Director Sue Pomeroy’s documentary drama, I Bertolt Brecht, has already had a triumphant career…it is a first class introduction to the playwright. - Times Educational Supplement
Key moments in the life of ‘I, Bertolt Brecht’
· Major UK tour with the National Theatre’s Education Department
· Belfast International Festival at the height of the troubles
· Open University drama centrepiece for five years
· Prithvi International Festival Bombay and Indian tour: Mumbai, Calcutta, Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi
· Fall of the Berlin Wall and Performances at the Berliner Ensemble, Berlin
This play fizzes with contemporary relevance. Watching I, Bertolt Brecht generates the rare and disturbing sensation of real life hourly jostling with drama - The Scotsman
The Wider Brecht Influence
An enviable reputation gained over many productions ensures an enormous and continuing demand for this play and for its unique educational insights.
Brecht is widely recognised as one of the greatest dramatists and thinkers of the twentieth century. His brilliance of thought and dynamic plays maintain their contemporary relevance. His influence on modern theatre practice is profound and his writings are studied at school, university and college level across the world.
It is the practical value of ‘I, Bertolt Brecht’ and the demonstration of his work, (the ‘showing’ what he means), that makes it such a unique resource.
The Educational Benefits & Impact
Now, the play is touring through the spring in a new multi-media production, along with,a strong educational package for schools, colleges and universities, including:
• Study Notes
• Workshops
• Master Classes
• Pre-show talks
• Lectures.
• Educational Brecht Symposium in collaboration with a high profile Drama College in London.
What You Will Be Helping To Fund
Not only will you make it possible to achieve the above benefits, your donations will help to produce a DVD and Download made available to all which will:
• Include a film of I, Bertolt Brecht
• Contain all the support materials
• Contain other specially produced materials, photographs and contributions from Brecht’s collaborators to include unique interviews filmed by Sue Pomeroy and EMMY award winning Mike Dibb in Berlin with support from Screen South and the UK Film Council.
• Provide recordings of the workshops and lectures, and proposed Brecht Symposium.
• Allow the influential ideas of Brecht to reach a much wider, untapped audience
• Be of huge benefit to those studying not only Brecht, but many areas of the arts.
Your donations will support the following costs: include the fees for the actors, crew, creative team and film makers. We will also need to pay for the studio, the equipment and the editing, packaging and marketing of the final DVD.
With the production running and the cast in place we must move now - this time will not come again.
We have a short window to do this and a unique opportunity to involve original Brecht collaborators, now in their 80’s and 90’s. If we do not grasp this moment, thousands of young people and audiences across the world would lose a wonderful resource that is empowering, inspiring and motivating, embracing them in a multi -media experience which is both enjoyable and educational.
The Impact So Far
We have consistent positive feedback from young people and adults who find the show immeasurably helpful in an area which has been fraught with misunderstanding. Teachers who saw the production when they were students are now organising groups of their students to see it because it made such a deep impression upon them.
We are continually asked if there is a DVD or video which people can buy, so they can share it with others and have a permanent record of the show. We want to meet this demand and enable the workshops and the proposed Brecht Symposium to be streamed into the classroom and the lecture theatre.
Once the DVD is made, the income stream will hopefully enable us to become more self-sufficient, market the production and its educational material even more widely and generate further income, providing more jobs for people within the industry. SO ONCE THIS IS OFF THE GROUND IT WILL BE THE START OF SOMETHING BIG!
As you see, we are offering a number of ways in which we can acknowledge your support and express our gratitude for your help, which range from downloads of the songs in the show to signed copies of the DVD and invitations to the performance of your choice alongside the invitation to attend our special charity gala night. There is even the opportunity to be an extra in the film!
NB: We have put our target in US dollars because that is how Indiegogo works: our budget estimates show that we need £16,880 for the project (in addition to the funds already gratefully received from theatre venues, audiences and funding bodies supporting the current production now on tour) and that translates into $26,500.
Please Help Spread the Word
Please share this information with your friends and colleagues who may be interested in this project, through Facebook, Linked In and other social media networks. Find out more about the production and the tour on our website www.fuschiafilms.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/IBertoltBrecht
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/I-Bertolt-Brecht-Tour/147859605331115
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/IBertoltBrecht
Our Website: http://www.fuschiafilms.com
Thank you,
From all the ‘I, Bertolt Brecht’ Team
Michael Adams: Older Brecht, Arturo Ui and other roles
Judith Paris: Mother Courage, Mrs Peacham and other roles
Tristan Pate: Young Brecht, the Chaplain and other roles, saxophone, guitar
Charlotte Melissa Tyler: Shen Te and other roles, keyboards
Sue Pomeroy Director
Dennis Saunders Designer
Chad Hind Lighting Design and Technical Stage Manager
James Weisz Assistant Director
Sam Cable and Charlotte Tyler Musical Directors
Robin Turley Smith Stage Manager
Carlos Boellinger Film and technical support
Jeffrey Driver Photos and website
Melissa Usmar Deputy Stage Manager in rehearsal
Alison Smith Administration
Nelson Ward Education Officer
