November 11th "Buzz"

Things are moving fast now after the Board meeting.  We decided that we needed video representation of what our events, and PREformances are capable of looking like so we are staging a Gala!  ( a real one would take months of planning and we want this to be November 11the)

Think of a movie scene that included a Gala and now think of that as being half real and half "Created".

I have some great Broadway performers coming up to perform for us. See the video below as an example. Kim Stengel from Phantom of the Opera (also a recent Steven Speilberg film) is coming along with some other Broadway friends to actually perform a short concert of their favorites. While the "guests" look on with martini glasses in hand.  All the while this is getting filmed.  

The rest of the "event" is more of a casting feat.  Lisa Durke, producer, and casting director here in CT is helping me cast the "guests" all dressed in tux, gowns and wealth.  I contacted a meet up group of photographers and have about 12 "paparazzi" who want to shoot the event as the guests and bway stars arrive on the red carpet.  Gotta find a red carpet.

Since all these Preformances are a chance to demonstrate our mission statement to the community before we are even in a fixed spot, I have asked a quarter of jazz sax players from my class at Western CT State University to play on the red carpet as the fancy cars pull up to let off the stars and the guests. Education outreach.

Then we move inside for the 'concert'.  All of this is actually being filmed by Mark Holleran Media Productions (awesome producer, also on our board) and will be turned into a 2-3 minute promo that we can show different corporations around Stamford, Greenwich and Norwalk.  "Wow, see what you could be a part of?"

It's basically creating our own hype too.   I have some actual press coming as well so that we can make a huge statement right out of the gate.  My board has been asked to invite 2 or 3 VIP's to be a part of the "Making of" this event as well and they will get to see themselves in the video and perhaps be a part of our "tribe".

Everyone will be asked to whip out their phones and do a short little video of their own experience that night too, and we will let them post on our website and facebook page.  I will also ask the audience for any non profits that they support and who might want to use a Broadway singer or two for their own real Galas.  We, the New Paradigm Theatre, are happy to provide.

Branding:  Arts, Education, Non profit outreach and Internet marketing.  All elements present and creating our own Buzz.

See the video below for my backstage audition in NYC yesterday where I met Kim Stegel.   She knows Jamibeth well and has agreed to be in on the November 11th Preformance Buzz Gala.

First NPT Board meeting

We had our first Board meeting of the New Paradigm Theatre Co this Sunday.  I knew we had picked great folks to be on the board, but everyone really complimented each other as far as their skills and contacts.

Jamibeth came in from NJ and we ran the first meeting together.  I started by bringing everyone up to date on the progress and contacts we have already made, listing it out in a time line.  Even though things move slower than I would like, I realized that we really have done quite a bit already.

We have some fun stuff coming up soon too.  Planning a "movie shoot" of one of our Gala events so that Mark Holleran (board member) can shoot a 3 minute video ( he is a professional producer/director of commercials and film)  that we can share with corporations when we want to show them what they can host with the help of the New Paradigm.  We will need "guests", "models", "paparrazi" and then I will invite some of my professional singer friends to be a part.

Right now it looks like beginning of November for the shoot, but I will let you know in case you want to be a part. As my blog subscribers, you get first dibs on being featured in the video...especially if you have a pretty gown or tux. :)

Feel free to check out this video below as we prepared for our first board meeting.  I know you can't see this on your phones or sometimes in your email, so feel free to come back here to the actual blog to see the video. It's very short.

Young American Heroes shoot

Today was my first day on the set for "Young American Heroes".  See the videos below (all under 1 min) for a Behind the Scenes look at the shoot.  My own voice student, Kara Burgess, who is 16, plays my daughter.

I met the woman who runs the Palace theatre in Norwalk at the shoot. She and her husband own the Palace which used to be a performing house and is now a tv/film studio.   We talked about brainstorming as they are very into educational elements and liked the idea of linking arms with a theatre like ours.

This is a goal that I have had since the beginning of our founding so it will be good to speak with folks who understand that being diverse in any industry has it's advantages.  Being a regional theatre who will be brining folks up from NYC to perform in shows has its advantages for a film/tv studio who wants great talent for their own productions. Why shouldn't theaters producers combine with film producers within a city like Stamford, Norwalk or Greenwich?

See below for the short videos behind the scenes.  If you can't see this on your phones, just go to the blog itself.

Incorporation!

WE ARE INCORPORATED!!!   Kelly let me know Friday last week.  So now my mission is to pick a date in the next month to have our first Board meeting.  I have the board, just gotta get them all together.

I have been delaying getting the website up and running and I think it was just because I wanted to be "official" before I spent the time and effort to get the site, pay for it, get domain name, etc.

I have the design and the team that will help me put that on the web.  Now that I have to get the Board together in a month, I will really commit the time and money to that project.

The Facebook page has many followers already and I am posting there. So is Jamibeth and our super intern, Jamie Rose! We are trying to prove some of our mission statement of being good advertising for other theaters by posting stuff on that page and I have asked Jamibeth to also post when she does auditions or directs so that folks see us "in motion".

For my part I will be posting photos and videos of the PBS series I just booked!  It's not the hosting gig, but is actually playing the part of the mom (abigail ludington) on the Young American Heros series.  The fun part of this is that the 16 year old girl playing my daughter is actually one of my voice students!  Totally coincidence!  

Incorporating with Kelly

We signed the incorporation papers today!  Paid the fee to file, and are on our way.   Kelly O'Brian (pictured below) is our amazingly astute lawyer (also a board member) and is taking care of filing the papers this week for us.

Jamibeth went over the bylaws and made some tweaks and she and Kelly will chat again this week about those.  I am ready to write to each of my 11 board members and set up the first meeting to kick this off.

Just to let you know how it works, we incorporate as the New Paradigm Theatre Company, Inc, first, and then we get cracking on the 501C non profit part. The incorporating doesn't take too much time.  The non profit status does.

So we will discuss our Preformances and the next 6 months of Branding, performances, tribe-gathering etc and fund raising, at the first board meeting.

yay!    Thanks Kelly!  (she does Wills and all sorts of other Lawyer stuff too. Right here in Milford!)

Sept 5th

It's been a while and I will blame some of it on Hurricane Irene!  But all is well here even though we were evacuated.

Getting so close to finally getting the incorporation papers in.  Kelly, our lawyer, is super busy, but has tweaked the By Laws and Jamibeth is looking over them to be sure of everything. 

I have gotten all the Board members info to submit and then will pay the incorporation fee.   Within a month we have to have a Board meeting to approve things.  I need more details but that is what I understand.

Met with a great Board member who likes our Preformance that is a big gala idea.  He has asked his country club if we can do it there and they are interested. Once we have a kick-off Gala to get the word out etc, we can start with the consistent and smaller events as well. This year may seem like we are a traveling cabaret, but the gist is that we are branding and making good on our mission statement now...before we have a permanent home.

My goal is to get so much excitement happening over our exclusive events, that folks will be chomping at the bit for us to find a real home.  Even if it takes a while for that, we can have event after event in homes, because they are so exclusive and we are targeting a very specific audience/donor member.

College teaching has begun for me at WCSU and University of Hartford.  I am in callbacks for a hosting position at the Public TV station in Hartford. That would be great PR and leverage for us with the theatre too.  Wish me luck Tuesday. My final "callback" is to put together a piece (in 6 hours) on anything I want in Hartford.  Of course I have chosen the Performing Arts building that I teach in!  

The producer said to keep it light, fun and entertaining.  I am aiming for the Daily Show-type of piece with the proposed question of "So ya wanna be a Broadway star".  To explore how and if the popular talent shows on TV like "American Idol", "So you think you can dance", "Dancing with the stars" etc has helped or hurt our industry.  

Even in this economy we took in twice the amount of freshman this year.  That is what my piece will explore, in a fun way.

SINCE LAST WE SPOKE

A lot has happened.   The CPA's have approved Jamibeth's four year projected budget and I sent that on to Kelly, our lawyer. 

After she does her thing to get us incorporated we have something like 30 days to hold a board meeting and get the bylaws approved.   Then we are considered "incorporated".  Easier to begin raising money if you are something official!

Once we are an official thing, then the 501C (non profit status) part begins. That will take a longer time.

During that time we are going to be engaging in a year of "PREformances" (as my husband Andy termed them) throughout Greenwich and Stamford (perhaps NYC as well)   Those will be taylored events for our "tribe" of supporters that really prove our mission statement.  We also want to loan out our Broadway folks to other non profits and their Galas through the year.  Again, as a way of saying that we are a "thing" before we are a "thing", and here is what we do for the community.

Kind of like a traveling troupe, but with more lingering effects. And our PREformances mingle our new supporters and our "stars", as you would expect.

Speaking of fun performances, I will include a short video I took while I was on stage at the Stratford Festival last night.  That theatre went under about 25 years ago but it is such a cool space.  They don't use the inside anymore, but the outside theatre (shell) is great. The supporters in that area really are trying to at least bring back some performances in the summers, so enjoy my insider look at being on stage for this event below. If you can't see this short video on your email, just come back to the actual blog site:  www.theatreringleader.blogspot.com