Lifestyle
Blue Teapot launch campaign to fund Arts Festival premiere
City theatre company Blue Teapot have launched a Fund it campaign this week for their new show, iD, which will receive its premiere in July as part of the Galway Arts Festival.
iD is billed as an innovative, entertaining piece conceived by the actors (all of whom have an intellectual disability) in collaboration with London based director, Scott Williams and Dramaturg, Gavin Kostick. iD, meaning identity or identification is also an acronym for intellectual disability (iD).
The challenge of the crowd funding scheme, Fund it is to raise €12,000 in 21 days for this production, or otherwise all funding will be returned to the donors. Fund it has operated successfully in Ireland for the past three years, funding 595 projects, and raising over €2.15 million for creative ideas.
“Fund it has been hugely successful for us in the past and is a necessary and integral part of seeing Blue Teapot works brought to the stage,” says the company’s director Petal Pilley.
Blue Teapot most recently made waves with their very successful production, Sanctuary, which dealt with the issue of relationships and sex among people with an intellectual disability. That play, written by Christian O’Reilly garnered many nominations and awards and recently featured in the IFTA award winning RTÉ documentary, Somebody to Love.
Scott Williams, who will direct iD, runs two acting conservatories, one in London the other in Paris, and has been working with Blue Teapot actors for the last three years. Gavin Kostick, who has helped develop the play, most recently won an Irish Times Theatre Award for Best New Play.
A member of Fishamble Theatre Company in Dublin, he is dedicated to promoting new Irish work. Gavin previously worked with Blue Teapot in 2011 on the short film project 84.
People who support the Blue Teapot Fund it campaign will receive rewards for their donation. These start from as little as €10 and for those who donate at a high level, there’s one with a twist.
For people who contribute €1,000 Blue Teapot will offer them an opportunity to partner with one of the actors. The reward will connect the funder to one of the nine actors in a sponsorship capacity, with personal updates being sent by the actor over the next 12 months. The idea is to strengthen the bond between the project and the funders who support it, according to Petal.
To contribute or learn more about Blue Teapot’s iD campaign go to www.fundit.ie and search for iD by Blue Teapot Theatre Company.