I would like to ask for help from my friends and from friends of friends to develop further my new musical called 'Like Me'
Social Media and social networking has become part of everyday life for the majority. In some cases people’s online/cyber personas are more prolific than their reality. Relationships are formed and broken, webs of lies are spun, and mundane thoughts of millions of 'Friends' & 'Followers' are posted so eloquently every minute.
Like me is a new musical that comments on this universal addiction and educates the viewer about their online habits, and the effect they are having on the future of our world.
2013 I presented 'Like Me' as a workshop at The Arts Theatre London. After the positive feedback from this, I then launched the show in New York City with an American cast. This was all funded by myself, to get the show heard and to further its development.
I now have the opportunity to go back to New York at the end of March 2014 to open a conference at The Conrad Hilton Hotel, for the CMO Club. After this I intend to develop the show further and produce and present it as a standard legnth show in London
This opportunity in NY has derived as a direct response to its success. The opportunity can't be passed. The expense of creating the show to date, has hit my pocket to the tune of 7k. I now find myself reaching out, not for charity, but reaching out for assistance in exchange for rewards. The rewards may not be to line your pockets back with silver and gold, but they lie within the opportunity to see this new writing grow and to know that you were a small yet very significant part of it's development.
Ititially your help will allow me to go back to NYC in less than a month to take this opportunity. Anything raised above the amout needed for this initial step will be focused towards further development
About Me
Since 2001 I have been self-employed. I trained as an actor at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff and then moved straight to London. For many years I worked as an actor both in straight theatre as well as musical theatre and had the fortunate experience of playing some of the most beautiful theatres in the west end in productions of We Will Rock You at the Dominion Theatre, Saturday Night Fever at the Victoria Apollo and even Batman at the O2 arena. Along side this work I was always writing. I have played the guitar and piano from an early age and can't remember a time when I wasn't composing music. For the last 6 years I have written a parody show called Jest End that was originally produced by Paul Nicholas. The show is a current affairs parody that acts as a personal love letter to the stage and it's recent hot gossip. Aside from this I have written shows for Thompson holidays, as well as Haven Holidays and also written and recorded more popular music. In particular I co wrote/recorded and released a song called Let Go with Samantha Barks who recently had great success performing the role of Eponine in the latest Hollywood film of Les Miserables.
To help with my creative finances to support my writing I also work as a photographer for Actors and Dancers, supplying images for their portfolios, websites and other promotional and PR uses.
‘Like Me’ is the first original work I have composed. With a universal subject matter of social media/social marketing/networking, there is not many people in the world that it doesn't affect.
To my knowledge, there has not been a new musical work based around this addiction of cyber space and it's social networking sites. The issues and subject matter range from comedic relationships between couples and families, to teen suicides, bullying, homosexuality and fear.
The Internet is a tool for so many great things, but yet abused also for so many more. What this piece and I will achieve by it's development, is a chance for all these issues to be exposed in front of an audience that is not sitting in solitary, but together with friends and families who will of course be entertained, but at the same time be challenged with questions that will no doubt create sometimes difficult discussions about their own personal online habits and experiences.
As a universal subject, the piece will be able to be performed anywhere. I hope to not only produce productions of it myself but to license it out to schools, colleges, and amateur dramatic groups to be performed and enjoyed for many years. The key subliminal education is unique. Personal lessons will be learnt from this work even if never discussed. I sit here now alone at my computer and hope to bring my personal thoughts alive on a global scale
This activity is important for me, as it is my first completed original work that will launch me as a Writer/Composer and will enable me to make a start on the journey to be creating art full time. I have many ideas and a network of people who believe in my work so far. This work I will continue to do, if only given the chance and the opportunity. So far I have been self-funding my work and calling in favors from so many people that I have worked with along the way. The feedback I have had from this new work has been totally positive and I am so passionate about developing this show through workshop and performance to get it to the stage it needs to be to really spread it's wings. I can no longer do this on my own and have sadly run out of favors to ask. I would love to be in the position to develop this work in comfortable rehearsal surroundings and to be able to utilize other peoples skills from actors, musicians, lighting ops, production assistants, costume, marketing, and every aspect of growing a new work and growing awareness about me as an up and coming composer of original work in this fantastic cultural city. I know I can make a change, I know my work can entertain as well as challenge to make a difference to our youth and older generations alike. I just need a hand
Creatives anticiapated In Production
Gareth Ellis - Will Orchestrate and arrange my compositions for the 5 piece band consisting of 2 violins, cello, piano, guitar. Gareth is a highly accomplished musical director that has led many west end musicals. He was recently appointed as musical director for the Royal Shakespeare Company and has just finished a successful run at the Barbican with David Tenant with Richard II.
Gareth Tucker will design and operate the sound on the production. (freelance sound engineer) on musicals such as Wicked, We Will Rock You, and The Lord of the rings.
Gary Bowman will be the lighting designer for the production. He trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School where he studied Professional Stage Management & Technical Theatre, whilst specializing in Lighting Design. Gary was Deputy Chief Electrician at the Donmar Warehouse from 2009 to 2011 and has been an electrician on productions such as Wicked, Rock of Ages and Chicago. Gary is currently Deputy Chief Electrician on the RSC's production of Matilda in the West End.
Rebecca Howell will be the choreographer for the production
As Choreographer theatre includes: Falstaff (Royal Opera House); Jest End (Players Theatre); Blockbuster (Workshop).
As Associate Choreographer theatre includes: Viva Forever (Piccadilly Theatre); My Fair Lady (St Petersburg / Théâtre du Châtelet) We Will Rock You; Billy Elliot (West End); La Cage Aux Folles; A Little Night Music; Little Shop of Horrors (Menier Chocolate Factory / West End); Aspects of Love (Menier Chocolate Factory); Bad Girls The Musical (West Yorkshire Playhouse); Assassins (Crucible Theatre).
Every household, every business, everyone I know as well as everyone they know are part of, or at the very least are aware of the impact of social media and social networking sites. Whether this is relationship driven, business driven through marketing and advertising, or just simply a social and personal hobby and in some cases addiction, social media and social networking had dominated our planet. Any person who watches my show, hears about my show, or even see an advert for my show, the engagement will be instantaneous and memorable linked to his or her own experience. My target audience for my work is everybody. Older generations who don't understand, younger generations who are bullied on line, have form and break relationships on line, hide from their true selves on line, pretend to be who they are not online, create opportunities for themselves on line, destroy other opportunities online, reach out to old friends on line, find family members and acquaintances who have lost touch on line.
Even the performers within the show will be a target audience for my writing and an education for them how they deliver the material and engage with the subject matter themselves.
The possibility for this show to be used in schools and colleges, as well as theatre, is really exciting. The target audience can connect directly with the piece and really learn from it and be educated just by tapping into the truth of their own online persona and habits
As from the works explanation suggests the power of the growing network of the show with its online friends and followers is a key tool for expansion and for potential growth on a global scale. Web series of pictures, video blogs, promotion and performance will all be utilized with the social media, social networking groups such as Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn etc. as well as the shows personal website. I am also keen within the design of the show to include a certain element of live social interaction and participation by using projections of the Like Me social networking groups and other devices that act as entertainment within the show, but also act as constant promotion and advertising for brand recognition and growth.
Videos will be shared from live performances as well as official posted material. I will encourage a use of photography and video during performance that no other theatre production is normally keen on. The key to this work is the relevance of the audiences experience within their own social media and social networking groups. This experience is to be encouraged and discussed as oppose to providing sheer entertainment for entertainments sake.
I would like to think that a cathartic experience will also be provided for the cast, as well as the audience and everybody else involved in the production of Like Me.
This experience will encourage audience members and others to share the work within their own online circles and spread the message of its importance.
Within writing and developing this work so far I have had no help financially and have spent around £7,000 to produce a workshop for an invited audience towards the end of 2013. I have been working on this for now the last 2 years. The awareness of the piece has grown and the excitement for it's future is very much apparent. But I can no longer support it financially and need help from others who can see the potential in not just the work but also within myself.
This help would enable me to develop the work further, to produce and present the work this year through workshops and performances and to get the metaphorical ball rolling for the future of the show and for myself as a new writer, that is targeting subject matters for the benefit of current generations and emerging.
The help would put the show and me in a position of developing the work further and to then present it to an audience of potential backers/investors and producers to support the growth of the work. That said, it could also put the show into a position of generating it's own income through performance and workshop and therefore being self sufficient in it's future production in going forward to bigger audiences and greater success and awareness of the work.
I have been self-employed for over 10 years and after all this time I am now in a place where this original work is ready to be successfully launched. I have been an actor, writer, producer, composer, photographer, director & singer since finishing my degree in 2001. I have juggled my creativity and struggled to put things on and get work off the ground for so long. This has been very hard work along the way yet very successful.
I am now in a position where the respect of my work and its reputation needs to move forward. Rehearsing in unsuitable venues, settling for second best because 1st choice is not viable are all things of the past.
Jest End is a shinning example of the way my creativity has grown from a very small idea. The show has had 5 star national reviews and has a public following to rival any other west end production. It's been a platform for my skills as a writer as well as a producer and I am now more than ready to make some noise with a brand new work. Favors are now tired. I would love to be in a position where a strict budget and development grant is in place to plough forward in a professional manner and not only to make a success of my show but to also make a success of the Arts Council and it's power to allow the creative fruition of tomorrow
After taking 15 months to write the piece, I then rehearsed and produced a workshop at the Arts Theatre Leicester square with a cast of 4 and a band of 5, a sound designer, a lightening designer, and choreographer. We rehearsed at the dominion theatre in the west end where i had previously played the role of Popfor 3 years. The audience for the show was an invited industry audience as well as family and friends. I then did the same thing in New York to expand the fan base globally ready for more London development for this year 2014
The evaluation of this activity, as well as coming from my self, as the director, will also derive from the individuals it has reached and affected. The on going growth of the subject matter is so current, that the evaluation will be openly experienced and shared by all whom are in contact. I will do an online blog and video diary of the process. The use of the money given, which in itself will stand up as a bench mark of my career will be shared alongside the evaluation and success of the activity it is being used to help.