A hearty welcome to you, wayward traveler!
Reader beware, this is no ordinary run of the classic Shakespearian tale. Oh no. This is The Tempest as you have never seen it, through the eyes of Kate Szekely.
Who is Kate Szekely?
Kate is many things. First and foremost the captain of this ship, sailing us through this Tempest. Before she wound up in the captain's chair she graduated NYU - Tisch in the Spring of 2013 and has been working tirelessly in different postions in many theatres and various shows around New York City. She is currently the creative director at The Hive NYC, a multifaceted artist collective in Brooklyn, which brings us back to the now.
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The Vision
Kate chose to do this show because not only does it speak to her on a very personal level, but it also touches on a lot issues that we, as a society, are dealing with today. Kate's vision of this classic Shakespearian tale takes us to a dark, murky bayou in a 1830's New Orleans where voodoo runs rampant and forces our characters to look inward at themselves.
The Storm
It is a familiar storm to us all. Fundraising. The plans that we hold for this Tempest are grand ones. The biggest one is giving back to those who have been kind enough to lend their amazing talent and time to this production, the cast. We would love to, at the very least, pay for their transportation to and from rehearsal and show nights to relieve some of the financial strain. The next, and even bigger hurdle, is transporting our audience to the New Orleans bayou in 1830. To do this we would ideally love to cover the house in spanish moss and have dry ice pumping a creeping fog over the floor. Continue to picture a voodoo ritual alter looming up through center stage.In addition to making our audience feel like they're there, we also have to make our cast look convincing. While our costume designers are offering their talents, we still have to get the materials for them to transform into the beautiful pieces the cast will be wearing.
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Risks & Challenges
As with any stage production there are many obstacles that Kate and our team are going to face throughout the process. However, how we face them will be a huge factor. Everyone on the team has many years of experience working on a variety of shows big and small. Our biggest factor is time. Something that each person involved is donating to take The Tempest from script to stage. Though we are starting our process early as to avoid the crunch of the clock.
Other Ways You Can Help
If you can't donate, no sweat! There is a multitude of other ways to contribute. One is simply by sharing this page via Facebook, Twitter, any social media means. Maybe you know a person who is looking to write off some tax money for the 2015 fiscal year... Just send them on this way and we can guarantee their money is going to an amazing cause.
