg, Metabolic Studios, Krupp, Perenchio, Snap Foundation
  • The legacy play: what outlasts any individual organization
Year One
2026
05
$30K
Methodology development
Methodology & Education
Work◆Flow for Humans
Teaching Other Producers What We've Learned

Work◆Flow for Humans is our organizational design practice for creative entrepreneurs and mission-driven organizations. The methodology was developed from a decade of building and operating complex cultural institutions. We help organizations understand what's actually broken before they spend money fixing the wrong thing.

We are seeking grant funding to support the formalization of the Work◆Flow Method as an open, teachable framework: workshops, training programs, and documentation that disseminates what we've learned to the field. Target funders include Kresge, Surdna, and Hewlett foundations.

  • Methodology codification and open documentation
  • Workshop and training program development for creative studios and mission-driven teams
  • Case study publication from founding clients
  • Grant-ready framework for Kresge, Surdna, Hewlett applications
Ongoing
2026–
2027
Full Campaign Total
$195,000

If you fund one thing, fund Edinburgh (May 2026 deadline). If you fund two, add LINT. The Artist Production Fund, SpaceFlow, and Work◆Flow methodology are actively pursuing grant funding and are included here for donors who want to support the full vision. All five initiatives can be funded independently. We are also open to conversations about investment structures, naming, and multi-year partnerships. The company targets full self-sufficiency from earned revenue by end of 2027. Individual productions will continue to seek project-specific funding, as is standard across the film and theater industries.

Who we are

06 / 07
Michael R. Speciàle — portrait with laser and theatrical light
Michael R. Speciàle
Founder · Director · Performer

Artist, performer, and systems architect. MA in Performing Arts Administration, NYU Steinhardt/Stern School of Business. Over a decade of production and institutional experience in Los Angeles. Co-founder and Executive Director of NAVEL (2017–2024). Formerly Assistant Director of Loyalty Marketing at Lincoln Center. Founder of Family Affairs Studio. Creator of Bottoming for Jesus, Love Letters from AI, and Ekstasis.

Mandy Harris Williams — overhead portrait on checkered floor
Mandy Harris Williams
Artist · Director · Cultural Critic

Multimedia artist and cultural critic. Harvard University (History of the African Diaspora). Her practice interrogates digital culture, Blackness, and the politics of care and visibility. Work presented at the Moving Picture Biennial at Centre d'Art Contemporain Genève, MOCA Geffen Contemporary, and Paula Cooper Gallery. Creator and performer of Critique Cabaret, commissioned by Performance Space New York (December 2025).

Spenser Theberge — seated studio portrait
Spenser Theberge
Director · Choreographer · Movement Director

Multi-hyphenate performer, creator, and educator. Juilliard graduate, Princess Grace Award winner, and former dancer with Nederlands Dans Theater I & II and The Forsythe Company. Creations commissioned and presented by LA Dance Project, The Broad Museum, and the Philip Glass Days & Nights Festival. Movement director for Taylor Swift, Rihanna's Savage x Fenty, Ben Platt, and the NY Times Magazine. Faculty at CalArts and first-ever Artist in Residence at The Juilliard School. Creative director of Bottoming for Jesus.

Win Mixter — full body portrait with green neon light and red slatted background
Win Mixter
Visual Designer · Creative Producer · Artist

Visual designer, creative producer, and artist. MArch, UC Berkeley; BFA, UCLA. Practice spans graphic identity, spatial design, and experimental image-making. Contributes visual direction and creative production across Family Affairs Studio projects.

Chris Cruse — teal-lit portrait
Chris Cruse
Creative Producer · Music · Spotlight Records

Creative producer, DJ, and cultural archivist. Studied film at USC. Founder of Spotlight Records and Queer Maps, an interactive archive of 1,000+ LGBTQ+ spaces in Los Angeles featured in The Guardian with references from The New York Times and The Getty. Collaborated with Honey Dijon on the Stonewall Visitor Center (NYC, 2024). Regular at Panorama Bar (Berlin). Has collaborated on numerous Family Affairs Studio projects and independently produced world-class events at the intersection of culture and music.

Studio 3XP — Cory and Brandon working together on a cherry picker in the woods
Studio 3XP
Design · Fabrication · Co-Operator, LINT

Full-service design and fabrication studio co-founded by Cory Fisher and Brandon Loyd. Co-operator of LINT in Downtown Los Angeles. Specializes in immersive environments, stage design, and custom fabrication for live events and brand experiences. Clients include Spotify, LA Pride Festival, Electric Forest, and Honcho Campout.

Track record

Selected Work · 2022–2026
Mandy Harris Williams performing Critique Cabaret with triple screens at Performance Space New York
Performance Space New York
Critique Cabaret

Mandy Harris Williams's performance-lecture commissioned and presented by one of New York's most respected performance institutions. December 2025.

Michael R. Speciàle performing with microphone, laughing, closeup during Bottoming for Jesus
Tour · Edinburgh Fringe 2026
Bottoming for Jesus

Michael R. Speciàle's queer solo performance. Sold-out runs in Los Angeles, Portland, and Honcho Campout (Pennsylvania). Edinburgh Fringe 2026. "An audacious but essential work of art." — Willamette Weekly. International bookings in development.

Three performers in green light during Lottie Platchett Took a Hatchet, Edinburgh Fringe 2022
Assembly Festival, Edinburgh Fringe 2022
Lottie Platchett Took a Hatchet

Five-star reviews. Family Affairs Studio co-production at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Established the company's international presence and Edinburgh track record.

Family Affairs Studio · 2022–2026
$216K Gross Revenue
62% Net Margin
$134K Net Income

Four years of actual P&L. Principal-led, low overhead, no bloat. Source: QuickBooks, cash basis.

Downtown Los Angeles
LINT
10K+ Sq Ft
3 Studios
3yr Lease

Production infrastructure in Downtown Los Angeles. Available to Family Affairs Studio artists and the broader production community.

Work◆Flow for Humans
Organizational Design Practice

Rauschenberg Foundation

LA Commons

Denniston Hill

Angels Gate Cultural Center

LinkIt Media Group

The Nest Creatives

LINT

Dandelion Medicine Liberation Coop

Clients spanning foundations, cultural centers, media companies, cooperatives, and artist collectives.

Ways to participate

07 / 07

Two clear tracks. Pick the one that fits. Every contribution is acknowledged and every supporter is brought into the work. The simplest way to start: monthly membership at $20/mo or $50/mo — the primary entry point to the Family Affairs Studio community.

Track A Give

Patronage. You believe in the work and want to support it. Gifts can be directed to specific initiatives (Edinburgh, LINT, Artist Production Fund) or to the organization broadly. Fiscal sponsorship is available for Edinburgh and production-related gifts, enabling tax-deductible contributions through our nonprofit partners.

$500–
$2,500
Friend of Family Affairs Studio

You believe in this work. Your contribution goes directly to making it happen.

  • Named in production programs
  • Invitation to Family Affairs Studio events and openings
  • Annual update on the work
$2,500–
$10,000
Production Partner

You're making specific work possible. Name the initiative you care about.

  • Named as production partner for specific initiative
  • Private dinner with the Family Affairs Studio team
  • Edinburgh updates and press coverage
  • Reserved seats at all Family Affairs Studio productions
$10,000+
Lead Patron

You are foundational to what we're building. Your contribution opens a real relationship with the organization and its leadership.

  • Named as lead supporter of specific initiative
  • Annual advisory conversation with Michael
  • Private event at LINT for you and guests
  • First access to new works and Edinburgh trip coordination
Track B Lend
Recommended
Bridge Capital
Simple loan · Clear terms · Defined return
10%
Annual Interest
3 yr
Term

You lend the company capital. We pay you back with interest. Simple, dignified, and defined. This is bridge capital toward sustainability — the company targets full self-sufficiency from earned revenue by end of 2027.

  • Repaid from company revenue (consulting, venue, touring)
  • Minimum $5,000 · No maximum
  • All patronage perks from Track A included at corresponding tier
  • If you prefer to give instead, waive the repayment and it becomes a gift
Structure note: Family Affairs Studio is an LLC, not a 501(c)(3). Bridge loans are formalized with a simple promissory note. Gifts are not tax-deductible unless directed to Edinburgh or production initiatives through our fiscal sponsorship partners, which can enable tax-deductible contributions. For project-specific co-production investment (backend participation in individual works like Bottoming for Jesus), see the BFJ investment page.
Join the Family →

Memberships from $20/month · One-time gifts · Bridge capital

Be part
of what
we're building.

hi@familyaffairs.studio
Michael R. Speciàle
Family Affairs Studio
Los Angeles, California
familyaffairs.studio
Join the Family → Get in Touch →

The most urgent ask is Edinburgh. May 2026 deadline. All other initiatives are ongoing.