Theatre en Bloc is appealing via
to raise $10,000 for Dennis Bailey's play Just Outside Redemption depicting the events in Austin leading up to the James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act in 2001.
Click logo or click here to go to the IndieGoGo page. Derek Koluri and Jenny Lavery explain the project:
Redemption Pitch from Derek Kolluri on Vimeo.
A precursor to the National Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, the James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act was passed in Texas in 2001. It served as a huge win for those fighting for human rights and was firmly planted as a reminder that together our potential to overcome adversity is stronger than a lone voice crying for help. However, it was the voice of one amazing woman that led the charge to include Gay Rights in the legislation. Based on actual events in Austin, Texas (with a little dramatic license) Dennis Bailey's play is more than a history lesson, rather a celebration of the monumental win for Human Rights in Texas and the people who helped make it happen.
Since the bill was passed in Texas, there have been over 1,200 hate crimes reported, but only a dozen have been convicted. There is still work to be done.
Theatre en Bloc is partnering with several LGBT organizations including Equality, TX to continue this necessary fight for justice and equality.
The Impact The fight for justice never ends. Homophobia and racism still exist. Hate Crimes still exist. And while there is much to celebrate in the passing of laws like The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, this play is a reminder that the big wins only come by way of small acts of compassion from dedicated individuals who refused to back down in the face of great adversity.
While this play will resonate wholly as the story of one woman's fight, we hope her story will inspire others to take up the sword and shield to defend justice for all people, no matter who they are. We are partnering with LGBT and human rights service organizations to create a movement of people who will not tolerate violence toward anyone predicated on hatred.
We want to the ground to rumble with the sound of people stomping out the rhythm of equality! Where today people fear they might be harrassed or murdered for who they are - we want would be murderers to fear the multitude of people who stand together, ready to defend civil liberty!
The message of acceptance and inclusion is always necessary. This production lives perfectly in between a gripping night of theatre and a social call to action. We feel the reach of this project will be immense.
What We Need & What You Get We are asking for $10,000 and we want to build confidence with you, our potential funders, by letting you know exactly where we're going to spend every dollar.
First, Theatre en Bloc is an itinerant company and we hve to pay for a space to do the show. Our venue contract is for $3900. That covers a three week run for a toal of nine performances.
Second we like to pay our artists for their time. We are a small, young organization and cannot pay the wages these talented folks deserve, but we we are offering them stipends. The actors, all nine of them, will receive $300 each. Our designers for the lights, costumes, sound and projections are each receiving $300 for their work as well. We also need to pay 3 individuals to help run the scene changes, light board and sound board. Those three folks will get a $100 stipend each.
The total price tag for these modest stipends is $4200.
We need to provide budgets for materials for the designers to use to execute their designs. The set design has an $800 budget. Costumes have a $400 budget. Sound has a $100 budget and lights have a $200 budget. The total budget for the materials for the show is $1500.
Lastly, we are going to need to promote the show. We have budgeted $900 to cover poster and print material printing, photos and a professionally filmed promotional video that will spread across Yputube, Vmeo and Facebook. We also need to print out surveys to track our audience data for grant pruposes and for better marketing strategies as our small organization gets bigger.
The total comes out to around $10,500. So why aren't we asking for the full amount? Some of these expenses will be covered by in-kind donations.
We also have some very simple and unique prizes that we are offering. Among them, Copies of the script, photo books commemorating the show as well as personal video thank yous from the cast and production team including actress Beth Broderick.
Other Ways You Can Help Today, we live in a world where our voices, when used with passion and shared widely, can make a difference. We have the power to make this world a better place one small action at a time. By reaching out to others and sharing your passion for the importance of this story and encouraging them to make any contribution they can, we can raise the funds necessary to produce this important, albeit unfortunately relevant play. Thanks again for listening to our story and thanks in advance for your support.
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