Thank you to all of our generous donors! If you would like to contribute after the close of this campaign, please visit: www.SISUisintheHeart.com
SISU . . . what's that?
My name is Park Cofield. I'm a theater director, a community builder, and a third generation Finnish-American!
SISU is in the Heart is a multi-year, international, community-based theater project about finding family, what it means to call a place "home", and a strange Finnish word -- SISU, which is hard to translate, but it means something close to perseverance, overcoming insurmountable odds, or inner personal strength.
I'm seeking support to produce an original play in partnership with the Finnish Heritage Museum and the community of Fairport Harbor, Ohio, a small village on Lake Erie with a large Finnish American population. This is also where my great-grandparents immigrated in 1900! The production will be FREE to the public and will take place at the local high school on October 1 - 4, 2015.
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The play I have written is inspired by my personal family ancestry and stories shared by the community over the past year.
I am also collecting personal stories of "SISU" on the backs of little red Finnish houses, in honor of my mother, who passed away in 2014.
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The FREE performance will feature:
- 20-30 community members on stage!
- Professional performers and designers from CA, OH, GA, and Finland!
- Live music by AALLOTAR-- Teija Niku (accordioinist) & Sara Pajunen (violinist)! Sara is the Finlandia Foundation National Performer of the Year!
- Puppets inspired by Finnish "pauper statues" or vaivaisukot, a folk art tradition only found in Finland and the paintings of my relative, Antti Ojala!
This is a play about much more than just my family. It is about ALL families. It is about where your family is from and who you are.
We can't do it without your help!
This project is a HUGE undertaking. The community of Fairport Harbor deserves a great play and I need your help to give it to them.
I have received two grants from Finlandia Foundation National for the initial research and development, and for travel support, but the rest of the project relies on personal contributions, private foundation support, and in-kind donations (including the use of the theater in the local high school).
We are seeking $15K on IndieGoGo with a stretch goal of $20K. This is only a portion of the total $100K budget. Your contribution will support the production costs below and most importantly will allow me to pay artists and community members for their hard work and time!
$5,000 - Artist Fees & Per Diems
$5,000 - Production Costs - Sets, Lights, Costumes, Puppets, etc.
$3,000 - Music and Composition
$2,000 - Community Actor Stipends
$5,000 - Local Housing (only fully covered if we meet our stretch goal of $20K)
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Project Team - Jeffrey, Nina, Park, Saara, and more people to be hired soon!
AALLOTAR - Teija Niku, Sara Pajunen
Impact
- Fairport Harbor is in a period of revitalization. This large scale artistic project will help inspire and give the community an active voice!
- The Finnish Heritage Museum has proclaimed 2015 as the "Year of the Young". Focusing on those who are the future of Fairport will help them to grow their membership, attract younger families, and increase their national exposure and connection to other Finnish-American communities!
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Special Perk (Added 7/13) - Limited Quantities!
A set of 4 limited edition postcards featuring the work of Antti Ojala. Subjects include pauper statues, landscapes, abstract images. . . there's even one with a goat!
What Happens Next?
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2016 - The project will tour to the birthplace of my great-grandfather in partnership with Vanha Paukku, a cultural center in Lapua, Finland!
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2017 - A proposed U.S. exhibition of vaivaisukot in New York and Los Angeles in partnership with The Society to Save Pauper Statues. This exhibition will coincide with screenings of two documentary films about the project and the 100th Anniversary of Finnish Independence!
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2018 - Follow-up visits with Fairport Harbor, Ohio and Lapua, Finland, and a letter writing campaign between seniors and teenagers in both communities!
Press & Other Resources
Project Team - Jeffrey, Nina, Park, Saara, and more people to be hired soon!
