Producing The Trestle At Pope Lick

I’m Martin French, an Irish theatre director working in Kentuckiana. I am raising money to help myself and a team of actors and crew members produce a theatre show I am directing this May (12th / 13th / 14th) at Carbon Copy Gallery in Louisville.

 

Part of the reason for producing this show is that the play has a real connection to where we are in life now: it parallels so much happening in the world today. Partly we are producing this as a showcase for the great local acting talent we have here, particularly two of our younger actors, Annie Bulleit, and Bailey Story, as well fine actors like Chris Petty, Marc McHone, and Carol Jacqueline.

 

The play we are producing is Prospect-born Naomi Wallace’s 1998 play, The Trestle At Pope Lick Creek, set locally during the Depression. Debuting at the Humana Festival at Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, it is a coming-of-age story at a time when there appeared to be little or no future for anyone, and the echoes it has with our current world are resonant. Despite the bleak outlook, it is remarkable for its humanity and generosity and has one of the best contemporary scripts I have read or seen for years.

 

We are prioritizing artistic concerns over the commercial with this production. We aim to create an audience experience molded to match the play – intimate with, and yet alienated from, the characters who inhabit the play. We have called in a lot of favors and have managed to keep most of the costs to zero. However, certain costs cannot be waived away, particularly when it comes to the human component - the most important part of the show.

 

We have a responsibility to make theatre affordable and accessible to those who wish to see it. We aim to invite the public to pay what they can afford to attend rather than limit their opportunities with a fixed price. Consequently, all donations help to subsidize a ticket for someone who could not otherwise be able to attend.

 

While Go Fund Me doesn’t do the perk thing, for the first 50 donors, for every $25 that anyone donates, they will be offered a ticket to the show.

 

For more details on the show, follow this link to the facebook event page, and please do not be shy to contact me here.

 

Thanks for your time and attention.

 

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