A is for Artist backer: Christin Green

A is for Artist
This production is presented
as part of the 2012 Capital Fringe Festival
a program of the Washington, DC non-profit
Capital Fringe

Hey there,

Here is today's backer profile for another supporter of A is for Artist, presented as part of this year's Capital Fringe Festival.

I was fortunate to meet Christin in a recent production of The Bacchae, with WSC Avant Bard. She made what was already a great experience a phenomenal one with her personality and artistry.

So, without further ado, here's Christin.

Q: What 3 words would describe what you value about the arts?
A: Experience, Reflection, Limitless

Q: What is one of the first arts experiences you remember?

A: Playing upside-down laundry baskets with my mom's drum sticks.

Q: What is one of your favorite recent arts experiences?
A: Playing percussion for a Washington, DC theater company.

Q: Are you an artist?
A: Yes

Q: Why do you create art?
A: It's like soul fuel. Without it, I feel empty and unmotivated to do much else.

Q: How did you find out about this project?
A: A friend.

Q: Why did you support this project?
A: The arts deserve support.

Thank you Christin!! And if you'd like to suppor this show, come check it out. We've got four shows over the next week. Again, you can find out more information and get tickets at our page on Capital Fringe's site, A is for Artist.

Hope to see you there,

JR

Vision Director

AWoL Productions

A is for Artist Backer: Philip Fletcher

A is for Artist
This production is presented
as part of the 2012 Capital Fringe Festival
a program of the Washington, DC non-profit
Capital Fringe

Hey there,

Here's another backer profile, of one of the wonderful people that supported A is for Artist on Kickstarter, presented as part of this year's Capital Fringe Festival. Philip Fletcher is someone I was fortunate to know working in DC's theatre scene, primarily through work at Synetic Theater.

And here he is :-)

JR: What 3 words would describe what you value about the arts?
Philip: EMOTION, the power to connect to the audience. CREATIVITY, seeing something that is new and exciting. VARIETY, there are so many types and genres of art. No matter who you are or what you do, there will always be something that appeals to you. 

JR: What is one of the first arts experiences you remember?

Philip: I always, whenever possible, went for the more visually artoptions in class projects over written assignments. Projects like making dioramas, or drawing pictures, etc.

JR: What is one of your favorite recent arts experiences?

Philip: I was just in Synetic’s production of “Home of the Soldier” and right across the street was Artomatic. It was awesome to be surrounded by so much art and artistic people for several weeks.

JR: Are you an artist?

Philip: Yes. I am a Founding Company Member of Synetic Theatre and have dabbled in photography, film, and dance.

JR: If yes: why do you create your art?

Philip: Speaking honestly it is mostly selfish reasons. I crave the emotional connection to an audience, the rush of adrenalin just before going on stage, and the thrill of live theatre – of what will happen tonight, you really have to think on your feet sometimes.

JR: If maybe/kinda/sorta: how is art a part of your life?

Philip: I am surrounded constantly by so many talented and gifted people associated with the theatre. Many actors are multitalented either they are dancers, singers, visual artist, writers, etc. Then there is, for lack of a better word, the artistic staff, the set, costume, and prop designers and builders, lighting designers, photographers, videographers, choreographers, directors, writers, etc. Even the stage managers, productions managers, and administrative staff all seem to also have some artistic talent where they excel. 

JR: How did you find out about this project?

Philip: E-Blast

JR: Why did you support this project?

Philip: Because ultimately I like to help.

Thanks again, Philip!! And if you'd like to catch him, just keep an eye out for Synetic Theater's productions throughout the year.

JR

Vision Director

AWoL Productions

A is for Artist Backer: Peter DiMuro

A is for Artist
This production is presented
as part of the 2012 Capital Fringe Festival
a program of the Washington, DC non-profit
Capital Fringe

Hey there,

Here's our third backer profile for A is for Artist, presented as part of this year's Capital Fringe Festival. Meet Peter DiMuro.

Q: What 3 words would describe what you value about the arts?
A: art sustains life

Q: What is one of the first arts experiences you remember?
A: creating a mural of snowy mountains on a blackboard as  a backdrop to our 3rd grade singing Christmas carols

Q: What is one of your favorite recent arts experiences?
A: in process: creating a forum for multiple genre choreographers to create new and fused works to the Rachmaninoff Preludes

Q: Are you an artist?
A: Yes

Q: Why do you create art?
A: I've tried not to, and life sucks when I don't

Q: How did you find out about this project?
A: through JR Russ- a kindred soul

Q: Why did you support this project?
A: I believe in the need to translated creative processes to a wider public is necessary for better understanding, and therefore valuing of all arts

Thanks, Peter!!

And if you'd like to keep up with his work you have a couple of options! publicdisplaysofmotion.org will be up and running soon. Public Displays of Motion is the umbrella for the creative collaborations and arts advancement work of Peter DiMuro and others. Performances in DC, Philadelphia, Boston and beyond this coming 2012/2013 season.

Until next time,

JR

Vision Director

AWoL Productions

A is for Artist backer: Sean Flaim

A is for Artist
This production is presented
as part of the 2012 Capital Fringe Festival
a program of the Washington, DC non-profit
Capital Fringe

Hey there,

Here's another backer profile for someone who supported A is for Artist, presented as part of this year's Capital Fringe Festival, Sean Flaim.

Q: What 3 words would describe what you value about the arts?
A: beauty, community, emotion

Q: What is one of the first arts experiences you remember?
A: Acting in a play in elementary school

Q: What is one of your favorite recent arts experiences?
A: Seeing a series of movie stills at the headquarters of the MPAA.

Q: Are you an artist?
A: Maybe/Kinda/Sorta

Q: How is art a part of your life?

A: My interest in intellectual property law and copyright stems in part from my lifelong connection to the arts.  Whether music, film, visual or performing arts, I am fascinated by the legal constructs we've created to encourage the creation of art and support the livelihood of artists.

Q: How did you find out about this project?
A: Facebook

Q: Why did you support this project?
A: I liked the particular subject matter.

So thank you, Sean Flaim!! And if you'd like to connect with him, you can do so at his LinkedIn profile.

More profiles to come.

JR
Vision Director
AWoL Productions

A is for Artist Backer: Omar Ghadry

A is for Artist
This production is presented
as part of the 2012 Capital Fringe Festival
a program of the Washington, DC non-profit
Capital Fringe

Hey there,

Here is a quick profile of one of our backers for "A is for Artist", presented as part of this year's Capital Fringe Festival, Omar Ghadry.

Q: What 3 words would describe what you value about the arts?
A: Creativity, communication, fun

Q: What is one of the first arts experiences you remember?
A: Painting my backyard

Q: What is one of your favorite recent arts experiences?
A: Drafting a logo with my girlfriend.

Q: Are you an artist?
A: No

Q: Why do you see art?
A: New experiences/perspectives

Q: How did you find out about this project?
A: My friend JR!

Q: Why did you support this project?
A: He's my friend and I trust he puts his effort into worthwhile projects.

So thank you, Omar!!

And keep an eye out for more backer profiles over the next couple of weeks,

JR
Vision Director
AWoL Productions

The Rave Scenes - Audience Survey

Hello all!!

A bit belated, but here are the results from the audience survey from The Rave Scenes.

Just a disclaimer, though.  As we received 30 responses from a total number of 194tickets sold, I tried to calculate the Margin of Error, for some of the questions.

1. Is this your first year at the Capital Fringe Festival? (13.18 MOE)
Yes - 24 (80%) / No - 6 (20%)

2. How old are you?
Average Age - 29.04

3. How did you commute here? (15.33 MOE)
Auto - 20.5 (68.33%) / Public - 8.5 (28.33%) / Bike - 1

4. Where do you live? [We're gonna keep this one private]

5. Are you a raver?
Yes - 6 / Maybe - 4.5 / In a past life - 7.5 / No - 11

6. Do you regularly see live performances? (11.2 MOE)

Dance - 1 / Music - 7 / Theatre - 6 / Other - 1 / No - 4

dance/music - 2 / music/theatre - 2 / music/other - 1

dance/music/theatre - 4 / dance/music/theatre/other - 2

Yes - 26 (86.67%) / No - 4 (13.33%)

7. How did you find out about The Rave Scenes? (13.18 MOE)
WOM - 24 (80%) / Postcard - 1 / Fringe - 4 / Print - 1

8. How did you find out about the Capital Fringe Festival? (15.1 MOE)
WOM - 21 (70%) / Print - 5 / Attended Before - 2 / Fringe - 2

9. Was this show relevant to you?
Average - 5.61 out of 7

So the neat thing?

A LOT of first time Capital Fringers came to see this show, and most of them found out by word of mouth.  And for the most part, this show was pretty relevant to the audience who came to see it.

I will be putting out another survey to the audience and update this page with any new input.

Otherwise, I hope you found this insightful.

I want to make it a point to collect whatever data I can, qualitative and quantitative, to insure that AWoL Productions continues to grow from each experience. Obviously, this survey was tailored to a particular event and venue.

Let me know if there are some questions that might be useful to consider, as I get feedback from future performances.

That's it for now,

- JR, Vision Director, AWoL Productions


Resources:

• http://www.surveysystem.com/sscalc.htm
• http://www.americanresearchgroup.com/moe.html

TRS: A Green Scene

So, as I'm getting ready for another rehearsal, I wanted to just blog about a meeting I had with Mike, a friend of mine who has a sustainable development consulting firm, Renew & Sustain.

He offered pro-bono service for my maiden production, in trying to devise a green plan of action. Even though we're performing at a festival, we can still be green with the energy by offering a fund raising plan to purchase carbon offsets. During the shows, instead of bottled water, I can make sure to provide filtered water for the cast.

He actually gave me same bad news/good news with regards to any printing we need to get done, for programs, postcards, fliers, etc. The good news is that most print companies are going green, using recycled paper, soy-based ink. The bad news is that it's not so special to find what that's green-minded.

And that's fine. That's actually awesome. I feel like the fact that we're aware of that and it intentionally fits with other aspects of the production process is what matters. It's like the difference between someone who works for a non-profit just for the work, versus someone who works at one because they also know what the mission is, and believe in it.

Anyway, I digress. Feeling really good, and looking forward to rehearsal in a little over an hour.

TRS: A Rave Act

So, had a really great work-through of the script so far, last night. It's an interesting process, since the cast includes both ravers who have never acted and actors who have never raved...and some of both.

Everyone has something to learn from, and something to teach to all the others of the cast, and that's wonderful.

What's interesting is seeing how the show will shape itself in a way that I could have never done on my own, hence the community nature of not just the mission of AWoL Productions, but also the process:

"to share the values of communities, by collaborating, creating, and telling stories through the performing arts"

My recent writer's block in trying to provide the foundation of a suggestion for the piece, has been the lack of a clear conflict or struggle within the piece. That seems like it's starting to emerge, particularly now that everyone has their part, and can add their own voice and views to the characters. But something I didn't expect, would be just how much this would be a story about the rave scene in DC.

I mean, I knew the piece would be DC-centric, but especially because some of the members of the cast had been going out before I did, and were in the scene before the infamous Fox-5 bust of '99, there was a distinct change in the scene that no amount of imagination on my part, would've done justice to.

As a result, I thought I'd share what, in my own experience, was a similarly disturbing and ground shaking event for the scene in 2002, the R.A.V.E. Act. It stood for Reducing American's Vulnerability to Ecstasy, and could basically hold promoters and djs accountable if someone were found to be using, in their party. The presence of glowsticks and bottled water were considered drug paraphernalia, and one could be sentenced up to 20 years in jail, and up to $250,000 if convicted.

Ravers organized a counter movement called R.O.A.R., Ravers Organized Against the Rave act. It was really inspiring to see what had been a relatively benign community, which simply got together to dance to non-mainstream music every week, become energized against this attack on the scene. It was also nice to see people in the daylight, after years of starlight, florescent, and strobe lights, as R.O.A.R. organized a protest with speakers and dj's right on Capitol Hill.

Anyway, for more info about it, check out the following links:

The Chill is On - http://reason.com/archives/2003/10/01/the-chill-is-on

DEA Uses RAVE Act, Threats to Block Montana NORML/SSDP Benefit - http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/290/dearave.shtml

Legislative History of the R.A.V.E. Act - http://www.drugpolicy.org/communities/raveact/legislative/index.cfm

The RAVE Act of 2002 - http://emdef.org/s2633/

R.A.V.E. Act Opponents Gear Up - http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/252/raveact.shtml

Raving Lunacy - http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,58663,00.html

Wikipedia entry - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reducing_Americans%27_Vulnerability_to_Ecstasy_Act

Your glowstick could land you in jail - http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2003/04/16/rave