The negative: Reduced funding for the arts and reduced arts coverage.
The positive: Indiegogo helps orgs like StageSource raise money. StageSource helps the theatre sector tell its own stories mitigating reduced arts coverage.
The problem is simple. The fix is not, but platforms like Indiegogo help organizations like StageSource. They are a direct link to the people we serve. Your contribution tells us we’re on the right path.
Theatre is not standing in the back of the room waiting to see what the new hotness is. We will be at the head of the class leading the discussion and setting the trends. What that looks like for us is an initiative called “Live from the Library”.
The future of Theater Arts coverage.
Many of you know that StageSource keeps a community room. A library. Members donate scripts and books on theatre. As a member you can stop by read a script and in many cases borrow a script. If you need a place to crash between gigs, auditions, etc., you can stop by and wait it out in the library. Are you a small company and you need to hold a meeting between the hours of 9-5? You can schedule some time and use our space. But we think this space has more to offer.
Starting in August we’re raising money. We’re gonna raise it hard. We need equipment and lots of it. We need members who have ideas and we need to hear about them. We need training, and staff to make this fly. StageSource wants to facilitate the ways in which our sector gets the word out about what we’re doing. What kind of programming do you want to see? Not enough arts coverage? What’s your big idea? Perhaps it’s a podcast where you talk to local dramaturgs and discuss the last three plays you all saw. Or, it’s designers video taping their experiments with the latest technology. It’s the video you made to promote your guerilla theatre, but you need central place where you know people will see it so that it can go viral. It’s taking the cards we’re delt and making the most of them. StageSource can help. We are your information source, so it makes sense that living in the information age; we’re at the forefront of getting that information out into the world. INFORMATION! There I said it again.
The scope of this project is ambitious. “Live from the Library” isn’t just in this office. It’s in your office, your home, your theatre. It’s more town halls, more lectures, more classes, more everything and it begs your participation and your elbow grease. We start an Indiegogo campaign in August. Please support this effort with a donation. $10, $50, $100 whatever you can give. “Live from the Library” will need about $15000 to get it off the ground, but it doesn’t stop with money. Think about what you want to see and tell us. How do you want to be involved? Let us know. We’ll be blogging and updating on this initiative throughout August. Ask questions, call us, and spread the word.
We have the power to shape our story and to create the demand by creating the content. I hope you’ll join us in this revolution.
Look for “Live from the Library” StageSource’s latest fundraising campaign on Indiegogo starting in August.
Dawn
MCC
