Summary
Energetic and innovative, The Shakespearean Jazz Show reinvigorates and recontextualizes Shakespearean performance. Experience how the loose, improvisatory nature of jazz music can free Shakespearean text, allowing the feeling and intent of the words to be expressed in a completely new way.
Performing in the New York Musical Festival (NYMF) is a wonderful opportunity for us. It allows us to bring our show to the attention of industry professionals around the country, and share our music and story with the greater New York community!
Impact
We believe it is incredibly important to help people make a contemporary connection to Shakespeare - understanding how his words relate to issues in their own lives and how timeless his art is. We are able to achieve this as the meter of Shakespeare's language lends itself perfectly to New Orleans-style jazz. In combining the two, the Jazz Show enables audiences to experience the Bard in a cultural context that is familiar, fun and thoroughly accessible. At the same time, the Jazz Show's story makes a universal connection and the lyrics convey the Bard’s brilliance in providing us with insights into the human condition through language that is expressive and fluid. In this way, The Shakespearean Jazz Show enables audiences to experience Shakespeare deeply, in an entirely new way.
What We Need
To put on the best performances we can, we're going to need your help. The money we raise will go to a variety of different costs:
Rehearsal Space: We need to sound our best! To do this we'll need to find a space that can not only accommodate our large ensemble, but also give us the room to practice our dancing for the performances.
Travel Expenses: We've got cast members coming in from all over the country. To get them all together in New York, we're going to need to help out with travel.
Production Costs: We are incredibly fortunate to be performing in a top of the line performance space, but with every professional space there are a variety of costs involved (Lighting, sound design, staffing, marketing, etc.) We also need to be able to pay our phenomenally talented cast for all their hard work!
What You Get
By donating, you become one of our collaborators in making this show and developing it further -you become a part of our ensemble! In the next few days we will be outlining the incentives that come with every donation - we want to show our deepest appreciation for all your help.
Other Ways You Can Help
Every dollar counts but helping us achieve our goal can be as simple as sharing the fundraiser on your Facebook page, telling all of your New York friends/family about our performances, or singing our praises from every rooftop! Maybe not that last one. But definitely that last one.