"HELP ME!!!!" get Leo Lion's solo show to Edinburgh Fringe!

HELP ME!!!! is the title of my interactive solo mime show, which I am taking to Edinburgh Fringe 2025. My name is Leo Lion, and I'm an NYC-based actor-director known for interactive experiences like Scandalton, Metamorphosis, and Insomnia. All of these shows fuse my passion for playful, game-driven performance, and HELP ME!!!! is no exception: At this interactive seance, audiences must think outside the box to help a family of ghosts resolve their unfinished business. Play charades, solve puzzles, and pierce the veil between life and death in a madcap quest for forbidden knowledge. The show is directed by my longtime friend and collaborator Yev Gelman, and we could not be more excited to take it to EdFringe, the world's biggest international theatre festival.

HELP ME!!! is also my request for you. Although the show is lightweight (there's only so much one mime can carry), the expenses for taking a production to Fringe are steep. Flights, accommodations, and costs of hiring tech personell add up to upwards of $5,000 – so I am reaching out to my community of friends and theatre lovers in hopes that you can contribute to make this dream of mine come true. I first attended EdFringe as a spectator in 2023 and completely fell in love, seeing 44 shows in 2 weeks. Since then, I've been scheming to bring my own work to this utterly singular place – and it's finally happening. If you can spare even $5 to give me a hand across the pond, you will have my utmost love and gratitude, and I will put in a good word for you with the ghosts.

HELP ME!!!! is produced by my company The Firebird Project, which has been telling unforgettable stories in NYC since 2013. We love reviving beloved myths, queering the canon, and bringing people together to celebrate the awesome power of shared narrative. This show is the latest installment in our YEAR OF THE MONSTER, a year-long exploration of the uncanny and grotesque – it follows on the heels of Trouble Feature, FRANKENSTEIN, and The War of the Worlds. Firebird also has a youth division which offers year-round out-of-school arts training to kids and teens (acting, improv, playwriting, filmmaking, and more), and produces professional-grade shows with young artists. Our work has been supported by the New York State Council on the Arts, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and the Alliance of Resident Theatres NY (so you know we're the real deal) – but the biggest support comes from our grassroots community of art lovers like you. Please – donate if you can, share this campaign, and hopefully soon you can join me to escape this mortal coil in... HELP ME!!!!