A possible opportunity for Mrs. Hawking
As you may know, every year for the past three or so, Waltham has held a weekend-long festival devoted to the Steampunk subculture. In past years it was called the International Steampunk City, this year it's going to be the Watch City Festival.
When Lenny first alerted me to the fact that it would be coming up again, it struck me what a good match a steampunk festival was for Mrs. Hawking, which is after the steampunk aesthetic. I looked up the festival and it appeared that it would be happening in May, as it has in all previous years. With the amount of time I had between then and May, I thought it would be a great idea to put together a small selection of scenes from Mrs. Hawking and then apply to put them on at the Watch City Festival, under the auspices of the Watch City Players. It all works together so nicely, and it would be a way to get the property out there.
But just as I was getting everything together (we were even about to start rehearsals) they put out that the date for this year is not in May. It's in September. Initially I was disappointed, as I've been wanting something a little more immediate to help bring attention to my project. But then it occurred to me how this might change things.
September is many more months out. A lot more can be done in that time than in the bare six weeks it looked like I was initially going to have. And now I'm wondering if I shouldn't be trying to put on the whole play.
Maybe it's crazy that I'm even thinking it. It is a technically demanding piece; it would require the construction of a real set, one that for one scene would require the ability for an actor to climb up onto it. It would be expensive, and the only person who would be responsible for the cost would be myself.
But I can't shake the notion that this is too good an opportunity to let pass. I've been struggling for a way to get Mrs. Hawking to the attention of people who would be particularly interested in it. A steampunk play at a steampunk festival seems perfect for showing it to people who like that sort of thing. I will never have better synergy that way. And I don't think the Festival charges performers for use of their space, and the cost of performance space is one of the biggest barriers to mounting my own production. If they had space they would just let me use, that would be one major expense out of the way. And the fact that the festival has its own publicity would do a lot of the advertising for me. It would help me draw an audience I wouldn't have otherwise.
I don't know if they'd be accommodating. Maybe the Festival wouldn't let me put on a full-length play. Maybe they wouldn't have the space or resources to give to the setup and the audience and the couple hours of performance time. And surely it would be expensive to build the sort of set it would need. But I feel like I have to try and see, just check with them to see if it's even possible.
Maybe I could do a Kickstarter. If the space was indeed free, and I already have most of the props, costumes, and furniture pieces, all that would really require substantial money would be the set. I don't think that would require more than a few grand, five or so. That might even allow me to employ a friend with the expertise to build it. I know undergrad theater at Brandeis with budgets of no more than five grand were able to build the sort of thing I'm thinking of, so I know it's theoretically possible.
I sent an email to the person listed as festival director on the website inquiring as to the feasibility, but did not get a response, which was frustrating. But performer proposal submissions are opening on March 30th. So perhaps what I should do is submit two proposals-- one for the full play, one for the handful of scenes that I'd originally planned to do when I thought the festival was in May --and do whichever one they'll allow me to.
It's a daunting prospect, but it's one I have to investigate. I can't pass up any good opportunities to get this off the ground.