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CLICK HERE!!! To hear Neil Gaiman talk about the 5 stories we're adapting to the stage for OCTOBER IN THE CHAIR...
In the event that you should find yourself in a fairytale, remember:
Never ignore the advice of the talking Raven,
Don’t ever literally give your heart as a Valentine,
The Phoenix is the best Last Meal you’ll ever have,
And Little boys always like adventure; especially the dead ones.
Join OldSoundRoom performance ensemble for “October in the Chair and other Fragile Things,” 60 magical minutes of the unlikely happenings and absurdist humor of Neil Gaiman’s short stories.
OldSoundWhaaat?
OldSoundRoom was founded in 2013 by recent graduates & current students of the Yale School of Drama, all of whom share a working process and an artistic vision to create exciting and original theater. In the fifteen months since our founding, we've done two shows in three countries...
Our inaugural production, OldSoundRoom LEAR was our aggressive adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear. The Production utilized his words, frenzied movement set to original beat-driven music, and new text culled from interviews with residents from the Lillian Booth/Actors Fund Assisted Living Facility. OSR Lear dealt with generational division and asked the questions: What do we owe our elders, what do they owe us, and what can we learn from one another? The show was featured in both Playbill & American Theatre Magazine.
Our second production Machine Makes Man (a show inspired by the writings of futurist Ray Kurzweil) debuted at the Amsterdam Fringe Festival, where it won the Gold Prize for International Performance, the highest honor for which it was eligible.
"Thrown into a crisis of confidence when his wife Milly falls pregnant, mechanic Jeffrey Kramer volunteers for a human trial of so-called “accelerated learning technology”, conducted by the US government’s military technology research institute, DARPA, chiefly so that he has something to teach his child “other than car engines”. Things start to go awry for the Kramers when Jeffrey quits the program and delves deeper into his existential angst." - Cue, Grahamstown, South Africa.
Based on it's success in Amsterdam, MMM was invited to The National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa, where it ran to sold out houses and received heaps of amazing press.
WHAT'S NEXT?!?!?!
OSR has been invited to return to the Amsterdam Fringe Festival this September, where we will debut our brand new show, OCTOBER IN THE CHAIR and Other Fragile Things.
Adapted from short stories by award-winning author, Neil Gaiman, OCTOBER IN THE CHAIR... is a 5-actor, 25-character show, with original music, masks, puppets, replete with all the macabre mischief & child-like wonder of Mr. Gaiman's writing.
After premiering the show in Amsterdam, OSR will be making their off-Broadway debut. With support from the powerhouse NYC-based marketing & producing entity, the ARACA Group, OCTOBER IN THE CHAIR... will have a week-long run at the American Theatre of Actors in the heart of midtown Manhattan, appropriately enough, just in time for Halloween.
We are very fortunate to have such wonderful support from Neil himself, who has even gone so far as to create several original pieces of art for us to offer as donor rewards for this kickstarter campaign. More on that in the rewards section.
BUDGET EXPLANATION & STRETCH GOALS!!!
artist fees: $400 per week x 6 (4 performers, 1 director, 1 stage manager) x 6 weeks // $14,400
rights for the material, generously discounted by Mr. Gaiman: // $1500 // ***PAID IN FULL FROM LAST YEAR'S PROCEEDS!
designer fees: 2 designers (lights and costume+scenic) x $1,000 // $2,000 // ***PAID IN FULL FROM LAST YEAR'S PROCEEDS!
airfare to the Amsterdam premier: $1,000 x 5 (4 performers, 1 director/musician) // $5,000 // ***GENEROUSLY DONATED BY THE AMSTERDAM FRINGE!
rehearsal space: $1,000 per week x 5 weeks // $5,000 // ***GENEROUSLY DONATED BY SCOTT FREEMAN!
contingency budget for incidental costs // $600
PRE STRETCH TOTAL: $15,000
***STRETCH GOALS***
lighting budget: rental of a basic lighting package to install at the Theatre of Actors in October // $2,000
costume construction budget: fabric and sewing materials // $1,000
set budget: building materials and hardware // $1,500
publicity: ads, posters, hand bills, online content, publicist // $2,000
higher artist fees: paying everyone a little better than the bare bones NYC living wage we've allotted above // $3,600
POST STRETCH TOTAL: $25,100
Risks and challenges
Producing a play is always a risk. But producing a show in New York is an even bigger risk. We have assembled a fantastic design team, we have a wonderful director, and a great cast; the challenge will be competing with all the other theater and sundry fascinating goings-on that are ever-present in New York. We know that we can meet that challenge. We have the track-record to prove it, so right now, our biggest challenge is fundraising...that's why we're here.
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Funding period
- (20 days)