Hello All!!

My name is Kayla Farrish, and I'm a Black American Director merging dance-theater, filmmaking, narrative, and sound score for the liberation, rebellion, and empowerment of BIPOC folks, marginalized communities, and beyond. With my team of fierce collaborators and artists, we are so excited to be sharing and developing a new work, Put Away the Fire, dear pt. 2, envisioning a live performance film on 7 characters. The dance-theater narrative work uproots power and history across generations of the American landscape, rupturing “The Master Narrative” to dismantle American Cinema of the 1930s-60s. Disrupting archetypes, this diverse cast plays with who they can become, and what they’re able to experience. They take the power back to tear down the structures that be, and write their own narratives.

We need your help to create this powerful and shattering work. We're looking to raise $10,000 by April 30th to support the creation of our second iteration for La Mama Moves Festival performing April 21-23, 2023. These funds will support our thoughtful and diverse cast of 7 performers, a lighting designer, our set design collaboration, our music collaboration, research, and needed equipment. This step of our process is pivotal as we develop base characters, storylines and worlds, and have the chance to experiment sharing this work as we develop it to its full premiere in 2024.

This idea has incredible impact and meaning, as marginalized communities do not get to see themselves reflected in these "classic" stories of American cinema. As archives and history are left fragmented for us, what would it be to dream in between these gaps? What would it be to experience a range of roles, other parts of identity, and to be fully included? Help us bring these narratives to life, and empower Black and Brown communities to see themselves...

Show Details:

Put Away the Fire Dear, pt. 2 evening-length performance

La Mama Moves Festival April 21-23rd, 2023

Friday 4/21 8:30pm, Saturday 4/22 8:30pm, and Sunday 4/23 4pm

My performing collaborators include: Jessica Alexander, Tatiana Barber, James Barrett, Alexander Diaz, Kayla Farrish, Kerime Konur, and Curtis Thomas. Alex MacKinnon works with me as my musical collaborator. And we are producing set design, script, video projections, and vocal performance for the full cinematic performance as well.

Our first iteration aired at Triskelion Arts in October 2022 allowing us to experiment and develop scene work and film studies in genres of thriller, film-noir, archive, romance, and musical. Through this 2nd iteration, we deepen into developing the characters, the base narratives, relationships, and worlds of this new piece. We dive into Bojangles, Lena Horne, Cab Calloway, The Fatal Woman, Ethel Waters, Sidney Portier and beyond...and give them range as we tether them to our contemporary perspectives.

FOR YOUR DONATIONS!!

REWARDS- Pledges

Pledge $15: Special Thanks

Receive a special shout out on social media for your support of the project

Pledge $25: Supporter of the Arts

Receive a special mention in our program as a supporter of the arts

Pledge $75: Listen and dream

Listen to a curated playlist inspiring the process of Put Away the Fire, dear

Pledge $100: Witness to the Process

Receive a behind-the-scenes tour of our rehearsal. Witness our process leading up to this work, the work in development and where we hope to take it next

Pledge $200: Take a Frame

Receive a copy of the handwritten script for one of the scenes with an image from the piece

Pledge $300+: Follow the camera

CHOOSE your path…

Get a portrait from Kayla’s series imagining Blackness, Black family, Black Womanhood in full ranging capacity from roots in the American South

OR see an inspired short film scene that went into this work

Pledge $400+: What’s your favorite movie?

Receive both the portrait and the short film from “Follow the Camera” sponsorship, as well as the personal interviews of the cast immersing into their characters

Pledge $500+: Director’s Cut

See a behind the scenes interview with Kayla telling the stories behind the work and how they come together

Take part in a group workshop with Kayla, diving into the process for identity and authorship:

What are the films of American Cinema that we remember?

Do you see yourself reflected in these stories?

Is there space for you?

Pledge $1000+: Become a Producer

Become a co-producer of the entire project. Join us throughout the year as we develop this project through to its full premiere and tour March 2024. Receive exclusive updates throughout and be invited to watch parts of our rehearsal process of Put Away the Fire, dear.

Learn to never temper your flame!

Sponsorships for specific elements of the project:

$250 Support Set Design, and Equipment to see the new worlds

$500 Sponsor our Set Designer

$500 Sponsor our Music Collaborator

$2500 Sponsor a performing collaborator of our diverse cast

The funding, resources, and exchange together will support the:

Artist Fees- Compensating the hiring of a diverse cast, the research into erased histories, the study of varied movement forms, and the writing to reimagine a cinematic live work.

Labor and Time- To work within inclusive, expansive, educational, and processing practices to build the work.

Scriptwriting- The root of each character's narrative tied to history and our own personal journeys to expand among themes of American Cinema, jazz music, and dance and storytelling. This supports the research, and consideration of the weight of text.

Music Collaboration: Supporting jazz, big band, orchestra, voice, gospel, and sound score that helps to tell our stories.

Set Design: Supporting the building of the interior worlds, home spaces, and fantastical worlds

Merging Dance and Film in Live Performance: Using camera work in the studio to discover how to shift the perspective and immersively experience the work with greater intimacy. The live performance will include film projection, audio support for voices, and live loop pedals and sound scores.

Studio Costs- This covers development of the choreography, research, and rehearsal in the studio process together.

Your support is tremendous and influential. Consider making a donation to this project, and also dream with us as well. What stories do you hope to see?

*Photograph Credit: Elyse Mertz

*Video Credit: Alexander Diaz and Angelo Vasto