Our Kickstarter campaign reached our $12,000 goal on Saturday, August 4th. We are so very thankful to all of our supporters, who have helped us to reach our goal before our deadline of August 15.
But let’s not stop there! We can still collect pledges, and Kicktraq tells us we are trending toward more than $15,000! That’s wonderful, because we can use it!
(Kicktraq is an independent website that uses Kickstarter data and trend analysis to provide very cool projections about Kickstarter projects.)
But, why do we want even more than $12,000 in pledges? Good question:
- Amazon/Kickstarter Fees: Just like any other credit card transactions, the pledges for Kickstarter will be assessed a credit card fee. We’d like to raise enough so that we actually end up with (net) a minimum of $12,000.
- Minimum Budget: Speaking of minimums, we based our $12,000 goal on two things. First, we want to make sure that our campaign covered the basics of what we need: our minimum budget. Second, we wanted to be sure that our goal was attainable (remember, Kickstarter is all-or-nothing). The more we raise, the more formalized all of our outreach efforts can be.
- Deaf-Blind Outreach: During the promotion of our Kickstarter campaign, we’ve received contact from members of the Deaf-Blind, asking if performances will be accessible to them. This requires a completely different type of interpreting, and an additional interpreting team. Because of the individualized style of this interpreting, two interpreters will work with each Deaf-Blind individually. We would like to put in place a team of interpreters who will also rehearse their interpretation, so that the Deaf-Blind patrons have an equally artistic experience attending the show.
The core Kickstarter budget of $12,000 made sure that we can successfully produce the show. The additional parts of the budget will help to increase the reach of the show to unique communities.
We’re so thankful for the support we have received so far, and we hope that you will work with us to continue to ask for support for this unique production. Our deadline is August 15th! If you haven’t submitted your pledge on Kickstarter, please visit our Kickstarter page now. If you have, please do share our project with others, and help us keep our momentum going!
Many thanks to all of the supporters of Police Deaf Near Far!
Danny McDougall, PhD, CSC — “Dr. Danny” — owns and manages TerpTheatre. Since 1986, he has interpreted in hundreds of plays, musicals and other performances on stage – most in the shadowed style. He teaches and lectures on the theory and practice of theatre interpreting. Danny is the chair of Sign Language Studies at Madonna University, and holds a PhD in Translation and Interpretation from Heriot-Watt University – where his dissertation explored the relationship between space and meaning during interpreted theatre performances.