Kyle Fackrell, Zach Kempf, and Dr. Rodger Rosensen, Theatre and Media Arts
‘Whe’re Ya Gunna Go?’ is a student written script that we have been developing since 2006 which, at the outset of this ORCA funding process, was in the script development and workshopping stage and was being prepped for submission for various festivals and consideration by regional theatre literary staff. It was for the purpose of financing these efforts and the attendant expenses involved in developing and distributing the script (and, naturally, for the personal and professional growth that could result from these professional connections) that the ORCA grant was sought and received, and for it’s reception we are surely grateful.
In brief, the general uses of the funds were as follows: helping to cover expenses for travel to New York City to attend a musical theatre writing industry workshop and also discuss the project with noted jazz musician Wynton Marsalis; Producing demo packets for distribution to regional theatres and festivals for consideration, as well as to several national musical theatre new works conferences and periodic updated copies to Mr. Marsalis. These packets and the associated costs consisted of graphic design for cover art materials, high end printing and binding of script copies with these cover materials and matching printed CDs, costs associated with producing the musical content of the CDs, (technical resources and attendant incidental expenses), mailing fees for these packets and research expenses regarding the rights to existing music that also appeared in the composition.
The results of these efforts were mixed, but highly beneficial and largely positive. Part of our initial plan and hope was to secure professional representation; most, if not all, large and reputable regional theatres require solicitation by a literary agent for submission to the theatre of a full script and CD. They generally will not accept anything without such a solicitation, (though a few will accept a ten-page synopsis) and most of these agents, if they are in any position to actually deliver your script to a set of eyes and hands that may make something of it, themselves require solicitation to contact. Hence it is a highly closed and restricted circle of familiarity and personal recommendation that allows one entry and consideration in the theatrical world. Our hope was to direct our efforts to finding our way into this circle. The first step in that process then, was to submit our work to festivals, those theatres that accepted synopsis, and the personal contacts we had established that may be able to open those doors.
Our best personal contact, Wynton Marsalis, whom we were able to meet with twice, never was able to respond in a meaningful way that produced and substantive outcome, which was frustrating for us, but highly understandable considering his personal commitments and the nature of our hopes for his involvement. The personal contact was, however, very valuable from a personal perspective and for the growth of the creative product in and of itself. So, for those outcomes we were very grateful, but for the material progress of our project and careers, we didn’t get far.
Another means of entry, submitting to those theatres that will accept unsolicited synopsis for consideration, was more successful. One theatre, the Center Theatre Group of Los Angeles, one of the most respected and well financed regional theatres in the country which boasts the largest subscription audience of any theatre in the country, reviewed our submission and requested the work in its entirety for their review. They eventually declined, but given the size and reputation of the organization, it was no large surprise. The opportunity to become acquainted personally with the literary director of the theatre, to have his personal feedback and support for our work, and to have the door opened for possible future contact was certainly well worth the effort and of great value.
A few other theatres received the full script and none of those panned out either but, again, considering the submission rates for these large and notable theatres and our ‘outsider’ unknown status, the results are not terribly surprising. Our efforts in these regards are something akin to going from a startup and trying to get on the fortune 500 in one foul swoop.
The other rags-to-riches strategy common in the industry is submission to notable new-works festivals that take place on an annual basis. Again, the odds are very low, and again, we did not manage to beat the odds, but the experience was certainly worth it.
The logical next step out of this would be to work more modestly within smaller regional theatres and to seek representation by an agent for the assistance that such representation could provide. What we did, however, at this point, was diverge from that into what we though was a wiser course of action.
The play, as we came to realize, had certain pragmatic obstacles that, we felt, would limit our success in an unanticipated way; essentially, it was an issue of subject matter and perception meeting the financial reality of a modern theatre market, which must typically rely on easy sells and known commodities to ensure their financial survival, and what we were offering was too intrinsically something of a long-shot to appeal to their financial realities. That being considered, along with out continuing artistic development and the desire to take a bit of a hiatus from a project that had been our focus for over two years, we began working on another collaborative project and several independent projects, and we let ‘Whe’re Ya Gunna Go?’ sit on the shelf so we could gain some perspective on the material and approach the pragmatic hurdles we knew we were facing.
So, after such time and considerations, and with Kyle now in Grad School across the country, we are approaching a drastic rewrite of the project. There is much there that we think has great merit, and hope to re-imagine the final form of the piece to address the ‘sellability’ of the work and our changing personal artistic sensibilities. We hope, once some of our other personal projects align to allow it, to re-insert ourselves into a new and improved version of the project that can be more suited to the industry realities that it will face. We want to ‘go big or go home’ as it were, and would rather push ourselves to face the functional realities of real success in our industry than to leave the work as-is and accept smaller and more modest successes that, while rewarding, will not lead us to face the facts and adapt and grow in ways that will enable us to find further and more rewarding personal successes in the future.