About the Project
Who are we?
Hello! We are Sarah and Shana, two storytellers and theatremakers from Boston, Massachusetts. In the times of the pandemic we found ourselves turning towards romance fiction as a balm for weary hearts. So! We decided to write our own romance, taking the feel-good genre, adding a little bit of magic, and centering a queer woman of color as the heroine of our story. Shana will also be starring in it!
What is the story?
Chantal, a shy soul with magical affinities, is in an emotional slump when a magically possessed book arrives on her doorstep the same week a former crush, Skye, moves into the apartment upstairs. Calling on her quirky, magically trained college friend Morgan for help, Chantal attempts to unravel the mystery of the book, which reconnects her to her magical abilities but draws her further in than she intended, forcing her to reckon with the unresolved romance from her past.
Why a fiction podcast?
Podcasts are one of the more accessible venues of storytelling, allowing for safe remote access that is not hidden behind a paywall. Sarah previously co-wrote for the audiodrama Still Lives and wanted to delve back into the medium.
What We Need & What You Get
One of the main goals of this project is to provide paid work to actors, particularly queer actors and actors of color, who have reduced acting opportunities due to the pandemic. A majority of money raised will therefore go directly to paying voice actors for their work. Additional funds will go towards paying fees for a website and podcast hosting platform, and paying for editing consultation and support (as newbie audio editor, Sarah would love to be able to pay someone to help her out!).
Where the money goes
As a starting point, we are aiming to pay actors a minimum of $50 per full episode, though we would love the opportunity to increase our pay if funds allow! Specifically this would mean:
- Episode 1: Pay two voice actors ($100)
- Episode 2: Pay two voice actors ($100)
- Episode 3: Pay three voice actors ($150)
- Episode 4: Pay two voice actors ($100)
- Episode 5: Pay four voice actors ($200)
- Episode 6: Pay two voice actors ($100)
- Episode 7: Pay four voice actors ($200)
- Episode 8: Pay four voice actors ($200)
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Total: This brings our primary goal for voice actor pay to $1,150 for the whole series.
Additional funds would help cover the cost of:
- Website & podcast hosting platform: $18/month
- That would be $108 for 6 months or $216/year
- Editing and sound consultation: $45/episode
What You Get
In addition to ultimately beaming a magical love story directly into your headphones at the end of this project, we would like to show our gratitude by offering perks for your generous contribution!
- $5 - Anyone who donates $5 or more will be personally thanked in an episode of our podcast
- $15 - Anyone who donates $15 or more will receive a handwritten thank you postcard (which also supports the USPS - yay!)*
- $30 - Anyone who donates $30 or more will receive access to a Behind-The-Scenes google drive that includes bloopers reels, behind-the-scenes photos and annotated scripts. *
- $50 - Anyone who donates $50 or more will receive a one of a kind, Affinities themed painting from Sarah (this also supports the USPS - huzzah!)*
*Perks are cumulative, so you receive all lower level perks in addition to the highest perk at your donation level.
Why Donate to this Project?
The Story
Romance is one of the most popular genres of fiction in the United States, yet heroines of color, and particularly queer heroines of color, are generally underrepresented in these stories. We want to recenter this beloved genre around a queer Black protagonist and celebrate her love and magical power through our story. We would love your help in bringing this story to life!
Paying Actors
We value paying actors appropriately for their talent and their work, which was true long before the pandemic. Since the pandemic, the performing arts world has taken a major financial hit across the board, which has left many actors out of work. Contributing to our fund will allow us to appropriately compensate these talented actors, whose work we often turn to for joy and comfort when times are difficult.
Website and Accessibility
Creating a website for the podcast will not only give us a platform where we can submit our podcast to Apple Podcast, Stitcher, and other free and accessible podcast listening services, but it will help us reach greater audiences and enable us to share transcripts of episodes in order to be accessible to all audiences. Sarah's previous project Still Lives used a website as a way to gain media attention and the show has now received over 50,000 downloads as a result. Your donation helps cover the cost of this necessary service.
Risks & Challenges
We understand and are humble to the fact that living in a pandemic means the world may shift dramatically at a moment's notice and that some shifts would impact the ability of the writers, actors, producers, editors etc. of Affinities to produce work within our current timeline. That being said, we are 100% committed to finishing this project, even if it requires extending our timeline for completion. Our current plan is to release our initial episode in January of 2021.
Other Ways You Can Help
We recognize that giving money may not be the most accessible form of support for you at the moment - this doesn't mean you can't help us make Affinities come to life! Here are a couple of non-monetary ways you can support the show:
- Share our Indiegogo campaign on social media
- Follow us on Instagram (@affinitiespod) and Twitter (@AffinitiesPod)
- Download and listen to our episodes once they are released!
