October Events

WEDNESDAYS SEPT 23TH -NOV 18TH FROM 9AM-5PM

Coffee’s On Us is a free community space pop-up designed to offer women and gender expansive people a warm, welcoming environment to gather, work, and connect. 

What We Provide:

• Complimentary coffee, tea, and light snacks

• Work tables and seating

• WiFi and device charging stations

• Free period products

• A swap table (contribute/take gently used or new items, unopened & unexpired food, adverts for services or skills)

• Family-friendly amenities

Bechdel Project Open Office Hours with Maria & Jens are from 9am-12pm - no appointment required. Come tell us about your work, brainstorm, learn about resources and hear about our programming!

Thank you to our event sponsors: Bellocq & Joe Coffee!

This incredible program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. We couldn't be more pleased that the DCLA has partnered with us to advance gender equity in the arts and support our initiatives to cultivate new feminist works. 

Accessibility Note:

Bechdel Project is located up two flights of steep stairs. Unfortunately, there is no elevator access, and the space is not ADA accessible.

This event is part of Bechdel Project's Community Space Program, supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. 

SUNDAYS OCT 11TH - NOV 15TH FROM 1:30-2:30

Born from the understanding that many traditional martial arts and boxing gyms are not welcoming spaces for the LGBTQ+ community, People’s Self Defense offers pay-what-you-can self-defense classes primarily for LGBTQ+ and BIPOC folks. Learn to protect yourself and your peers in a safe environment every Thursday (Manhattan) and Sunday (Brooklyn) with techniques from boxing, kickboxing, jiujitsu and more. We are proud to have been running classes for our community for over a year and to now be extending our program through collaboration with The Bechdel Project!

We welcome participants of all skill and experience levels. Whether you are brand new or have some training, we tailor our class to each individual and welcome everyone to speak up if they feel something needs changing or extra guidance is required. Additionally, you do not need funds or equipment to attend class. Pay-what-you-can means just that; if you have nothing to spare, please still attend class! You can also pay as little as $1. PSD does pay to rent space for class, so any donations go directly to rent costs as well as purchasing loaner equipment. Loaner equipment is available for participants to borrow during class and includes boxing gloves, pads, shin guards and more. All you need is yourself and clothes you can move in, although we can source appropriate attire for you too if you can’t afford it.

We only share class details, such as locations and times, in our Signal chat. This is to ensure the safety of our community members and limit class to vetted participants. Please fill out our Google form or dm us on Instagram (@peoples_selfdefense) to be vetted. The safety of our community is of the utmost importance. If you cannot access Signal, we can get class details to you another way once you are vetted, however, we strongly recommend getting Signal if you can as any real-time updates such as class cancellations are communicated via our group chat.

A note on the accessibility of our training spaces: both our Manhattan and upcoming Brooklyn locations have stairs and thus may not be accessible. We hope in the future to be able to achieve our vision with complete accessibility in mind.

This event is part of Bechdel Project's Community Space Program, supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. 

Your lead instructor is a martial artist and self-defense instructor with nearly 2 decades of training. He won his first amateur fight in July of 2026, has trained and taught MMA, Muay Thai, various Kickboxing Styles, and Western Boxing, and holds a 2nd Dan in Tang Soo Do. He loves to engage and understand new systems and has spent most of his life cross-training in other systems, including Brazilian Jiujitsu, Historical German Martial Arts, and Filipino Martial Arts. He believes that self-defense and the learning of it is a right and wishes to provide the highest quality of 

Your assistant instructor is a Personal Trainer and stunt performer with nearly a decade’s experience in fitness, particularly working with those who require greater accessibility to exercise whether due to injury, disability or illness. Her focus in PSD classes is to assist students with injuries or concerns such as hypermobility. They have been training primarily kickboxing for 2.5 years and share the belief that fitness and self-defense are human rights, with goals to reshape the fitness industry through community action and free programs.

Ever wanted to take theater on the road? Curious about the Fringe circuits around the world but unsure about how to dive in? Join self-producing artist Ania Upstill to learn about what goes into taking a show on the road. This workshop is an introduction to what to consider for a Fringe Festival season, from fee structures, application processes, promotion, budgeting ... to how to stay sane!

About Ania: A FIFE CoHo artist in residence and ROO Residency Finalist at Bechdel Project, (they/them) is a queer and trans performer, educator, theatre maker and clown. They primarily create work under their company Butch Mermaid Productions, a transdisciplinary company whose mission is to make queer joy irresistible and contagious. Their work with Butch Mermaid includes How to Become a Saint (While Wearing Pants), a clown theater piece that recently won two awards at Frigid NYC Fringe, and multi-Fringe award winning Transhumance. They have toured work to Edinburgh Fringe, Adelaide Fringe, Philadelphia Fringe, NZ Fringe, NYC Fringe and more.

This workshop is free and open to anyone who would like to come practice dramatic writing. All are welcome - no prior experience is necessary!  Please note the group is focused on women and writers of other marginalized genders.

Turn off your critical mind and follow your interest! This workshop will guide writers of all backgrounds and experience levels to build character through dialogue in a warm, courageous creative environment. Participants will also practice feedback techniques that encourage artists' forward momentum. By the end, you'll have created a full theatrical scene (and choose if you want to hear it performed aloud!) and will have met other creatives in your community who inspire you - the two components you need to start your own writers’ group!