A group of teens frm SF bay area are tryin to put on a teen directed/acted play but need money.any grants?HELP

A small group of teenagers(16-20 yrs old) and i from around SF are trying to


put on a show, not a musical but a drama. but we hope to have it teen directed and acted. we had the thought of raising money or find some sort of grants and use that money to rent a space, and have the set be pretty simple and just put on a show.any ideas on how to raise money?but i was thinking i should ask around to see if there were any theater company's that would almost umbrella us in a sense that this play is directed and ran by teens, but that the show would be under


the company. we're trying to put a show on by next spring/summer, so we have plenty of time of doing the work for it. were hoping to put on something like rabbit hole, or of that vibe. but i think thats all about it, were not trying to make it big, or anything, just some teens who want to put on a show. but if there is any thing that you know that could help that would be great. can you point us in the right direction. we need ideas!!!

A group of teens frm SF bay area are tryin to put on a teen directed/acted play but need money.any grants?HELP
Hi!


If I am correct your local City Council (I'm not quite sure what its called in the USA) will have a Arts/ Visual Performing Arts/ Creative Arts Committee or facilitator who has considerable expertise in helping groups such as yours. They have comprehensive portfolios to ensure that the performing arts are maintained locally with solid representation from local council. However do not stop at them. You can with a little bit of thought and work have your group exposed to the city by attracting the attention of your arts critique in your cities main daily newspaper. Approach these people and dont stop until you get confirmed committments from them to highlight and increase your groups objectives. The media can be your best friend be sure to expire and exhaust all avenues to achieve your desired results. I wish you and your group every success in your ventures. Please email us with dates for your opening night and we certainly will make every effort to be there and cheering you all on!
Reply:As you've already figured out, the main cost of putting on a low-cost show is the space you perform in.





One possibility to keep your space costs low would be to see if one or more local churchs, synagouges, temples etc. would be willing to let you stage a show in their building(s).





If you pick a show that would be of interest to the congregation (not necessarily one that reflects their brand of theology, but rather something that relects what is important to them) they could use the show as a means of outreach to the community around them. Also, if you keep the performance in line with your dream (directed and acted by young people) you would further increase the show's value to the congregation in terms of outreach to the community.





You might want to consider performing something that is also written by people in the age group that you have in mind; including being written by someone in the SF area that connects with the show. This reduces the other area of show-related costs (royalties to the author). If you're interested in this possibility, I can offer you two stage-plays that were written with the idea that the bulk of the material in the scripts could consist of an unending amount of new material written by new people. Both scripts have been produced. You're probably not going to make a fortune off your efforts regardless of the quality of your work, so you would be welcome to use the scripts at no cost.





In one script, "Faces In The Raft", refugees from different time periods are passengers on a raft that has been constructed from the ruins of an abandoned building and people they once knew. In the other script, "Voices From The Cafe", refugees from different time periods reconstruct a bridge necessary for their community's survival after returning from journeys beyond the broken bridge. Both scripts can be set on a bare stage.





Both scripts have opening and closing lines delivered in a monologue format. Everything in between consists of monologues, and literally an unlimited number of original monologues can be substituted for the existing ones; which means you could have monologues written by the actors, the director and everyone else who wanted to be involved.





Go for your dreams. Your plans could open many doors for many people.