SECOND STORY MEETING #5

November 2, 2016

Leading into our 5th funding  meeting

Sherri and Jonathan meet, as usual, the evening prior to our Wednesday Second Story session.  As we bang out each written component of our campaign – snail mail letter, e-blast, 7 follow up letters, Indiegogo template, website, and Facebook announcement, all requiring catchy headlines – we can’t help but wonder:  how many ways can you say the same thing, yet still sound clever and compelling?

We’re really forced to re-imagine the positioning of this project to suit a wide variety of formats; in essence, we must become as adept at the headline as we are at the “elevator speech” as we are at the full-length version of the story.  Who are we?  Marketing experts?

​As we sort all of this out, we are excited about completing so much work, but as we toast to our achievements, we notice we are already woozy – and that’s before we’ve even had a sip.  I think a good night’s sleep is more what we need.

Meeting #5

​The fundraising fog is clearing…….our campaign has launched!

We are actually thinking about dancing again!  At today’s meeting at Mandy’s house, we prepare to get back into the swing of rehearsing (even as we tend to 2 sick toddlers). 

Jonathan and Lorena pull back the lens and outline their respective visions for their pieces.  Jonathan envisions a 4-section work, but intends to keep focus on a single section at this point in time.  Lorena imagines a 17 to 20-minute piece divided into multiple sections, two of which she has already started.  Since her colleague Marianna is eager to join our Second Story group, Lorena might turn one of these sections into a quartet that would include Marianna.  Both choreographers are eager to complete the segments they have begun.

Jonathan acknowledges Eliza’s current “clingy” stage that makes it difficult for her to separate from her dad.  In the rehearsal setting, this situation tends to translate into Jonathan trying to choreograph and dance with an additional “appendage.”  Perhaps it’s time to concede that it’s “Jonathan vs. child development” and graciously bow out for the moment.  Therefore, Jonathan proposes that Lorena take over choreographing for a while – or at least until her son hits the same stage!

The team then brainstorms about different approaches that may be more effective at this stage of the process.  Ideas include:

• Focusing on the work of 1 choreographer for each rehearsal, rather than dividing the session between both choreographers’ pieces.
• Devote a series of rehearsals to the work of a single choreographer.

Team members note that we can still take a flexible approach, depending upon the circumstances that present themselves in the process.  Collectively, we might recognize an organic moment when it feels right to switch to the other choreographer’s work.  Perhaps we might even fall into a particular back-and-forth rhythm.  This approach will also allow Lorena and Jonathan to “wear one hat” at a time – concentrate on either choreographing or dancing rather than rapidly changing roles within a short period of time.

In the spirit of “wearing fewer hats,” Mandy, Lorena and Jonathan agree to take turns leading the warm up.

The team then contemplates potential options for choosing a studio to call “home.”  While we envision a future including opening up rehearsals to studio students for observation, arranging showings of our works in progress, and eventually scheduling performances, we realize that we cannot commit to these endeavors at the present time.  First things first:  securing and affording rehearsal space.

Final fundraising efforts capture our attention once more.  We all work on composing personal notes to accompany “snail mail” letters to potential donors.  And we confess: it’s impossible to resist obsessively checking the Indiegogo site and PayPal account for changes in daily donation totals.  Not surprisingly, the anxiety about creating the campaign has morphed into worry about the success of the endeavor. 

​If it’s not one thing, it’s another.