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What: A professionally staged reading for my full-length play, BENNIE, in which a professional director rehearses a cast of professional actors, and then we read through the play in full in front of an audience of potential producers.
Why: To take the play further along its journey to the stage by presenting it to potential producers and getting creative feedback from seeing the script presented by professionals. This is the first major step in eventually getting BENNIE on stage.
When: The second week in January
Where: New York City
~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt from a radioplay version of BENNIE, produced at Duke (Warning: Strong Language):
Access to the full-length radioplay is one of the donation rewards, which you can read about further down the post!
SYNOPSIS OF THE PLAY
~~~~~~~~~
A severely troubled Ruth comes home early from college—something went wrong. Ruth's parents though are too involved in their crumbling marriage and visceral hate for each other to be of any help to her. Luckily, Ruth's imaginary friend from childhood, Bennie the Bunny, comes to life in order to offer his assistance and help Ruth tap into her “inner child.” Ruth, however, does not take this in stride, viewing Bennie’s appearance as evidence of her having lost her mind. Bennie for his part becomes increasingly frustrated as his naive attempts to "fix" Ruth bump up against the reality of severe mental illness—and as Ruth finds herself making a new friend, a boy she knew from high school named Nate.
BACKGROUND
~~~~~~~~~
Hello!
In the summer of 2017, I got the idea for a story in which a girl comes home from college after having a mental breakdown. And I thought of it as a comedy.
Eventually, I wound up with a full-length play, a dark comedy called BENNIE.
Through a Duke program I was connected with Broadway producer David Garfinkle (SPIDER-MAN TURN OFF THE DARK, GHOST THE MUSICAL), and he has been invaluable over the past two years helping me to revise and greatly improve my initial drafts.
We’ve now gotten the play to a point where both of us feel it’s ready for a professional reading.
So what does this mean?
It means I’ll be going to New York in January to hold what’s called a 29 Hour Reading.
Typically, before plays or musicals are put on their feet as shows, they go through a process where over the course of 29 hours (not all at once!) a professional director rehearses a cast of professional actors. The play or musical is then read through in full in front of an audience. That audience consists of potential producers and other parties of interest who will experience the show for the first time, and through this process we will determine how to move our play forward and eventually produce BENNIE on stage.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
~~~~~~~~~
Because this is a professional reading, we have to pay our actors, our director, etc. And we have to rent out an appropriate rehearsal space. Total costs should be around $3000. Here is our current full breakdown of where that money would be going to:
$1000 - Actor fees
$500 - Director fees
$400 - Casting Director fees
$400 - Air travel to get me to NYC
$700 - Room rental costs
I need your help to make this rehearsal happen. I believe in my play and David does too. We just need this chance to show it to the right people, and we both think it could go places.
So please give what you can!
And if you have any questions, I'm happy to answer them; just reach out to me on Facebook =)
DONATION REWARDS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
$7 - Online Thank You
I will reach out to you on your social media platform of choice and thank you profusely. I'll also follow you on the platform too!
$29 - Online Thank You + Script
For a donation of $29 or more (one dollar for each hour of the staged reading!), I will send a thank you as well as you the most recent draft of the play's script. Also, if you read it and have any questions, I'll answer any and all of them.
$87 - Previous Rewards + Radioplay
I'll give you access to the full radioplay version, an excerpt of which you can watch above. The incredible music by John Dreyer (recorded on real instruments, not just software!) is reason enough to make this one worth it.
$209 - Previous Rewards + Handwritten Thank You Note + Invitation to the Staged Reading
I will handwrite and snail mail you a thank you note in which I will thank you profusely for your amazing generosity. And when January comes around you'll be invited to attend the staged reading in person in New York.
$497 - Previous Rewards + Associate Producer credit + Show Tickets
In addition to every previous reward, you will recieve credit as an associate producer on the project moving forward, and if this play ever gets put on stage, you'll get free tickets to see it, as well as my unending gratitude.
NOTE: I would offer to film the reading and give that out as a donation reward, but unfortunately the actors’ guild’s rules prohibit video or photographic documentation of a 29 Hour Reading.
Why: To take the play further along its journey to the stage by presenting it to potential producers and getting creative feedback from seeing the script presented by professionals. This is the first major step in eventually getting BENNIE on stage.
When: The second week in January
Where: New York City
~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt from a radioplay version of BENNIE, produced at Duke (Warning: Strong Language):
Access to the full-length radioplay is one of the donation rewards, which you can read about further down the post!
SYNOPSIS OF THE PLAY
~~~~~~~~~
A severely troubled Ruth comes home early from college—something went wrong. Ruth's parents though are too involved in their crumbling marriage and visceral hate for each other to be of any help to her. Luckily, Ruth's imaginary friend from childhood, Bennie the Bunny, comes to life in order to offer his assistance and help Ruth tap into her “inner child.” Ruth, however, does not take this in stride, viewing Bennie’s appearance as evidence of her having lost her mind. Bennie for his part becomes increasingly frustrated as his naive attempts to "fix" Ruth bump up against the reality of severe mental illness—and as Ruth finds herself making a new friend, a boy she knew from high school named Nate.
BACKGROUND
~~~~~~~~~
Hello!
In the summer of 2017, I got the idea for a story in which a girl comes home from college after having a mental breakdown. And I thought of it as a comedy.
Eventually, I wound up with a full-length play, a dark comedy called BENNIE.
Through a Duke program I was connected with Broadway producer David Garfinkle (SPIDER-MAN TURN OFF THE DARK, GHOST THE MUSICAL), and he has been invaluable over the past two years helping me to revise and greatly improve my initial drafts.
We’ve now gotten the play to a point where both of us feel it’s ready for a professional reading.
So what does this mean?
It means I’ll be going to New York in January to hold what’s called a 29 Hour Reading.
Typically, before plays or musicals are put on their feet as shows, they go through a process where over the course of 29 hours (not all at once!) a professional director rehearses a cast of professional actors. The play or musical is then read through in full in front of an audience. That audience consists of potential producers and other parties of interest who will experience the show for the first time, and through this process we will determine how to move our play forward and eventually produce BENNIE on stage.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
~~~~~~~~~
Because this is a professional reading, we have to pay our actors, our director, etc. And we have to rent out an appropriate rehearsal space. Total costs should be around $3000. Here is our current full breakdown of where that money would be going to:
$1000 - Actor fees
$500 - Director fees
$400 - Casting Director fees
$400 - Air travel to get me to NYC
$700 - Room rental costs
I need your help to make this rehearsal happen. I believe in my play and David does too. We just need this chance to show it to the right people, and we both think it could go places.
So please give what you can!
And if you have any questions, I'm happy to answer them; just reach out to me on Facebook =)
DONATION REWARDS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
$7 - Online Thank You
I will reach out to you on your social media platform of choice and thank you profusely. I'll also follow you on the platform too!
$29 - Online Thank You + Script
For a donation of $29 or more (one dollar for each hour of the staged reading!), I will send a thank you as well as you the most recent draft of the play's script. Also, if you read it and have any questions, I'll answer any and all of them.
$87 - Previous Rewards + Radioplay
I'll give you access to the full radioplay version, an excerpt of which you can watch above. The incredible music by John Dreyer (recorded on real instruments, not just software!) is reason enough to make this one worth it.
$209 - Previous Rewards + Handwritten Thank You Note + Invitation to the Staged Reading
I will handwrite and snail mail you a thank you note in which I will thank you profusely for your amazing generosity. And when January comes around you'll be invited to attend the staged reading in person in New York.
$497 - Previous Rewards + Associate Producer credit + Show Tickets
In addition to every previous reward, you will recieve credit as an associate producer on the project moving forward, and if this play ever gets put on stage, you'll get free tickets to see it, as well as my unending gratitude.
NOTE: I would offer to film the reading and give that out as a donation reward, but unfortunately the actors’ guild’s rules prohibit video or photographic documentation of a 29 Hour Reading.