I NEED YOUR HELP! Next February I am debuting a brand new immersive horror show for six performances as part of VAULT FESTIVAL in London. Vault is a festival that encourages risk and innovative new work and I am so thrilled and excited to be part of it, doing a show I would never have had the financial opportunity to put on otherwise or the courage to finally make.
WHAT IS THE SHOW?
GORGON: A HORROR STORY An original horror story with jump scares and a bit of well placed gore. Texas Chainsaw Massacre meets Medusa. You'll scream or be sick. That's the aim. A taxidermist loses her temper and decides to experiment with the human form... With live foley and horror tricks inspired by the gruesome Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol - GORGON is a horror show to delight and scare in equal measure - focussing on that taboo subject... female anger. Created by award winning and renowned comedian and clown ELF LYONS (Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Show Nominee 2017) ******
WHO IS INVOLVED? There are FIVE members of the team in order to make this show work: DIRECTOR & WRITER / PERFORMER: ELF LYONS is an award winning comedian and theatre maker - known for making distinctive theatrical adventures on stage. She has been featured in VOGUE as one of the 'Top Names of Now' and can often be heard on BBC Radio. She has been nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show, the Malcolm Hardee Award for Comic Originality, Fringe World's Best Comedy Show and in 2018 was awarded Pick of the Fringe at the Adelaide Fringe, Australia. She is a graduate of L'Ecole Philippe Gaulier and is horror nut. PERFORMER & FOLEY ARTIST: DAVID HOUSTON is a performer, writer and immersive theatre practitioner. He frequently collaborates with renowned immersive theatre companies Funicular Productions and BuckBuck Games. David is a graduate of the Royal College of Art. DESIGNER: SOPHIA PARDON is a set, costume and puppet designer who trained at Wimbledon College of Arts, following her BA in Theatre and Performance studies at Warwick University. Sophia has worked at a range of venues including the Pleasance Theatre, the Barn Theatre, The Arts Educational, Theatre503, the Yvonne Arnaud, Clapham Omnibus and the Queen Elizabeth Hall. She is particularly interested in immersive productions, as well as puppetry. LIGHTING DESIGNER & STAGE MANAGER: JO MARSH has been working in the arts for 25 years as a producer, stage manager and lighting designer. SOUND DESIGNER: MOLLY ISAAC is an award-winning Composer and Audio Designer based in London. Her experimental design pushes the boundaries of Sound, helping creators tell unforgettable stories. ***** WHY DO I NEED YOUR HELP??? This is the largest scale show I have done and also my first step into theatre that is both immersive and NOT comedy. It is an exciting theatrical risk and one that I have always wanted to do. I have budgeted rigidly and have done all the calculations. In the team making the show there are 5 of us, working hands on as a collective. My absolute number one priority is to ensure that my colleagues Sophia, Molly, Jo and David, are paid proper fees as expected for their time, graft and expertise and in conjunction with their union rates. I do not want anyone to be working at a financial loss in order to take part in this show. In order to do so I am paying all the team up front using my own money and savings. My aim is to then use the takings from our box office cut of the show (after VAULT have recouped their percentage) to then re-coup my losses and cover the Insurance fees / rehearsal room fees / printer costs alongside additional costs such as lighting and sound hire / technical costs and travel fees. If there is any left over I then hope to be able to pay myself! However, despite being as frugal as I can be, the overheads are still high and there is still risk involved. In order to ease the tension and stress involved I would REALLY appreciate being able to raise a minimum of £1000 . This would go towards the following: 1) Rehearsal room space and hire 2) Poster and Flyer printing costs 3) Props and Set building 4) To pay for someone to film the show so I will be able to have a document of it and send it on to theatres around the UK with the hope of it being programmed / future life. This can then also be used by all the team for work show reels. 5) Guaranteeing that all money made from the show - even if we do not sell as well as I have budgeted goes towards the team who have made it - so no one is at a financial loss. *****
WHY SUPPORT? Your support would mean a huge amount in ways that are hard to convey over email . It would help emotionally in easing the strain and anxiety that often occurs when making and developing a show that takes so much physical and emotional energy with little knowledge of how well it will financially play out. You will be supporting a new piece of horror work that I think really does need to be made! There are very few horror shows ON STAGE that have a predominantly female based cast, crew and female led narrative - where the women are also NOT THE VICTIMS (imagine!). My aim is to introduce and intice a whole new audience and generation to the fun and joy of theatrical horror on stage! ***** WHEN DO WE NEED THE MONEY? My dream would be able to raise the money by the end of the year. ****** IF YOU DONATE: If you are able to donate any money at all here are some of the rewards I will be offering: 1a) A letter from all the team saying THANK YOU SO MUCH YOU ARE BRILLIANT. 1b) Signed poster from all the creative team and crew and a THANK YOU in the theatre programme 2) If you are able to donate over £100 I will offer a one on one private mentoring session in comedy and clown writing to you and a friend. 3) If you are able to donate over £250 I will offer a private clown and comedy slapstick workshop for you and a small group of friends. ***** THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING