Double Heart: Talespinner Children's Theatre

Last night we presented Double Heart at Talespinner Children's Theatre, our final performance before heading to FringeNYC. The evening was a rousing success, and quite a celebration.

It has been several months since we last had the opportunity to share this show with an audience, and while reaction had always been positive, it truly felt like this evening's crowd (who included, after all, some dear friends family and close supporters) was in tune with the production on all levels, reveling in the bawdy humor, delighting in the dance and swordplay, and moved by the high emotions.

This set will look very nice at the Connelly.

One of the great challenges for the folks at FringeNYC is to schedule roughly 10 shows in each space (200 shows in 20 spaces) and part of that means being able to tell them exactly how long the show is, with little variation more or less. We need to set up and tear down our show in no more than 15 minutes to make room for the next production.

We told them it runs 60 minutes. Tonight's performance, with lots of audience reaction, ran about 58 minutes! Good call.

Huzzah!

During curtain call we recognized a few of those without whom this entire production would not be possible. Tonight's show couldn't have happened without the great assistance of the entire crew at Talespinner. Their spring production of The Emperor's Ears closed yesterday, and they cleaned up the space and painted stage so we could be there tonight.

Next we thanked Great Lakes Theater, for commissioning the work, producing it, and providing costumes, the set and so much support in our endeavor to give the show new life in New York.
Finally we thanked our Kickstarter backers and others who have provided much-needed financial support and asked them to stand and be recognized. It must have been at least half of the audience who stood, and we thank them and those who could not be present so much for helping us make it this far.

Following the performance, audience member and Kickstarter backer Rob D. went on Facebook to post the following:

Things I really enjoyed about Double Heart after seeing it tonight:

• The momentum of the performance was terrific. It made those costume changes look effortless.
• The play's masterful blending of traditional Shakespearean theater elements with modern touches
• The story's deft handling of delicate subject matter, which added depth and drew the audience in closer to the cast
• The cast's energetic and convincing presence on the stage, and especially David's comedic timing

Rob summed up, "NYC is in for a treat."

Thank you, Rob. Last night, that audience was the treat.

Kickstarter

On or around June 1 we will begin our Kickstarter campaign to raise necessary funds to bring Double Heart to FringeNYC. While this is the first time I have used this service, today it is the thing (unless you are Zach Braff) for raising a lot of cash from a lot of people in a short period of time. It's a brilliant concept, and one of the more successful attempts to harness the interconnectivity of the new, social media age.

When taking And Then You Die to FringeNYC in 2009, I tried something similar, namely putting a PayPal "donate" button onto my website and blog and encouraging people to give what they could. Sites like Kickstarter provide a lot more clout and cover, and an easy-to-follow interface for those who may not feel comfortable giving cash online. They are also good as prompting folks to think long and hard about how they present themselves to the public.

Putting together the language for this appeal, I am intensely grateful for the experience I have had in the Development Department at work. It has seriously made me a better technical writer (although I admit that is a poor sentence.)

You can look forward to hearing all about this campaign for the next month. Cheers!

Promotional cliché #24: You must stand in front of a brick wall.