Lady Garden 

 

Lady Garden is a real actor, and a real director, challenging the world, and making us think and feel. It's a story about us. Lady Garden intends to be a story, told by us for our generation, to share with the future, intending to create a better world; such is the power of the storyteller. 

 

The Lady Garden project is designed to build and create a new piece of women's theatre based on a framework of creative ideas outlining a story about women, for women, and told by women, working on a Garden Allotment in London. 

 

The basis of the script will be created around a rainbow of women (and a transwoman actor and for the balance of scale one male actor), from a myriad of cultures and backgrounds, from diverse socio-demographics, discussing universal women's concerns, and of many ages from the young to the young at heart. I promise you this will not be another one of those caricature pretty plays about pretty things.  

 

The main themes will include:

 

• Cultural and Diversity

• Inclusion and Class

• Humanity

• Comedy

• Challenge the perception of gender

• Havens

• Contrasts

 

 

Research and Development

Our Indiegogo Campaign was launched to raise the necessary funds for its research and development workshop (stage 1). In my mind, Lady Garden, after its research and development workshop and script writing phases, I see it opening on a West End stage. It's a dream and a vivid vision and it takes discipline (and a dash of obsession) to make it happen. 

 

The playwright / creative producer will provide a framework of creative ideas outlining the plotline. It will be up to the director and actors to decide what story to tell and how they tell it. 

 

A female director, five female actors, one transgender actor, and one male actor will be engaged to workshop the framework of creative ideas, working in collaboration to deliver a final draft, production-ready, full-length stage script. 

 

The full-length stage script will formulate a ‘stage 2 project’ plan. Funding applications for the ‘stage 2 project’ will be sought once the final draft full-length stage script has been completed with an outlook of mounting a fully staged professional production, engaging the female director and actors.

 

 

Defined Method of Approach

The Lady Garden project will be a collaborative process in which the playwright / creative producer will provide a framework upon which the Lady Garden script will be created, defined by the female director, five female actors, one transgender actor, and (for the balance of scale) one male actor.

 

The director and actors will work in collaboration to workshop the framework into a production-ready, full-length stage script. 

 

The director and actors will work with the playwright to determine the path of the story, plot, and character outcomes.

 

The playwright will form part of the decision-making process in line with the director to decide upon story relevance, strength of plot, and character-driven ideas, making final decisions on the story’s path, framework, and dialogue. All this culminated from the collaborative work completed with the actors.

 

 

The Playwright

Darren Brealey has written over 30 plays and has had many of them produced around the globe; although he is not a global name. He is well known for his self-confession about his writing, "I don't write about Fairytale sunsets and I'm not about to start now." He is a perceptive playwright with the ability to expose the flaws in the human condition, to hit home.

 

Brealey wrote and produced his first full-length play before the age of 25 years and it won an Award for Best New Production in the 1996 Melbourne Fringe Festival Awards. With many awards, recognition, and much work to show, Brealey tirelessly works on new theatre projects and assists others with their work and lives for the theatre. "Theatre is what gets me out of bed in the morning". 

 

Lady Garden is a new piece of writing for Brealey, yet more importantly, a new way of working for him. Collaborating with a female Director, five female actors, one transgender actor, and (for the balance of scale) one male actor, this writing process will allow Brealey to work directly with creative input and work in a cohesive and collaborative process to create a new piece of amazing theatre. 

 

His heritage is full of strong women. 

 

 

Project Deliverables and Desired Outcomes

The desired deliverable of the Lady Garden project will be to deliver a production-ready, full-length stage script.

 

The desired outcomes include:

 

the creation of new work in the theatre for women with powerful, embracing, and inclusive dialogue with a positive message to women, about women the creation of a new project plan to be called a ‘stage 2 project’ where funding is sought with a vision for a fully professionally produced production;

 

• once the current project life cycle has been delivered and considered a success

 

• holding an award-winning script for future productions of equity-paid work, school productions, and community theatre productions for women with an outcome to spread the positive messages in the Lady Garden script

 

 

Background

Lady Garden takes place in a garden allotment in the London area for the local community, focusing on the local community requirements, whether the main purpose of their visit is hibernation, a re-focus of mind and body, establishing a gardening routine, making new friends or to celebrate a special occasion, each woman has her patch of garden to either become a recluse or to reach out and communicate.

 

In London, the idea of creating this project has drawn great interest from a female director, five female actors, one transgender actor, and (for the balance of scale) one male actor. It's time to write a theatre script, for women in theatre, about women to allow real women to perform where their voices will be heard.

 

 

Scope

Lady Garden is an artistic project with the intent to deliver the following inclusions:

 

• humanity

• comedy

• challenging perceptions of gender

• describe a haven

• international characters and their cultures, views, and experiences

• contrasting stories about women

• community spirit

• a transgender character

• sexual preference

• financial standing

• class / social standing

• personality

• religious beliefs

• marital status

• family, children, and siblings

• employment status 

 

 

What We Need & What You Get

The Lady Garden project is quite simple for Stage 1:

 

Our budget for Stage 1 is simple, we want to (and need to) pay wages, venue hire, food, administration, and insurance. This four-week project will provide fully paid work for these artisans.

 

With different levels of support for you to choose from, we'll pack a punch to match your generosity when you pick a perk. Should you wish to remain anonymous, we will respect your privacy. 

 

 

The Impact

A common problem in theatre is a lack of available good quality scripts for women, real women (not a caricature), older women, and for women from diverse backgrounds. The Lady Garden project will provide:

 

• a strong, diverse, powerful, and compassionate story for women about women.

 

• providing opportunities to work, perform and speak with a strong voice.

 

• a script told by women, constructed by women, for women.

 

 

Risks & Challenges

Our transparency is clear. Our obstacles in delivering such a powerful script include a lack of funding and lack of ongoing financial support. The artists need to eat, support families and be part of an equal equation. The artist's talents and passionate commitment to their art require remuneration.

 

Your generous and appreciated financial support through donations will assist us to overcome our financial challenges.

 

Strong social media profiles, ongoing marketing, and constant communication will assist our project immensely to avoid the risk of failing this project.

 

 

Other Ways You Can Help

Please spread the word. It would be amazing if you could share to the world on social media our desire to create world-class theatre by independent artists.

 

We would love to be able to write the Lady Garden.

 

LET'S MAKE SOME NOISE

 

We are grateful and appreciate your donation and support. Should you be unable to provide financial assistance, you can still help. Please spread this to the world on social media.

Remember to use the Indiegogo share tools.

 

* Flowers painted by Darren Brealey