Irene Nicola

Venue hire, marketing and publicity and travel costs are my main concerns this time around.

Publicity is the biggest chunk ($2541) followed by venue hire ($1130) and then marketing ($825). I do try to keep my costs down, but with no money toward publicity, I can't tell everyone about the great work I am doing; the venue hire costs cover the staff who run the place and look after my lovely audience (and myself) as well as providing me with a platform to do what it is I love; and finally, the marketing will remind people in visual form that I am in fact a real person doing a real show, and that their Wednesday night would be so much more enjoyable if they came and had dinner, a drink and show with me, rather than alone in front of the telly. Just saying.

I have applied for funding through the Australia Council for the Arts, but the competition is fierce and as the government funding for the Arts has just been cut greatly, it's unlikely that I will be a recipient. However, I am not relying on the promise of funding that will probably go to more established performers, and I'm not going to let the lack of funding stop me from carrying out my dreams! That said, if I do happen to be one of the lucky recipients, I will let you know as soon as I find out :)

My funding goals are around the $5000 mark realistically (once you include travel, accommodation and food) to cover my costs for the above. Touring is expensive! Remember I am travelling to three separate places, it's not all for one run! I am going to try and fund some of that myself, but ideally some assistance in the form of crowd funding would really put my mind at ease.

So! If I can clear the first $1000, excellent :) If I can get more, even better! I'm going to need it over the next few months.

If I exceed my minimum goal, I will be providing new incentives and bonus rewards! These will only be released if my minimum goal is met. No spoiling the surprise! 

Plus you get to know that the money you do donate goes towards creating a more interactive experience for you, my pillars of support whom without I would crumble into a pile of wigs, tears and broken piano keys. 

Thanks in advance!

 

Not meeting my goal would definitely put a strain on me financially.

The thing I would have to sacrifice the most is probably publicity. It does sound extraneous from a non-performer's point of view, however when you think about how many connections with the media a publicist has, how many people read papers vs advertising, and how hard it is to get people to actually come to a show it really does start to look like a challenge to get the show to run in the first place! A publicist does that work for me, makes sure I have an audience who would love to be there and now they actually know about me because they heard about me on the radio, TV, paper, etc. 

Without your support, I would have to do most of the publicity myself, and while this is something I've done before, I lack the finesse of media jargon and the media connections of a publicist. It means my job is much harder to begin with, and it takes time away from rehearsing and producing my show (i.e. making sure the art part is of a high quality), which as we are all aware is the reason you want to see me in the first place!

Following that, venue hire can be expensive so I just need to make sure the very minimum of my costs is covered there else there is no place for my show! Cabaret loses its sparkle in the park. There's too many pigeons and gender politics is lost on them. (They love the singing though.)

Travel costs are one of those things I have got some help with, which is lovely, so if it all fails I will be able to manage there. 
And marketing is something I regularly keep down, I do a lot on social media and my print job is small. Last time I spent too much, I have learnt my lesson. 

Where there is a will, there is a way! I will make this work. But your support would mean the world to me.