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Help Fund Vinny's Activist Play for Justice in Healthcare
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$6,701 raised of $8K
37 donations
HELP ME RAISE MONEY FOR MY ACTIVIST PLAY, MY ACTIVIST EFFORTS, AND TO HELP MY MOM!
In developing my solo show Be My Baby, I learned so much about what works when blending Activism with Theater...and that is primarily that nothing worth doing is ever accomplished alone... Therefore my piece is no longer a solo show and is now a full play with a four person cast titled...
EXPLANATION OF BENEFITS: AN ACTIVIST PLAY
On a quest to seek justice for my Mother who has been imprisoned by the American For-Profit Healthcare System, I put the perpetrators on trial in the only court that will hear my case…my nightmares. I take the stand to tell the true story of how my mother was forced into the Long Term Care System and my assertion that she is being denied an accessible course of treatment in order to maximize profit for the American Medical Industrial Complex.
Throughout this imagined trial that's been denied me in real life, I weave in and out of my nightmarish delusions while recounting the stories of my past that got me where I am today - advocating for my mother's right to dignified treatment and her release from a locked unit of her nursing home. In order to do so, I must fight my demons both real and imaginary, in my quest to come face to face with the ultimate perpetrator, The Insurance Devil, himself.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
I am grateful to all the folks who've helped me along the way, and am proud to say that this story in and of itself is an act of activism and a righteous act of defiance against this oppressive system.
I will be producing this play in tandem with my participation as a 2026 Care Fellow with the nation's leading care advocacy organization, Caring Across Generations and my activist work that advocates for the NY Health Act and Medicare for All to provide a more just care system for us all.
But I also am striving to create a unique theatrical experience that puts me on stage to tell the very real and current story of the fight that has marked the last decade of my life. Following in the footsteps of artivists like Anna Deveare Smith and Spalding Gray who've used the stage to take a bold stand, I'm literally putting MY life on the line...well...the stage...for a theatrical experience like none we've seen before.
In order to produce this play and make a real impact, I NEED YOUR SUPPORT!
WHAT: A fully staged, week-long production of Vinny Cinque's "Explanation of Benefits"
WHEN: January 19-23, 2027
WHERE: The Flea, NYC
WHO: I'm eternally grateful to still have Felicia Lobo directing, and am overjoyed to have Jaye Hunt on the team as our dramaturg. The play will feature myself and three other incredibly talented NYC actors (I ain't droppin' names just yet!)
WHY: Plain and simple, my answer to "why?" will always be "TO ABOLISH FOR-PROFIT HEALTHCARE". But I also want to fulfill my dream of telling my mother's story far and wide in hopes of sparking positive change for her and the millions of other vulnerable folks who are victimized by our healthcare system. The only way we make change is to speak up, which is why I want to spend 2027 bringing this show to as many theaters around the world as possible.
Theater Costs: $8,000
- Venue Costs
- Cast and Crew Compensation
- Prop, Set, and Costume Materials
- Insurance, Fees, and Taxes
ADDITIONAL GOALS
- Helping to fund my Mom's medication that we've fought years for
- A PR rep to help publicly link the show and my activist work
- We're working on a Profit Share model, so the more we raise, the more our team gets paid!
This would help grant me the ability to continue to give this work a future life through 2027 and beyond. But ultimately, funding this work is funding my ability to continue the fight for my Mom, for your Mom, and for all of us.
Please donate if you can, no amount is too small!
Care Advocacy affects each and everyone of us, therefore if you know anyone who is interested in supporting the fight for universal healthcare (and bonus points if they love the arts), please share this fundraiser and connect them with me!
If you'd like to help in a big way, please don’t hesitate to shoot me an email to take a look at my budget, what you specifically can fund, and how we can partner together to increase the reach of this project.
I thank each and every one of you for reading this far, for donating, and for sharing this campaign and my story.
To anyone wanting to get more involved in the fight for universal healthcare, please reach out to me.
I'm so excited for the future, even in the darkest of days, and I hope you are too because the only way we build the world we want to live in is...together.
Much love xoxo
--Vinny
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