Thursday, May 8, 2008

Good news, and yet.

My show Ohio Trip has been accepted to FringeNYC, the New York International Fringe Festival. This is a big deal. But now that I have the acceptance letter and one week to commit to participating...

PROS:
It's a BIG DEAL. Occasionally shows go from here to little places like Broadway (not really what Ohio Trip is destined for) or other exciting and profitable ends.

I get some income from box office.

I want to see this show continue somehow. It's a really good script.

CONS:
Three weeks off of work. I don't know if I can even do that!

Three weeks of feeding myself and finding a place to stay without income.

I have to pay $550 up front, on Wednesday.

I'm already out $750 from the play's first run. We're looking at a total loss of maybe $2500 when I'm done with FringeNYC. Can I take that?

Not to mention trying to rehearse and tech and market and produce a show from 1,000 miles away.



I'd take a pass, but other artists from Austin and around the world find a way to make this happen. (True, those artists have company funds to survive on, but still.) Am I already so old that I am too scared to risk it? I've taken so many risks already, and this one's an awesome one because, hello, FringeNYC. But am I being stupid to take a pass? Do I play it safe or pay up for some crazy memories and a stressful summer?

This isn't just a question of how I will spend my August. This is a question of who I am, and who I'm willing to be.

Damn it.

P.S.: Contest, here.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congratulations! But wow, I'm sorry to hear about all the complications. Is there any way you could get a sponser? Corporate sponser? I don't know much about these things, but grants are sometimes available to people in the arts, aren't they?

Gena said...

Firstly, Congratulations! That is really impressive and fantastic.

Secondly, I don't envy you having to make a decision. There is a lot riding on it either way; exposure vs. expense being the biggest things in my POV.

My best advice would be to follow your gut instinct. If you can afford the monetary loss and think you will regret not going, then do it! The opposite is also true, of course. Don't go if your gut says it's not worth it.

Sally Comes Unraveled said...

DO IT! DO IT! DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!

Seriously, my recent surge in saving money is because I want savings so I can take advantage of the opportunities that fall in my lap. If you can do it, DO IT!

Maybe it's time for a garage sale? Destash?
http://destashforcash.wordpress.com/

Nicki said...

Congratulations!!! Wow, I am breathless for you!

NOW:

DO IT.

You will forever regret it if you don't.

Hell, you're YOUNG, cookie ... no time to be pulling a 'safety card.' You have years ahead of you to do that. Of course there's risk involved. But anything worth doing involves risk.

Were it me, would I jump headlong into this abyss? Absolutely. And never look back, either.

Kara said...

Wow, this is amazing. Congratulations.

Sometimes it is really hard to make these type of decisions. The dream or reality? My thinking is that you never regret choosing the dream. It may be the harder choice but you never regret it.