response 25 of 82:

Oct 11 16:13 UTC 1995

        I have a not-too-shabby background in theater. Also, I believe
*any* Class A High School stage setup can fly scenery, as Southfield
High's certainly can, and it's an _old_ stage, not redone, as meg said
above.

response 27 of 82:

Oct 11 18:49 UTC 1995

Do we know anything about rates for renting Pioneer's theaters?

I admit I had some doubts about where we would find people on Grex to
volunteer to help put this together.  The usual suspects are mostly computer
geeks whose theater experience is limited to technical issues.

But I think there is an easy answer:  look beyond the usual suspects.  We
already have wolfmage and otterwmn taking a collaborative role, and there
hasn't been any subject yet discovered that *some* Grexer isn't an expert
on.

This is a great opportunity for Grex.  Not only is it a good way to raise
money, but it is a great chance for non-computer-geeks to get involved in
volunteering for Grex.  We Grexers have gotten so used to having just a small
volunteer base that at the board meeting we looked around the table,
discovered nobody knew much about putting on a show, and said "Grex has no
experience with this sort of thing," and I thought it made sense.  No way.

We already have some people (including eeyore and sidhe) who have expressed
interest in pursing this.  Let's put them in the drivers seat, along with
one board member to maintain board oversight of the project.  Let's encourage
them to recruit whoever in our user base is willing and able.  Worried about
ticket sales?  Let's offer a month's membership for every ten tickets a
guest sells.

The board and staff don't have to do the work on this one.  They just have
to show some confidence in some of the users outside of the usual clique.
Let's do it!  Not only will it raise us some money, but it will be a good
chance to foster more volunteerism on Grex, which would do wonders in drawing
us together more.

response 29 of 82:

Oct 11 22:34 UTC 1995

Yeah, I can probably help too.  I used to be a professional sound tech, stage
hand, lighting tech, etc.

response 31 of 82:

Oct 12 05:27 UTC 1995

I would like to see this project materialize. Probably I'm equally
interested in the shows themselves, as I am in their use as fundraisers
for Grex.

But, let's not give Grex memberships as prizes. Membership should  be
the consequence of an individual wishing to support and participate
in the Grex community, an attribute not necesarily arising spontaneously
in recipients of memberships as gifts. A Grex cup, or similar novelty,
would be more appropriate.

response 33 of 82:

Oct 12 11:15 UTC 1995

<scott used to be a student at Pioneer, and was in fact *paid* to work
the theatre for rentals (usually religious shows)>

response 35 of 82:

Oct 12 15:50 UTC 1995

We are a pretty small potential audience, compared to all residents of
Ann Arbor. Something like this is intended to be advertised publicly,
and most attendees would not be grex users. I don't think on-line
pledges would be an indicator of a "full house". 

response 37 of 82:

Oct 12 18:10 UTC 1995

   We would.  Thats a part of life, I think.  But given the
fact that these things normally are pulled off, I don't think
we should worry about that too much.

   Dan has an excellent point.  I'd be willing to help out too,
having spent many hundreds of wonderful hours doing JLO / Civic
Theater things doing technical stuff.  But there is no way I
*could* do the administrative stuff, of which there will be a
lot.

response 39 of 82:

Oct 13 01:49 UTC 1995

   Well, thanks for that Marsha.  That could come in handy.  If you
did this, think you could make the trip to this area?

response 41 of 82:

Oct 15 20:35 UTC 1995

Wow!
ref #36: the literal breaking of some part of Kenn's body, unless it happened
to be hands/fingers, <I hold my  breath every time he picks up a kitchen knife
or a power tool!> would only affect Living Myth, and that only slightly.

ref #34: I think ajax was talking about having folks pledge to *sell* x# of
tickets. The advertising will have to say something like "tickets may be
purchased at/from....", so you may consider finding at least one or two
sponsors willing to handle distribution. Ideas?

ref #27: janc makes some good points about the Big Picture. While we will able
to tell you *how* to make this happen, and write ad copy and do interviews
and all of that, the actual leg work is all up to Grex. We provide something
to see/do; you provide an audience and a place to see/do it.

ref #24: Considering the season in which we now find ourselves, the earliest
probable time for best ticket sales potential is late January or early
February. Remember this when checking venues. (BTW we do not actually need
to fly scenery, but having the set-up in place allows us to do a lot of
neat things without having to employ more -ah- creative methods.)

Redfox would be an excellent choice for co-ordinator. Not only has she worked
with D7 before; she is an organizational genius! <I would not say that
lightly, but please do not feel that that's what you have to do just
because "otter said so".>
I would advise getting your committee in place by mid-November, especially
if you will need Board approval on major decisions.

Scott, I had already planned on talking with you about running lights/sound.
I will need 2-3 people with back-stage experience as personal slaves...er...
assistants/runners. Sidhe? Bubu? Steve? Eeyore? Anyone who hasn't spoken up
yet? If you decide to run a murder mystery, I will make a trip down to
interview/audition actors, as we usually try to use "local talent" to fill
smaller roles. (Keeps your costs down. =>)

From all indications, you folks are on your way to a successful venture;
keep those good ideas coming!
<otter does the happy dance and eats a raw brooktrout>

p.s. The Board will be receiving e-mail, including detailed proposals, by
the end of the week.

response 43 of 82:

Oct 16 20:36 UTC 1995

ref #42: please see #41, paragraph 4. 8^}

response 45 of 82:

Oct 17 04:47 UTC 1995

well, i'm willing to give all the help that i can, as little as that may
be....

response 47 of 82:

Oct 18 12:49 UTC 1995

(I assume you mean Holland, Michigan. Otherwise, those weekend
airfares would get pretty expensive.)

response 49 of 82:

Oct 18 22:58 UTC 1995

Thanks, dang; we'll talk.

An 1800-seat theatre? Are you sure you can fill it? If so, that's Great.
Don't forget the option of two shows in a house with -oh- ~500 seats...