About this project
In “Armstrong’s Kid” I play Mr. Drake, a gay schoolteacher falsely accused of child molestation by my best friend’s 14-year-old son, and end up spending a year in prison before the truth is revealed. Eleven years later my now-grown accuser (co-star Thandiwe Thomas De Shazor) seeks me out to ask my forgiveness. Our meeting in my Catskills Mountain cabin retreat goes from humorous small talk to a “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” knock-down-drag-out, where old wounds are opened, dark secrets are revealed, and twists and turns abound.
After playing Los Angeles and Oakland last year to great success, and with plans already in place to bring it to Atlanta in September and fulfilling a booking on the Songmaster BGL cruise through the Caribbean in November, I am planning to bring the play to New York for an Off-Broadway run beginning in October.
I’ve been looking at several Off-Broadway theatres and am seriously considering The Actors Temple Theatre on West 47th St. and 9th Ave, one block from the Broadway Theatre District. “Black Angels Over Tuskegee,” a wonderful play about the Tuskegee Airman, is already in its second year there, and because of that, many New York Theatre-goers are very familiar with the 199 seat house.
The theatre rents for $1,000 per performance. Also what will be needed is an initial advertising budget of $2,500. It is a simple one-unit set–a cabin in the Catskills–and there are only two actors. So initial salaries (including a production manager, a stage manager, and a lighting/sound operator) will not be that high. Printing cost and wardrobe expenditures are also minimal.
The plan is to do at least 15 performances over a three week period. The primary use of the Kickstarter funds will be used to secure the theatre. Once the theatre is secured, tickets can go on sale and publicity can officially begin. I would like tickets to be available no later than July 1st. Ideally the full three week run could be sold out before opening night, thanks to advance sales and Kick-starter reward tickets, making an extension of the run possible. Who knows. maybe we can run two years like “Black Angels Over Tuskegee!”
As you can see from my bio, I have many years of experience producing award-winning stage plays. I look foward to using that experience to bring the Stanley Bennett Clay theatrical brand to New York’s Off-Broadway theatrical scene. With your help, we can do this!
Remember, any amount of money is enthusiastically welcomed, from $1 on up, with ticket rewards beginning at $30.
Much Love,
Stanley Bennett Clay
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1881896308/staging-my-play-armstrongs-kid-off-broadway
