Where to begin ?
“Begin at the beginning," the King said, very gravely, "and go on till you come to the end: then stop.”-Lewis Carroll , Alice In Wonderland
Well, all was going quite well . THE LION IN WINTER was FINALLY about to become a reality . I had a theatre picked out, an Eleanor and King Henry cast , a fight captain , costumes picked out . Everything was moving along.
I was going to put the deposit down on the 63 seat space in Midtown Manhattan the following day.
HOWEVER, when I got home, I found out that my landlord had SOLD the home I had lived in for 28 years and I had WEEKS to find a new home.
That included a garage and attic full of books, props, and other items . That meant a place that was also pet friendly. That also meant affordable in the NYC area .
Switching gears, I looked far and afield for places that were affordable, allowed me to go to and fro for our jobs on Broadway , and pets ok .
NOT easily accomplished . "You can have ONE cat ". Sorry we have more than that. "Sure you can have two cats and pay a ridiculous fee every month". Sorry, we have more than that . "Sure you can have cats but pay a ridiculous amount for a really tiny place that is little more than a closet ."
Expanding our search in the brief time that we had , the time crunch was too daunting. We decided to look beyond the NYC area.... quite beyond.
We landed upon Rochester. Found a lovely HOUSE , and after dropping almost all the money we had, it was ours (well the banks, but you know what I mean) . We would now be paying LESS than we had been .
(well, not that grand )
Sadly, it meant leaving working on Broadway. A dream job that I had for over a decade .
With a heavy heart, I retired .
However, I STILL will be creating, acting and directing . Just not in NYC at present .
ROCHESTER NY is very good for the Arts, though limited on union work . GEVA is great ,as well as touring companies.
However , undaunted, we settled in .
We found a great black box space. Several inquiries , and we are now penciled in to perform for six performances in late February /early March 2025.
(well, an 80 seat black box but comfy)
New speed bump : The requirements of AEA meant that even One Equity Contract would eat up nearly half our budget . FAR more expensive Guest Artist contract compared to AEA showcases in NYC .
Therefore I recently decided the show could NOT be an Equity production (upsetting ). I take comfort knowing that amateur need not mean lesser , as amateur means a person who engages in a pursuit on an unpaid rather than professional basis . "Amateur",the word, came into English from the french "amateur" , which in turn comes from the Latin word for "lover" (amator) .
You can still make a secure donation to help us raise additional funds for certain props, rights, costume rentals ,set pieces and other expenses :
Hopefully, LION will be successful with more monies raised so that future productions can be under the aegis of the union , so AEA and non union performers could benefit working together .
The rights holder for the play have been contacted ,as well as two different costume houses that carry the proper clothing for a piece set in 1183 Chinon Castle , Christmas day ,France.
A wonderful young soundscape designer and composer is coming up with original pieces specific to this production .
A set designer / set construction person is also on board.
Now looking for other team members and wonderful performers to come aboard .
Audition and crew info listed here :
(usual fundraiser grovel )
This has been an incredibly long journey of nearly a DECADE to get this production off the ground.
Along the way, some wonderful people who helped us start the company have shuffled off this mortal coil, others have moved away . Still , I feel so fortunate that there are people who believe in what we are trying to do , and even though there have been big changes along the way with a big move, they look forward to us making the tale of a long ago kingdom come back to the 21st Century, even if only for a two week run .
Can we sell 480 tickets at about $20 each? It's possible with YOUR help
I am humbled that some have even said they will travel 7 hours or more to see the production come to life.
I feel blessed and very lucky.
In the meantime , I hope to keep people updated as to what is going on with more regularity ,perhaps with some videos of our progress ,and introduce our talented team to the world .
In the meantime ,
keep creating.
Support the Arts
Stay joyful.
The world needs the arts more than ever to remind us of our shared humanity on our planet.
Be kind.
Have a happy healthy, and creative life.
Follow us here and help share .
With humble gratitude ,
Kevin G Shinnick
with continued gratitude to FRACTURED ATLAS .
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