Radio Play Sneak Peak

We're so excited about premiering our first radio play! We'll be performing it live this Sunday 12/7/14 in the Marshall J. Gardner Center in the Miller Beach Arts & Creative District.

Here is a "Butterbird Christmas" Sneak Peak to wet your whistle. Our lead, Maggie, meets her terror of a 1st grade teacher, Miss Sespal.

(production services provided by Almost Fairytales )

Our founder, Dr. Meg G. DeMakas, was interviewed recently on PBS's "Eye on the Arts" program. She discussed "Butterbird Christmas at length with the host, John Cain. View their entire interview here.

You can RSVP for our Sunday premiere via Facebook at this link.

Casting Callout

Now it was time to market the idea and buy some much needed equipment.  Along with doing an email blast of the flyer to many community websites, the Family Folklore group went door to door plastering the community with the flyers.  A two week contract for advertising on the Miller Marquee helped bring in local voice actors!   

To learn more about making a radio play our Executive Director had lunch with a producer from the SAG-AFTRA Senior Radio Players who explained how to set up, practice and present a radio play. Then On Tuesday July 22nd at 7 p.m. two of our board members took the South Shore train to Chicago to the Chicago Cultural Center and enjoyed a radio play, entitled “Radio as You May Remember It!” 

Inspired and recharged we were ready to start our auditions. Family Folklore held them in late July. Several people came and auditioned. They also consented to being interviewed for our documentary. After filling out permission slips, they were videotaped being interviewed with our freshly purchased light kit brightening the room. 

Path to Funding Our First Fictional Project

With the radio play script in hand it was time for us to see about funding the project.  Our board also decided that the process of bringing a diverse community together to create a by-gone era in a repurposed art form might make for an interesting documentary. To accomplish both projects we realized we needed up-to-date cameras, mics, lights and other media equipment.

 

In our first two projects we had made due with floor model cameras and ambient light/sound.  We began by seeking corporate sponsorship with Butterball LLC since Christmas turkeys play a big role in the radio play. While we are still pursuing various corporate sponsorship, we really began to focus next on grants.

One of our previous projects “Food and Fellowship,” was filmed set in Miller, Indiana. We worked extensively with the Marquette Park First United Methodist Church congregation and neighboring community members, so, we decided to write a proposal to the Miller Community Fund for $2000.  

 

Site of Interviews and Voice Recording       

Marquette Park United Methodist Church

                                                     Miller, IN (handicap assessable)               

Happily, the MCF granted Family Folklore Foundation the monies in January of this year.  Working tirelessly to reach the grant application deadline, Family Folklore also put in for a nonprofit grant with Indiana Arts Commission, South Shore Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. 

 

This year the IAC, SSA, and NEA awarded us with $4,800 for additional equipment for the newest media project.  We are ecstatic and can’t wait to share it with the public!