Zora's Capstone: Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Hedwig and the Angry Inch: a UP Arts Administration Capstone

Hi! I'm Zora, and I'm an Arts Administration student at University of Portland. I am raising funds for my senior capstone: a production of the award-winning musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch starring Casey James to be performed here on campus. Casey is a UP Theater and Music student and Portland-based trans artist. In assembling a cast and creative team, I am prioritizing local trans artists and collaborators. Now more than ever, it is critical that arts communities uplift trans voices and boldly celebrate queerness through our work.

As this is an independent production, I am receiving $0 from the UP Performing and Fine Arts department. Whatever production costs I am unable to crowdfund will come out of my own pocket. The license and materials for this production are estimated to cost $1,709 (we're adding a 4th performance!), and production costs (like sets, props, and costumes) bring the total to, at the very least, $2,000. Part of my production ethos involves profit-sharing, and I hope to generate a substantial profit via ticket sales to distribute equally among cast and creative team members. The remainder of the profit from this project will go toward the foundation of a Portland-based theater company centered on new works, chamber musicals, and arts for social change.

In the (unlikely) event that we are unable to procure a license, you will have the option to either have your donation refunded or put towards a different production that will serve as my capstone project.

Thank you for helping make this project come to life!

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A bit about Hedwig (from Broadway Licensing)

“This groundbreaking Obie-winning Off-Broadway smash that took Broadway by storm in its Tony Award®–winning 2014 revival also won multiple awards for its hit film adaptation. It tells the story of “internationally ignored song stylist” Hedwig Schmidt, a fourth-wall smashing East German rock ‘n’ roll goddess who also happens to be the victim of a botched sex-change operation, which has left her with just “an angry inch.” This outrageous and unexpectedly hilarious story is dazzlingly performed by Hedwig (née Hansel) in the form of a rock gig/stand-up comedy routine backed by the hard-rocking band “The Angry Inch.” Using songs and monologues, Hedwig tells her story, which began in the former East Berlin where as Hansel he meets Luther, an American GI who promises to take the young man to the States on the condition that he switch his sex. After the bungled operation, Luther abandons newly named Hedwig in a Kansas trailer park, where she turns to music and meets geeky Tommy Speck, whom she takes under her wing and soon falls for. Tommy steals her songs, achieves rock star fame, and Hedwig is once again cast aside. She decides to demand redress and stalks Tommy’s world tour, performing in the T.G.I. Fridays that are situated next door to his stadiums. Hedwig describes her life’s search for “The Origin of Love” and her other half. It’s a rocking ride, funny, touching, and ultimately inspiring to anyone who has felt life gave them an inch when they deserved a mile.”