Emma Davis

What is this all about?
THE SQUISHER AND SQUASHER SHOW is a children's entertainment brand specialising in fun, interactive shows for children aged 2-8 years old. Currently we have three fully developed shows in production and we wish to take one of these shows, "THE GREAT BUG HUNT" on tour around Western Australia in 2015 and 2016.



Tell me more about Squisher and Squasher?
Squisher and Squasher began as a a series of songs that were written by Emma Marie Davis for her nephew, Connor. Connor, like many little boys, was obsessed with bugs. Emma (that's me) knew nothing about bugs but knew a lot about writing silly songs. As it turned out, little boys also enjoy silly songs about bugs. Soon there were so many songs that it only made sense to put them into a show and share them with more little boys and girls.

What is THE GREAT BUG HUNT all about?
BUGS! Well there is a little bit more to it than that. The show follows the exploits of two very silly and loveable gardeners called Squisher and Squasher. They work in Princess Charlotte's Royal Garden! One day while hard at work they overhear the Princess saying that she has lost something very small and very precious ... a golden butterfly! Squisher and Squasher leap into action to help recover the butterfly for the Princess. Along the way they discover many other interesting bugs hiding in the garden. The show is interactive and features lots of singing, dancing and audience participation. With seven original songs written by Emma, the show is an original and educational adventure for little ones.



Why are you going on tour?
The Squisher and Squasher show has been playing successfully throughout the Perth Metropolitan Area for the past three years. In that time we have performed at the Fremantle Children's Fiesta, Perth Fringe Festival, as part of Storytime in the Hills at Roleystone Theatre, and as a stand alone season at The Old Mill Theatre in South Perth. While we have had great success in Perth we have always wanted to take the show to a wider audience and that means taking the show on the road and visiting regional centres and country towns. We have even had children from the country come and see our show in Perth and invite us to perform in their hometowns so all their friends can enjoy the same show they did - we would love to take up these invitations!

So if you're so successful why do you need Pozible?
While it is true that the shows have been successful they also come at a cost. We pay our performers to give up their time to perform in the shows. We also have to pay for things like costumes, sets, props, and audio equipment. For every season we put on we also have to pay for publicity and marketing materials. All of these things add up and when you add the extra cost of taking the show on the road it becomes a bit too much to bare which is why we are now asking you to partner with us to present this show.

The money we are attempting to raise today will take a lot of the initial financial burden off us and allow us to focus on creating a wonderful theatre experience for our audience of little children and their families.

The money you help us raise will be used to help fund the tour in the following ways:

Costume maintenance and creation - $500
Sound maintenance and creation - $200
Marketing - $800 (including photographs, creation of advertising material, promotional video)
Set maintenance and creation - $250
Props maintenance and creation - $250

Any funds raised above our amount of $2000 will go towards the ongoing costs associated with touring a production. We are constantly updating our costumes, props, set, and music, while also developing new shows for the public. It would be brilliant to be able to keep Squisher and Squasher going for many years after this tour has ended.

The biggest challenge is starting this tour and taking those first steps towards making it a reality, which is why the money from this campaign has been earmarked for the very important first stages of development. Once we have effective marketing materials and all of our start up project costs (props, costumes, set, and music) paid for the rest of the tour will be much easier to manage.

We are already taking steps to minimise the obstacles and challenges in this project. We have been in active talks with theatres, local councils, and independent venues, to implement an effective tour. Many venues have already expressed an interest in having us come to them and perform, we just have to get there!

We have also tried to minimise our costs as much as possible. You may have noticed in the photos above that all the costumes, sets, and props are home made (my sewing skills are getting better with each show!). We also write our own music to avoid paying royalty costs. In order to keep the show running in case of injury or illness, our production team doubles as understudies for the performers. I have even learned how to build and maintain a website in order to avoid these huge costs (you can check out my handy work here - www.squisherandsquasher.com ).

Everything we can do ourselves we do. Much of our free time is handed over to the show and we do this out of love for the show than for any financial gain. There really is nothing like looking into an audience and seeing a smiling face to make you believe that "yes! It was worth staying up every night paper macheing a bee for use in the show!".