Below is the mock grant application. Even though the grant application itself is fake, the project that I am working on is real, and the people that listed as part of the creative team are all people I would to have on my team, should this project ever become real.
THE STARS LIKE DUST GRANT APPLICATION
Short Description: The Stars Like Dust is an original piece by Nicholas Leung and Anton Kurdakov that chronicles a space adventure in the form of a musical. Following the life of a Federation Captain-turned-smuggler following a long and bloody war, the musical explores what it means to be home, fleeing one’s place of safety, betrayal, and comradery in the face of fear and hopelessness. The process will be focused on workshopping the first act of the show, bringing to life both the songs and script, along with pushing the boundaries of musical theatre by exploring a place that hasn’t been explored before (science fiction and musical theatre).
Amount Requested: $800 (eight hundred dollars).
Creative and Production Staff:
Writer / Assistant Director / Actor: Anton Kurdakov and Nicholas Leung
Anton Kurdakov is a musical theatre performing in his junior year at Baruch College, studying Corporate Communications and Public Relations. He appeared in Baruch College’s production of RENT as Mark Cohen, and will appear in The Last Five Years as Jamie Wallerstein in February of 2017. Anton is a singer-songwriter who has been considering the idea of The Stars Like Dust for the last year before becoming friends with Nicholas Leung and deciding to begin writing as a duo.
Nicholas Leung is a musical theatre performer in his junior year at Baruch College, studying Marketing and Management for Musical Theatre Performers. He leads the a cappella group known as the Macaulay Triplets. He appeared in Baruch College’s production of RENT as Roger Davis, and is a singer-songwriter who performs at open mics nights around the city.
Director: Remy Babovic
Remy Babovic is a student at Baruch College and is an up-and-coming director. Most recently, he was the assistant director to Christopher Scott (EDWIN: The Story of Edwin Booth, GREED: A Musical for Our Times) during Baruch College’s production of Blood Wedding by Federico Garcia Lorca.
Stage Manager: Dana Spataru
Dana Spataru is an Arts Administration student at Baruch College in her sophomore year. She was the assistant stage manager to Erin Person during Baruch College’s production of RENT and will be stage managing The Last Five Years in February. She worked as a production assistant at The Fantasticks and stage managed for Baruch College’s Thespian Club.
Project Statement
Now, more than ever, is the time for musical theatre to expand its horizons. With the advent of Hamilton and Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, the ‘sound’ of musicals is expanding in directions that have never been done before on a Broadway stage. Additionally, these musicals explore things that would not have been considering around 30 years ago (when things such as Les Miserables and The Phantom of the Opera dominated Broadway). Moreover, the themes we plan to explore are very timely and will be relatable to a large portion of the viewers.
This musical will be unlike anything that has been done before, exploring themes of belonging and home in the light of science fiction. Science fiction has never been done on a major stage before, and we feel it to be a very exciting and interesting niche to explore.
We will be recruiting actors of all walks of life to participate in this project (with some parts written with specific Baruch students in mind). If this first act workshop is successful, we plan to finish the musical and create a full length musical with immersive onstage seating similar to Great Comet of 1812. If it is not successful, we plan to rewrite material and try again until we succeed in creating an interesting piece.
Location: If possible, we would like to use Baruch College’s Bernie West Theater, which is both small and immersive and allows for much variance. If that is not possible, we will be using Baruch College’s Skylight Room.
Goal: Create an interesting musical theatre piece that explores timely themes, telling an original story in a way that has not been done before.
Budget:
- Tech-week/performance space: 600$, which will go towards renting the performance for the show and the week leading up to the show.
- Costumes: $50, creating modern costumes with a futuristic twist.
- Props: $50, creating a spaceship on a budget.
- Other: $50, printing costs.
- $50, for unforeseen spending needs.
- Total requested: $800.