Category Archives: Grants

An Exciting Announcement…

Ok, so I’m going to take a short break from Persuasion news to make an exciting announcement but first I wanted to remind everyone that the early bird discount for tickets to our gala will be in effect for TWO more days. Get your tickets here.

So, on to the exciting announcement: This has been in the works for awhile now but I can FINALLY announce our next mainstage show. So, first we have Jane Austen’s Persuasion which will run in late June (hey, did I mention there’s a gala too? Tickets are available here) and then we’ve got In The Ebb, our Fringe show (read about that here).

Then, our next mainstage production will be (I feel like there should be a drumroll here so imagine that’s happening) an original adaptation of the novel Within Arm’s Reach by Ann Napolitano.

From Ms. Napolitano’s website: “Within Arm’s Reach charts the emotional life of three generations of an Irish Catholic family. Shaken reluctantly into self-examination by the unexpected pregnancy of its youngest member, the McLaughlin family is forced to confront ghosts of both past and present, and to re-appraise its values in a world of rapid change.

Narrated through six subjective first person accounts – the pregnant Gracie, her sister Lila, their parents, their matriarchal grandmother, and a family outsider with a curious connection – the novel dissects the markedly variant responses that such supposedly similar people can have to the same events.

An honest tale of interconnected lives, Within Arm’s Reach shows us that the ‘ties that bind’ are a source of both solace and of pain – at once a curse, a lifeline, an irritant and a cure – they are ultimately unavoidable and indelible.”

It’s a gorgeous novel, beautifully written, and I highly recommend picking it up and taking a look for yourself before we get the adaptation up on its feet. (In fact, I recommend you do that now so that it won’t be quite so fresh in your mind when you see the show and you notice all those little things I needed to change while adapting it for the stage). I am THRILLED to start working on the adaptation and delve into the lives of these amazing, intriguing, flawed, relatable, lovely, fascinating characters. Also worth a read is Ann’s second novel A Good Hard Look. The adaptation of that novel would have been much more difficult though, as I don’t have the budget to put live peacocks on stage…see, now you’re totally intriqued, right? That was my intention. Get thee to Ann’s website to get clarification and to pick up some great reading material.

And, hand in hand with our Within Arm’s Reach announcement (and I do want to apologize in advance if during the next 6 months of promotion that apostrophe ends up after the ‘s’ – I’ve caught myself putting it in the wrong place several times during grant applications and I live in terror of sending something out with it in the wrong place. That, and adding an ‘e’ to Ann’s name. Another thing I live in horror of doing because right now, I’m working on a show (Jane Austen’s Persuasion (gala tickets here)) where the main character’s name is Anne with an ‘e’ so with all the stuff floating in my head I’m concerned I’ll mix up the Anne/Anns or put that apostrophe at the end of Arms – Arms’. I’m probably guaranteed to do it but writing this here will hopefully keep it from happening. And, although I’m gonna try my best not to allow it to happen, just in case, I do want to apologize in advance to Ann if it does.)

ANYWHO…hand in hand with our Within Arm’s Reach announcement I would also like to announce that Going to Tahiti Productions has been awarded its first grant! Thank you Puffin Foundation for your support of Within Arm’s Reach. PuffinFoundation is a wonderful organization that, well, they say it best themselves…from www.puffinfoundation.org: “The Puffin Foundation Ltd. has sought to open the doors of artistic expression by providing grants to artists and art organizations who are often excluded from mainstream opportunities due to their race, gender, or social philosophy. Why the Puffin? The Puffin, once endangered in the northeastern United States, was returned to its native habitats through the efforts of a concerned citizenry. Our name is a metaphor for how we perceive our mission in the arts: to join with other concerned groups and individuals to ensure that the arts not merely survive, but flourish at all levels of our society.” Within Arm’s Reach will now definitely happen because funding has been made possible by the Puffin Foundation. Thank you thank you thank you, Puffin! And can I just say, after growing up with PBS and hearing that phrase “funding has been made possible” during so many broadcasts I don’t think I can fully describe the thrill it gives me to be able to say that for one of my projects “funding has been made possible” by someone who doesn’t even know me but who read my proposal and thought, “yeah, that sounds cool. Let’s give her some money.” Seriously?!?! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU, Puffin!!!

Phew! Ok, so, yeah, that’s the news. I promised you exciting so there you have it. I’ll be back next week with the cast announcements for Jane Austen’s Persuasion. Oh, and did I mention our gala? An Evening with Jane Austen? On June 16th at 7pm at MIMA Brooklyn? No? Well you can get tickets here and for two more days the early bird ticket price is still available. Buy Tickets Now!

 

We’re on the Fringe, baby!

Ok, so all you eagle-eyed readers will have noticed that I missed last week’s post. I do apologize. A wonderful trip to a friend’s wedding in Los Angeles meant some of my regular duties fell by the wayside. That being said, there were some interesting and exciting developments during the last two weeks – if that’s what happens when I go away, maybe I should go on hiatus more often…

They say good things come to those who wait…what they don’t mention is that in addition to having the patience to wait for the good thing (whatever it may be) you also have to bust your a**. So for the last few months I’ve been putting in some serious leg work to take GTTP to the next level and it looks like that leg work is starting to pay off. Here’s what’s been happening in Tahiti…

First off, this didn’t happen in the last two weeks but I’m still so stoked about it that I figured I’d mention it again – I got to interview Melanie Jones! Check out our podcast interview with creator and performer, Melanie Jones.

Secondly, our JUNE 16th Gala Event, An Evening with Jane Austen, is starting to come together. We’ve got a commitment for appetizers from the amazing Brooklyn Restaurant . If you are a New Yorker and are unfamiliar with this Williamsburg restaurant, you are in for a treat. Every time I have eaten there the food has been exquisite. The place has a great atmosphere, terrific food, and fantastic drinks. Definitely check them out if you’re looking for a place to eat in Williamsburg, or, even better, check them out when you’re at the gala. Did I mention, you can get tickets to the Gala here.

And, we’ll be serving beer from . I know, not exactly Jane Austen fare, but they had beer back then, right? So what if it wasn’t Brooklyn Brewery beer. Their loss is our gain. Brooklyn is representing! And for those non-beer drinkers, never fear, there will also be wine.

Thirdly, today was the first day of auditions for Jane Austen’s Persuasion! The cast is starting to take shape and if all goes according to plan (keep your fingers crossed that all goes according to plan) we should have a cast announcement in next week’s blog post!

Fourthly, (is that a word), we got some awesome news from  This exciting and prestigious international theater festival has selected a version of GTTP’s very first show, In The Ebb, by Camilla Ammirati, to be a part of this year’s festival. Performances will be this summer in a theater in Manhattan – that’s right all you Manhattanites who have been saying, “I would totally go see a GTTP show but I don’t do Queens” – this AUGUST you’ll get your chance!!! More details will be posted on the website as they happen…and for more info on the NYC Fringe Festival itself, check out their page here.

AND, last but not least, I have a VERY exciting announcement regarding our fall/winter show…but you’ll have to wait to hear it for another week or so. Sorry, hate to cliffhang y’all but until the ink is dry on some paperwork, the (official) exciting announcement will have to wait. But seriously, guys, it’s awesome! You’ll definitely want to check back for deets soon!

…oh, and did I mention, tickets for the gala are on sale here. Also, for another week you can get them for the Early Bird reduced rate of $60 – use code GEB.

GalaTicketsGalaTicketsGalaTickets Buy gala tickets now! GalaTicketsGalaTicketsGalaTickets

 

The Hazards of the Life of A Producer…

This is a pretty good illustration of my last few weeks. This past week, in particular, was a kind of crazy week on the island of Tahiti (made crazier by my day job helping babies be born but that’s another story that you can see details of here).

I think the best illustration of the insanity is the sheer number of projects/plays I have running through my head right now (some will not have titles because I haven’t made official announcements but you’ll still get the picture):

1) Full Disclosure – as you may have seen, I wrapped up Full Disclosure this past week by sending out the last of the RocketHub rewards. Although it didn’t require me to actually keep the show in my head, it is a project that I couldn’t put to bed until last week. (Speaking of which, if you are supposed to receive a RocketHub reward and you haven’t yet, please let me know. I sent out emails to settle the rewards but I didn’t hear back from everyone who was owed something and it’s very important to me that those rewards get fulfilled.)

2) Skin Flesh Bone – Did my taxes last week so there was discussion of both Full Disclosure and Skin Flesh Bone in the settling of the year end budget. But that too is now put to bed.

3) Cat Lady Without A Cat – as you all know, I am co-producing 3 performances of Carrie Keskinen’s Cat Lady Without A Cat. Tickets available here. Join us March 9th at 8pm or March 10th at 2pm or 7pm. It’s a fun show that’s still in development so the talkbacks we have after each show will give all of you an opportunity to give your feedback on what’s working and what’s not in the show. (see – you get to be more than just the audience, you get to be a part of the development of a show!)

4) Persuasion – Although the show is a bit of a ways off, I’m currently on the hunt for a performance space. No, no, no, don’t worry. There is no rift between Tahiti and The Secret Theatre. In fact our relationship is stronger than ever (see item 5). It’s just that The Big Theatre (the site of last year’s Skin Flesh Bone) at The Secret Theatre is booked for all of June with their own exciting projects and so it looks like for Persuasion we might have to temporarily relocate. :( Bummer, BUT, I am currently asearching. I saw a great space last week (part of my crazy week) and I’m currently running the numbers to see if we can book it. I’ll keep everyone posted.

5) The Day Job by Julia Blauvelt – This is the one-act that I’m directing for The Secret Theatre’s One Act Festival – The One Act Factor, which opens mid-March. Another contribution to last week’s craziness were the two rehearsals I had with my terrific cast and the one production meeting.

6) Fringe Festival Show – As I mentioned last week, I applied for the New York Fringe Festival this year. In order to apply I needed to put together a budget and a plan for what that show would be – which meant poring over a bunch of scripts and deciding what GTTP could reasonably put together within the time frame (should we get accepted, that is). I’m psyched for what we chose but it’s been another show cluttering my head.

7) The Fall/Winter show – This one is one that I’m very excited about and VERY close to signing an agreement for, but until papers are signed I can’t reveal what it is. That being said, the budget and the begining directing/producing have already begun so that I could apply for grants.

8 ) The Gala – I know, I know, it’s not a show, but for it to be the kind of Gala I want, it’s definitely a production. So, although it runs along similar lines as Persuasion, (Jane Austen themed event and all) it does have a different slant then the play and so, requires a different set of skills entirely.

9) 3 plays for a New Play Festival – I agreed to be a reader for a new play festival. So, on top of the other stuff I was doing last week, I read and evaluated 3 plays. It’s been a bit hectic, but I did turn in my evaluations! Yay…but yeah, those shows have been circling my brain as well.

10) unFRAMED – This is a terrific one-man show by poet, playwright and artist Iyaba Ibo Mandingo, that I’m interning on. It has it’s next showing at The InterAct Theatre in Philadelphia March 30th-April 1st (actually it’s next showing is at Sing Sing Correctional Facility but I’m pretty sure that one’s not open to the public). If you happen to be in Philly the last weekend in March or if you find another opportunity to see it, I highly recommend it. Details on the show’s booking schedule can be found here.

Yeah, I think that’s it, but seriously that’s 10 different projects zipping around in my head, (as Eddie Izzard would say, “[10 shows] in one head? No one can live at that speed” and that doesn’t even begin to cover the business stuff. The business stuff is always on my mind – budgets, marketing, audience growth, five year plan, strategic planning, but this week it’s been the artistic stuff – character, set, prop, sound effects, lighting, etc – circling like crazy…Oh, and the podcast. We recorded Carrie Keskinen’s podcast on Friday. It should be posted in the next day or so. Basically, I’ve become that person. That person who responds to the simple question, “how are things?” with something resembling the following:

“Oh, great. Busy, but great. I mean just this week I was at  rehearsals, a production meeting, a theater tour, a seminar on theater business, a podcast recording, a show that I was judging for The NY Innovative Theater Awards, and 2 births (day job). Not to mention the hours I sat in front of my computer trying to get folks out to see GTTP’s next show (It’s called Cat Lady Without A Cat and tickets are available here). Oh, and I totally have to finish a grant application. And, did I mention that I’m looking for in-kind donations for my Gala? Did I tell you I’m organizing a gala?…Oh, how are you?” Really I think the person who asked me the question was just making small talk but my head is spinning and I can’t seem to just answer, “fine. How are things with you?” Really, right now the only thing I can guarantee at any given time is that of all of the tasks I set for myself at the beginning of each day there will be at least 3 major things I haven’t accomplished by the end of the day. Not the least of which is catch up on like 3 episodes of Justified. I’m missing my shows, people! That is the level of dedication I have to my art. I’m missing enjoying the art that other people have put out there for me.

Experiment time…

I have decided to try an experiment…are you ready? Here it is:

I will be posting blog updates – something – at LEAST once a week. I’ve chosen Sunday evening as my posting night because that allows me to let the thoughts percolate all weekend and by Sunday, I will hopefully have something to say about theater. This week I have to say that my brain is a spinning. For folks who follow me on Facebook, you may have seen the few updates about grant applications but if you REALLY follow me on Facebook, what you’ll have noticed is that I haven’t been on Facebook much for the last few weeks. :( Never fear, dear readers, it is not because I have lost interest in communicating with you all…not at all…in fact, it is the exact opposite. I have missed reading what everyone’s up to, and wishing people happy birthday, and catching up on the latest funny videos “sh**t crunchy moms say” was hilarious and I’ve missed getting the latest update from George Takei – that dude is a riot AND he really hates the Twilight books…but, what has been going on is that I have been in the zone (really I’ve been in grant application hell but for the purposes of this blog post we’re gonna call that the zone). And the zone? That sh**t’s all encompassing. I’ve been up to my eyeballs in project proposal and biographical information and annual budget calculation. I haven’t seen much in the way of sleep or working out or my husband or the latest episode of JUSTIFIED (yeah, that last one’s killing me). In fact I haven’t seen much of anything other than my computer screen and it’s beginning to wear a little thin…it’s also going to continue for another week, but once March rolls around things should be getting back to normal.

But, I have so far applied for three grants and I have a fourth application pending. All of the applications are for a very exciting show coming up in the fall, which I will announce once the contracts are signed. Keep your fingers crossed, my lovelies, that some of these organizations are blown away by the proposals, because if they are, we’ll be in really good shape for the fall.

“But, Jess. What about the spring?” you ask.

Never fear. Here’s the update:

We are full steam ahead on Cat Lady Without a Cat. Carrie Keskinen’s hilarious new one-woman show will run for three performances only March 9th at 8pm, March 1oth at 2pm and March 10th at 7pm at The Poco Space in The Secret Theatre. Tickets will be on sale by the end of the week and notices about the show will be winging their way into your email boxes in the next few days.

We had a small setback with our plans for Persuasion. It turns out that The Secret Theatre is booked solid for all of June so we are now in search of a new performance space for our summer show. Never fear, we’ll find somewhere to entertain you all and as soon as those details are settled you will be the first to hear.

And, lastly but not leastly, we are VERY close to securing a location for our Spring Gala. The planning has begun and we are looking forward to bringing you all a Jane Austen night, complete with dance lessons and period appropriate costumes. Get excited to party it up – Austen Style!

I’ll see you all next week – if not before…