This campaign is closed

Speechless the Musical

This unique coming-of-age musical combats ignorance of speech impairment using dark humour.

You may also be interested in

Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed

Speechless the Musical

Speechless the Musical

Speechless the Musical

Speechless the Musical

Speechless the Musical

This unique coming-of-age musical combats ignorance of speech impairment using dark humour.

This unique coming-of-age musical combats ignorance of speech impairment using dark humour.

This unique coming-of-age musical combats ignorance of speech impairment using dark humour.

This unique coming-of-age musical combats ignorance of speech impairment using dark humour.

kate.unspoken
kate.unspoken
kate.unspoken
kate.unspoken
1 Campaign |
London, United Kingdom
$1,189 USD $1,189 USD 26 backers
32% of $3,657 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal
Choose your Perk

Smug feeling.

Currency Conversion $1 USD
£1 GBP
Est. Shipping
October 2016
0 claimed

Public Thank You.

Currency Conversion $6 USD
£5 GBP
Est. Shipping
October 2016
1 claimed

Talk the talk.

Currency Conversion $12 USD
£10 GBP
Est. Shipping
October 2016
1 out of 50 of claimed

Mystery postcard

Currency Conversion $24 USD
£20 GBP
Est. Shipping
March 2017
2 out of 20 of claimed

Special Mystery Postcard

Currency Conversion $37 USD
£30 GBP
Est. Shipping
March 2017
0 out of 15 of claimed

Impression

Currency Conversion $61 USD
£50 GBP
Est. Shipping
March 2017
1 out of 5 of claimed

Signed script.

Currency Conversion $91 USD
£75 GBP
Est. Shipping
October 2016
1 out of 10 of claimed

Press my Buttons

Currency Conversion $122 USD
£100 GBP
Est. Shipping
February 2017
0 out of 5 of claimed

Short Summary

My name is Kate Caryer. I am a rude, pink-haired, theatre lover and a pain in the arse. Oh, and I have a little thing called athetoid cerebral palsy, which means  I use a wheelchair and a communication aid (think punk haired Stephen Hawking). Even without speech I have a lot to say.

On the serious side I have a Bachelor’s degree in Performing Arts and a Master’s degree in disability studies.

I have always loved theatre, but I very rarely see people like me on the stage. If they do show up, they are usually weak, uninteresting caricatures, written by non-disabled people, and not representative of the interesting diverse group of disabled people that I know. Such roles are also usually given to non-disabled actors!

Wanting to do something about this, I started The Unspoken Project CIC, along with Paul C. Mooney as Artistic Director, to give acting opportunities to disabled and non-disabled actors, and to bring the real stories of disabled people to the stage. Our first production, Speechless, shockingly overwrites everything you know about people without speech, and introduces their own stories to stage and is due to premier later this year.

We are thrilled to be given the opportunity to bring our first show to the 30th anniversary of Communication Matters annual conference in Leeds in September 2016. Communication Matters is the leading charity for non – speech communication.

We hope our dark humour will break through the barriers built up by years of inaccurate representation of disabled people.

What We Need & What You Get

We have calculated for this premier production we would need about £6500. The budget can be broken down as follows:-

Wages

£5000

        5 actors, director, musical director   

     at   Equity rates

Rehearsal space hire

£  500

Accommodation

£  450

       2 nights at hotel

Train fares

£ 334

       London to Leeds return

      5 people

Meals

£ 175

     Dinners at conference

Total

£6459

It is important to us that all of our actors are paid fairly for their time and efforts. In line with Equity's 'No Pay, Low Pay' campaign, we recognise the damaging effects of asking professional actors to work for little or no pay.

We have already raised £4000 and, allowing for contingencies, an extra £3000 would make this show spectacular.

Check out our unique and quirky perks for funders.

This show WILL take place, even if we do not reach our target.  The shortfall will have to come out of my pocket – a poor crippled spastic – can your conscience let you live with this?  (Sometimes inaccurate media representation can be used to my advantage!)  Or we will have to kill off one of our disabled cast members – a popular plot device currently in the news.

The Impact

Speechless shockingly overwrites everything you think you know about people without speech, and introduces their own stories to stage.

It tells the story of 19-year-old Rebecca Walker. Like me, she has no speech due to cerebral palsy. However, like many people in the UK and worldwide, Rebecca has no access to a communication aid or other methods of alternative communication. This means that her story, opinions, and devious teenage thoughts remain unspoken.

When Mr and Mrs Walker leave their so-called ‘baby daughter’ with a personal assistant, they did not know that the cotton wool imprisoning world that they lovingly built for their frail little disabled girl would come tumbling down. Nor did they realise from this, a strong disabled young woman will find her voice, and will use this voice to change her parents view of disability and herself.

A coming-of-age tale of a woman with cerebral palsy that explores assistive communication in a light that hasn’t been seen in the world of theatre before!

Risks & Challenges

Paul and I are both experienced theatre makers and we have built up a dream team of fine actors who have given us incredible support right from the first read through. 

All adventures have risks but we are confident that, with the support and commitment we have received from both the disability and theatre worlds, we are well placed to cope with any challenges that come our way.  We have a guaranteed audience, as some tickets will be given to Conference delegates.



Other Ways You Can Help

Contributions of any size would be welcome, but if you cannot contribute financially, please spread the word in any way you can and use the Indiegogo share tools.  The world needs this play!


Looking for more information? Check the project FAQ
Need more information
Let us know if you think this campaign contains prohibited content.

You may also be interested in

Up Caret