busy bees

maybe we didn't exactly know how busy we would actually be when this production got started. I know I really had no clue.

I now dream lines from the play.

We only have two shows left and I'm actually sad that we didn't try to book a longer run.

I have to pinch myself when I think about the fact that we were able to get a show up and onstage in 3.5 months. Maybe because we'd never done anything here in NYC before, we didn't clog ourselves with the word NO. Maybe we just approached each problem with the question "how can we make this happen?"

I don't even know how to begin thanking everyone that worked so hard on this play. Cast and crew, everyone really brought it.

This post isn't even doing justice to the wonder I feel about this project. And now, we are starting to get reviews. . .nice ones at that. It seems that other people like our project too. Maybe the project is rough, but even so, it certainly doesn't suck, and this experience definitely has given me the momentum to want to push forward with this and other projects.

It's a really great feeling.

mama said there'd be days like this

WOW. well kris and i are in agreement: this week was a hard week. there's just so much to keep straight and make decisions about. i think i'm becoming ADD because of this play. i start one thing and as i'm doing that thing, i remember i have to do something else. so then i stop the original thing before i finish it and move on to the new thing. as i'm doing the new thing, i realize i haven't done a third thing, so i stop the second thing and move on to the third. i continue this process all day long. never finishing anything, but always busily doing stuff. and underneath the surface of all this activity is the very real fear that i'm gonna totally drop the ball on something and look like i don't know what the hell i'm doing. and then, just for fun, there is the normal day-to-day life maintenance like jobs, showering, working out, sleeping, etc that have taken a serious hit by all this theatre activity.

and just to make things even more crazy, we started rehearsals this week so now 4 hours a night i'm rehearsing b/c i had the brilliant idea of casting myself as the lead. rehearsals are actually going quite well. the cast we have assembled is simply amazing (with the exception of that douche we got to play the lead) and it's fun to sit and watch everyone work the material and bring this thing to life. when i take a step back and think about the team we've assembled for this it really amazes me. everyone is working so hard to make this play happen and that makes the hard week a little softer.

Producer Boot Camp

first of all, having a blog about the steps to get a play up and running is almost antithetical to getting a play up and running.

Things are happening so fast that there has been no time to keep up with a blog.

Firstly, press kits and releases have gone out. That was awhile ago.

The branding and logo has been designed, postcards have been printed. The Writer's Block website was made.

here is the graphic



We have had our first successful FUND RAISER!!! Our Writers Block Mad Lib (and Darts) Challenge had a great turn out and we did clear some cash.

We will have another Mad Mad Mad Lib event at the Blind Tiger on Sunday June 29th from 11am to 6pm. Come and drink beer, play mad libs, and win prizes!

Lastly, if this whole experience was not boot camp like enough, I spent last weekend attending Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) Producer's Boot Camp. We had great speakers such as Cheryl Weisenfeld, tony award winning producer of Elaine Stritch: At Liberty and New York Magazine Theater Critic Jeremy McCarter.

I learned a lot. The biggest take-away for anyone looking for advice, is get familiar with the Actor's Equity Association Basic Showcase Code. Not knowing it could seriously jeopardize your production if you are working with equity actors. Also, PR & Marketing? There is no such thing as too many impressions.

If you are new to producing or are a self producing artist, I heartily recommend this boot camp and TRU. What a great resource and community!

the path to production is through the bowling alley

I feel sad that we haven't been able to chronicle the steps we have gone through with this production as was theoriginal intent with this blog. Frankly this whole thing is a whirlwind really and sometimes I feel like I'm holding on with my nails.

A band teacher of mine used to have a visual analogy he would throw out whenever the tempo would get ahead of us. He would say the tempo was controlling us and we were being dragged behind as if your finger was stuck in a bowling ball. Then he would pantomime someone trying to bowl and being dragged along behind by the ball.

hmmm. that was a long drawn out description of something that might not really make sense to anyone who didn't know Sal Smith, may he rest in peace. Loved that guy.

back to the bowling ball. sometimes the momentum of this play is like being dragged along behind the bowling ball. For newbies doing this in NYC however, I think we're kicking along pretty well. I never realized how far common sense and good friends could take a person.

speaking of friends, I need to send out a special word of thinks to our friend Jaye Maynard who has been working with us and guiding us from the beginning. Without her, we would have never got going. Well. We probably would but it would have been a hell of a lot slower with way more fits and starts. Without her there wouldn't be any bowling balls.

das boot camp

I have just sent off my application and check to Theater Resources Unlimited to attend Producers Boot Camp.

Suddenly I hear Mathew Broderick's voice ringing in my head.

Do you think Producers Boot Camp will have harsh drill instructors? Will we have to do 50 push-ups if we do not grasp equity codes and contracts?

I am scared.

One of the questions on the application was "Do you see yourself producing as a career eventually?"

Good question. Wouldn't that be a strange turn of events.

Everything will be all write

This weekend, I plan to begin a critical stage in this production: the rewrite.

I have identified holes and weak spots and I've even gone so far as to figure out the solutions to these problems. I've got it all figured out. So why am I a tiny bit scared?

Well, I'll tell you. There's a big difference between actually figuring out the path you want to go and then actually walking down that path. When I revised this play into the draft it's in now, I outlined it last Memorial Day. Everything was figured out. It was exciting. I was ready to go. And then I sat in front of my computer for six months unable to write a word.

This time, I don't have the luxury of saying "eh, I'll give it time to simmer." It has to be done. Like now. Like right now. People are off in some corner of the theatre, tapping their feet and looking at their watch, waiting.

The other side of the scary coin is me wondering if I just got lucky on the humor part of the draft. What if I'm not funny anymore? What if I stood too close to the microwave last night and it zapped all the funny out of me?

Maybe I'll make myself a Shirley Temple when I write. If a Shirley Temple won't make me funny, I don't know what will.

life on a moving train

So far the production seems like hurry up and wait. Sometimes the activity is so frenetic and other times we are sitting waiting for things to happen.

At this very moment I can't tell which end is up so I am guessing this moment is frenetic.

Here's the scoop so far on the production.

We have confirmed cast for all but two of the parts.

We have a confirmed stage manager.

We have a director - I'm reiterating this because if I go over the checklist enough times in my head I will drive it all in there and not feel like a chicken with no head. Chickens with no heads are scary things.

We have rehearsal space set up and paid for. In full.

We have a MySpace Page!

We have a Facebook page! Look for Writer's Block or me, Kris Fortney. I'm friends with Writers Block. We're buds. We hang out.

We have a WEBSITE!

We have a design for the postcard. Don't laugh. I did it. I'll talk more about it in another post.

We have small rewrites in progress which make the play stronger and give it more depth which is extremely exciting.

So far everyone working on this project has kicked it up a notch. I can't believe the amount of energy which surrounds it. I feel blessed. I think Master G does too.

hitting the ground running

Hey followers of this blog. Cheerio and all that.

A lot has been happening while I've been kicking it across the pond so let me fill you in on all the fantastic work that has taken place. Kudos once again to Master G and Katherine for dealing with the details and meetings about the details and meetings about meetings about the details. . .

We have on board at this moment:

Shaun Gunning - playwright. Jeez I hope he's on board. You already know him so I'll move along. I can't keep stroking the guy's ego.

Mike Kimmel - director. Mike has an impressive resume which you can check out on the Push Productions website. Too bad it's a flash site otherwise I'd link you to his profile directly. (Sorry that was my other job talking.) If you'd like to see what Mike has been up to prior to signing on for Writer's Block click on his name under staff. It's pretty tight and we're pleased to have him.

Katherine Kyle - producer. Ms Kyle is riding alongside me making sure we get butts in seats and props in hand, and press releases released and whatever else needs to be done to make this thing a success.

Katie Gunning - costume designer. Katie brings her training and background in costume designery to the table and lays the smack DOWN. Go Katie. PS - my ideas are below. ;-)

We have a few actors who have committed but I will post on that at a later date. Shaun mentioned we have a stage manager who Mike has recommended as well.

Wow. This thing is crazy.

We've secured rehearsal space, come up with a rehearsal schedule AND we now know our show's dates. I'll post all of that in the next post.

Two days until I return to New York . . .and jump on the treadmill. I'm ready to go.

Done and done and done

Yesterday was a great day for the production. We finally have a director who is 100% on board and ready to go. We also are about 90% in for cheap rehearsal space in midtown. As if that weren't enough, we also found a stage manager.

So in about 12 hours, three stressful things were resolved. Now I can worry about the design elements and fundraising for this thing.

marketing 101

Hello from Jolly old Londontowne.

First of all, a shout out goes to Shaun for making his first ever blog post ever.

Second of all, I was chatting with a colleague in Israel and telling her that my job this weekend is to write a marketing plan. She responded with "I thought this was art?"

My question to that questions was, "If a tree falls in the woods or a play goes onstage and no one is there to hear it. . . what is the point?"

Since I have a full time job, I don't have a chance to walk around with a sandwich board like the town crier saying "hear ye hear ye, Master G has a new play! Come see his play mates!"

Also, try convincing New Yorkers to spend a piece of their already overbooked lives watching your show. You have to have a plan to get their attention, don't you?

I was going to make this a post about art and commerce but that's fodder for another discussion.

Cheers,
Kris

Writer's Locked

So here is my first blog post. Lets all pause a moment to rejoice in this blessed event. Amen.

Last Saturday, Katherine and I attended my Big Fat Festival Meeting where I signed a contract and a check and made this thing official. We're in. No turning back now. Not unless we "never wanna work in this town again." And lose a bunch of money that wasn't even ours to begin with.

The meeting was very informative though and it was nice to finally put some faces to names and to meet some of the fellow artists. Thanks here to Katherine who made it her mission to network--which was awesome because I suck at it. I'm useless unless I have a script.

The meeting also brought into focus the enormous amount of work we have in front of us. Finding actors, designers, a director ... getting costumes, props and set together ... obtaining rehearsal space, getting postcards and posters made ... press packets. And don't even get me started on re-writes.

productionus interruptus

Well I am off to the Jolly tomorrow for three and a half weeks . Chip chip chaps. I will be scouting neighborhoods and "flats" and scoping the theater scene in Londontown.

If we have a decent run in New York, we will be attempting to stage Writer's Block across the pond, possibly at the Edinburgh Fringe Fest. That, however, is in the far future.

In the short term, we are looking for a director. Are you an experienced director? Have you ever been experienced? Can you direct a comedy? Can you work with two individuals who are already coming at this project with some strong ideas about it?

Drop us a line. . . kfortney @ gmail.com
We'll talk.

color us lucky then knock on wood

We have been granted a residency for six weeks of FREE rehearsal space for Writer's Block.

We WON the lotto!

Let's hope this luck remains.

Nay is for horses

I'm going to digress from Writer's Block a bit in this post.

The resposne Shaun and I get from peeps when talking about some of the projects we are working on is so varied. Most responses are supportive, which of course is great. Sometimes we get people responding who it seems, came from the glass half empty school. They respond with lists of things we need to know. And don't we realize that we have to do this and that and this other thing and Oh it's so hard. And we don't know the half of it. And on and on. . .

They're right. We don't know the half of it. We know what we know. We have common sense and intuition. Do you need to have a degree in film to make a movie or write a script? Is that a requirement? Is it any less hard if you went through that process?

Sure. We will probably make some wrong turns. Maybe we won't know some shortcuts. There are possibly technical things that it would be nice to have had classroom time to try and develop. But guess what? We are now making our own classroom. And as long as we don't end up in jail or in debtor's prison or dead, what's the harm?

Besides, what the hell else will we do with our time here?

Costumery

There are so many details to this play production that keep surprising me, such as costumes and wardrobe. At first I was thinking, "It's a contemporary play. We can keep it simple."

What a naïve thought that was. This is not a play in our back yard! I mean really.

Because Shaun, a.k.a. Master G (who will compose a post soon I am hoping) and I are do-it yourselfers, we will be creating the costumes. Quite honestly, the play will not feature complex costumes but attention to detail is required.

For example, in the first act there is a small vignette featuring gangsters from Chicago circa 1923. Very Al Capone.

There is a sassy femme fatale/gun moll/doll who gives the guys the business. I've been thinking about her costume quite a lot.

Is this right for her? Is she a Great Gatsby kind a lady, or more a Bonnie and Clyde Dame?

From the get-go I have been leaning toward the Bonnie and Clyde look for all involved. Fedoras and pinstripes for the boss guys. Newsboy caps and suspenders for the lackey. Pencil skirts, sweater, smart hat and gloves for the dame. Maybe I can find one of those Fox collars with the head and tiny feet still on it. It that called a stole?

Today's open forum topic is:

Does anyone have particular vintage clothing stores they are partial to, in NYC and elsewhere for that matter. Discuss.

P.S. I like these shoes and this hat for the costume. Let us know if you see something like this around.

the cultivation of donation

this is the weird part.

we have to ask people for money.

The question is how do you ask people for money but make it worth it to people to want to part with their hard earned duckets? How do you tap into willing donors?

Of course there is the regular grant writing and the soliciting of corporations and corporate underwriting. . .that's not a problem. That doesn't scare me. In that sense I've got nothing to lose. But passing the hat around to peeeps like you and me. . .well that is a little bit more uncomfortable.

So what I am trying to think of now, in order to take the edge of the blantant requests for $$$ are fundraising ideas.

So far I have the ubiquitous silent auction, a hosted event with cheap good beer, music and raffles, me coming to your house and cooking you a turkey dinner, naked car wash, fortune telling & sooth saying, the ubiquitous silent prayer, drug dealing, and last but not least prostitution. I know Shaun is up for the last bit but I am really leaning toward things like the first two. My pimp hand is tired.

If anyone wants to chime in with ideas they have used to successfully raise funds for the arts in their past lives, speak ye now. It's an open forum!

The Field of dreams

Hey MLK,
I have a dream too. It involves winning the lotto and buying a five story building in Long Island City. It would be used to house an arts cooperative in which I would bring kids and artists together and where artists could obtain studio space in exchange for teaching kids about art and stuff. Then sometimes the dream turns a little psychedelic like an acid flashback which may or may not get a little sexy, but that is for another blog.

The dream may be on a scale that is a little beyond my scope. That doesn't mean that it can't happen.

Wendy Lasica's dream turned into something beyond it's original scope too. She created The Field , a not-for-profit service organization for independent artists which provides programs directed toward the creation of new work and its dissemination.

In terms of creation, The Field:

assists artists in making clear, cogent work through peer-oriented feedback groups;
produces performance festivals focused on the exhibition of new work;

sends artists on retreats at arts colonies such as White Oak (FL) and Earthdance (MA) to create new material and developnew collaborations;

provides free rehearsal and performance space grants in the FAR Space, our new Chelsea gallery district studio.

In terms of dissemination, The Field:

provides artists with tools that enable them to understand managerial and administrative functioning via more than two dozen workshops on fundraising, booking, marketing, non-profit theory, legal issues, and arts management;

trains artists and other individuals to become arts administrators and managers;

enables 300 artist members to solicit grants and individual contributions through the use of our non-profit sponsorship program;

produces a website devoted to independent artists touring their work throughout the US;

houses a resource center tailored specifically to the needs of independent performing artists with resources including six laptopcomputers, databases of grantmakers, periodicals, and books, and on-the-spot consultations with Field staff and other arts administrators.

Isn't it good to know that there are still resources out there for the independent artist? It fills my heart and appeals to my hippie sensibilities when I find organizations like The Field which exist to promote art and creativity. An organization that hasn't been crushed by The Man. . .

Shaun and I are in the middle of our membership application to this fine organization which I will support 100%. We have also applied for the Far-Light Residency grant in hopes of winning the lotto for free rehearsal space for Writer's Block.

I have a dream.

no war on whimsy yet

Yesterday Mr. Gunning and I met with the ever talented Dana Carslon to inquire as to whether or not we could commission her for the artwork for the play's postcards, poster and playbill.

We love Dana's work and think it is a good fit for tone of the play. The play is a somewhat whimsical comedy and although I dread whimsy in real life, I will tolerate it in the pursuance of art. I will not declare war on whimsy until after this show is finished. Did I say finished? I meant flimmished. It's okay. They sound a lot alike.

PS this post is not saying that Dana's work is pure whimsy. It is not. We just know she could bring the "W"-word if'n she wants to. And if she wants to sneak an owl into the mix . . . I'm not saying no. . .

in the beginning

Hi ether friends,

my name is Kris and I'm a long time blogger, first time producer.

Welcome to the first post for "The Path to Production" blog which will attempt to document, well. . .doy. . .the path to production for my roommate Shaun Gunning's play, Writer's Block.

We are proud to announce that the play was recently accepted to the Midtown International Theater Festival and should be onstage for your viewing pleasure sometime between mid-July and mid-August.

On behalf of Shaun and I, we hope that you tune in and join us on this exhillarating and terrifying excursion into the world of New York theater. We think it'll be kinda fun.

Cheers,
Kris