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!  

Butterbird Beginnings

In 2013, we decided we would like to branch out into the fictional realm, but weren’t sure exactly how we would accomplish this. We thought about producing a play, or maybe even hosting a poetry slam session.  Then our founder, Dr. Meg G. DeMakas, wrote a short story entitled, Butterbird Christmas. Our board read it and loved it since it was an homage to Lake County life in the 1950s. 

 

 

It is based loosely on Dr. Demakas’s year as an Indiana transplant in an Ohio neighborhood. Over the course of the short story, the five Grandville siblings suffer a gauntlet of trials and tribulations reminiscent of a Jean Shepherd yarn.  We realized then and there that it would make a great play.
After spit balling that idea around, our communications director suggested that we produce it as a radio play. Her reasoning was two-fold. She comes from a theater and film/TV production background. She pointed out that a radio play would open our casting options and be much easier to budget.

After convening with our board, Dr. DeMakas decided to adapt her story into a radio play. Fashioned in the style that was so popular during the 1930s & 40s, Butterbird Christmas has the elements of good drama…ranging from near tragedy to ultimate joy.  A mix of It’s a Wonderful Life and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, we knew that we must figure out a way to produce this radio play. So, our board held a brainstorming session and decided that we would need to start pursuing grants to make this project a reality.