Yes we CAN build the things we want to see!

Hello family and welcome!

I have been ducked off writing this new project for a few months.

This project is Thoughts and Ponderings: a children's show for adults. Imagine Sesame Street had a baby with The Boondocks. Warm nostalgia. Sharp commentary. Silly, then devastating. Mr. Rogers meets South Park. Authenticity and vulnerability matched with hilarious cultural relevancy. It is what I have been doing the last few years but through a "NOW-stalgic" aesthetic.

I believe and proclaim we can raise money to pay everyone involved. That is what I am centering. A new way, a new world, and a boldness.

This is now my third production(First Kintsugi, then Queerious Times). Both of which thus far I have received light donations for in the past. I am accustomed to trying to muster my own resources for my dreams and visions. This go round I am opening myself to be seen experienced, and supported by those who believe in my work. This fundraiser is a chance to do that.

Dates and Locations:

Sunday, August 16th at LORE Bookstore in Leimert Park

The Vibe: A full band. Three fearless actors. Intimate LA venues. Electric, unhinged, alive, and heart filled. This isn't a sterile Netflix special its an healing organism that fill us will memory, agency, and joy.

Budget

I believe in transparency, so here is the full breakdown. Every dollar goes to artists and the screen.

Actor stipends (3 actors): $1,500

$400 to $500 each for rehearsals and shoot days

Music Director and band: $4,000

Arranging, rehearsals, and recording

Venue rental (2 shoot days): $500

LORE Bookstore

Camera and sound crew: $3,000

Operator, audio engineer, and equipment

Documentation: $500

Capturing the behind-the-scenes magic

Post-production (edit, color, and mix): $3,000

Props, costumes, and set dressing: $400

Puppets, colors, nostalgia

Advertisement, Contingency, Miscellaneous: $1500

Because things always come up

Producers and Director: $4,000

Keeping the train on the tracks and making sure this production is FIRE

Total: $18,000

What Your Donation Makes Possible

Your support is what makes this project real. Because of you, artists get paid, venues get booked, and this show gets captured on film for the world to see. Every contribution directly funds the creation of this work, from rehearsals to post-production.

Every dollar moves the needle.

Why Me?

I am Johnny Laveie, an LA based creator across music, theatre, and film. My last project, Queerious Times, premiered at the Micheaux Film Festival, spawned a documentary, and is dropping a comedy album this year. I know how to finish things. I center community activation in my work. It tailors itself to whatever it feels the culture needs. Both diagnostic and therapeutic. This is for community and put on by a wonderful community of creatives looking to make interesting work.

Art can heal. We need spaces to laugh, think, and feel without having all the answers. Thoughts and Ponderings: a children's show for adults is my offering to that.

Whether you give $10, $50, or $500, you are not donating to a struggle. You are investing in a vision.

With gratitude,

Johnny Laveie