In this Lab we will discuss organizational tools to get your project and/or idea off the ground from artistic mission, to budgets, to press kits, and ending with fundraising. We hope to open your mind to what is possible on a small budget, empowering you as an artist-producer.
Different ideas have different organizational structures, so we offer a fluid and adaptable approach to wrapping your head around the next steps in your project.
Who is this class for?
This class is geared towards artist-producers that are at the start of their journey. Artists of all disciplines, directors, artists, singers, instrumentalists, theatre makers, of all kinds.
No previous experience required, as activities and discussions will be designed to meet the inclusive needs of every participant based on their expressed interests and experience level (ages 18+).
We build a safe and vital space for creative ideas to be nurtured as part of a creative community. The Lab allows for peer-learning, valuable critical response and feedback, and hands-on group exercises, discussions, and process-driven activities where each participant will grow and evolve their own individual practice.
Multi-lingual participants are encouraged to apply, but sessions will be facilitated in English. Instructor can translate to Spanish.
Important Information
Dates & Times: Mondays, June 21 & 28, July 12 & 19, 2021 @ 7PM EDT
An additional day/time may be added depending on the number of applicants.
Sessions & Duration: Four (4) semi-weekly, 2-hr online sessions. Plus one 45-min private consultation with Artistic Director, Aliana de la Guardia, scheduled separately.
Deadline to apply: Sunday, May 30, 2021, 11:59PM EST
Notification: Sunday, June 6, 2021, 11:59PM EST
Participant Fee: $400 / $350.00 (Alumni Discount)
Payment Due: Friday, June 11, 2021 (either in full or partial)
Subsidies/Scholarships: We offer subsidy to any culturally or socially underrepresented participant based on expressed need and as funds are available.
With respect to our extraordinary teaching artists we cannot offer these classes for free.
What to expect:
Day 1
Topic: How artists are going to change the world.
Description: A brief introduction to Guerilla Opera and our work, then exploring strong artist, company and project missions and visions.
Take-aways: At the end of this session participants will receive a worksheet to help draft a preliminary company, project, artist mission and vision.
Day 2
Topic: What do I have to show the world?
Description: In this session, participants will briefly share their missions and visions generated from the previous session. Then we will explore strong press kits from other projects and companies, and begin an introduction to creating project budgets. (If you are interested in company budgets, we can address that in private sessions.)
Take-aways: At the end of this session participants will have examples and templates of press kits and an understanding of project income and expenses n budgeting with the assignment to begin building their own.
Day 3
Topic: How much does it cost to save the world?
Description: Now that you have your press kit and your draft budget, this will become your “pitch kit” that you can send to presenters. In this class you will work on your elevator pitch and our guest speakers will talk about how to find the right presenting partner and the best way to get in touch.
Takeaways: At the end of this session participants will have a full as well as the beginning of a development plan.
Day 4
Topic: I’m ready to save the world. What are the next steps?
Description: Now you have your pitch, pitch kit, and budget. Next you need a timeline and fundraising plan. Let’s break down the different ways of fundraising for your project and our guest speaker will give you the tools to be able to achieve your goals.
Takeaways: At the end of this course you will have a complete project on paper to be able to send to grantors, funders and any one who might be interested in your projects.
Private Session:
Each participant will receive one 1-hr private consultations with Artistic Director Aliana de la Guardia, an artist producer with 14 years of experience producing new works.
These sessions will be schedules outside of class time and are for you. You can ask or discuss anything you want in relationship to the class and your project. The goal is to give personalized feedback and empower you to achieve your goals.
Technical Requirements:
Access to a computer, laptop or smartphone with video, and a reliable internet connection are the technical requirements for the program.
Format:
Guerilla Lab Creatives will meet in video conferences via Zoom. We will use break out rooms to share and practice with each other. Program materials will come from your instructor and be shared using google docs and other online resource sharing programs.
Guerilla Lab Creatives will be expected to complete writing, research, and other activities as assigned by the instructor between sessions so co-learning time can be used for new topics, discussions, and sharing.
About Guerilla Labs:
We want to amplify your unique perspective in our community and give you the ability to share the artforms you love with your community. Our vision is to examine the world through culturally focused and contemporarily lenses. We especially encourage female-identifying artists, LGBTQ+ artists, and BIPOC artists to apply and offer need based subsidies to these groups as available!
Guerilla Opera is the premiere ensemble for new opera in the Boston area and one of the first in the country to exclusively commission new works. For us, art-making is a collaborative process. Our Guerilla Lab extracts the words from the music in order to isolate and explore this aspect of opera development more fully.
Questions? Email programs@guerillaopera.org
Aliana de la Guardia, Instructor
Aliana de la Guardia (Soprano & Artistic Director) has garnered acclaim for her “dazzling flights of virtuosity” (Gramophone) in “vocally fearless” performances that are “fizzing with theatrical commitment” (The Boston Globe). A voracious interpreter of repertoire old and new, this Cuban-American artist enjoys a multifaceted career as a vocalist, actor, educator, and entrepreneur in New England and beyond. A co-founding artist and now Artistic Director of Guerilla Opera, she has produced more than twenty five world premiere operas with roles tailor-made for her ferocious stage presence. Specializing in new music and garnering skills as a theater artist she is especially fit for premiering new experimental operas, genre-bending performance art, devised works, intimate performances and film projects. She has enjoyed new music and new opera collaborations featuring today’s most eminent composers with American Lyric Theater, Beth Morrison Projects, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Boston New Music Festival, Dinosaur Annex, Enigma Chamber Opera, Ludovico Ensemble, Monadnock Music, New Gallery Concert Series, the PARMA Festival, Transient Canvas, and Winsor Music, among others. She was recently selected as a protégée for OPERA America’s Women’s Opera Network Mentorship Program for Women in Opera, paired with Lee Anne Myslewski from the Wolf Trap Foundation, as well as the recipient of a Public Art Learning Fund grant from the New England Foundation for the Arts to pursue mentorship with the renowned Double Edge Theatre. She is the owner and founder of Dirty Paloma Voice Studio in Haverhill, MA, treasurer of Granite State National Association of Teachers of Singing, and was on the 2020 Haverhill Multicultural Festival planning committee. Aliana has a BM in vocal performance, emphasis in opera and an MM, vocal performance from the Boston Conservatory, and additional studies with SITI Company and New Repertory Theater. (alianaelaguardia.com)
Ishan Johnson, Guest Speaker
Ishan Johnson is the newly appointed Associate Director, Philanthropy for the Art Institute of Chicago. Previously, he served as Associate Director of Development for Chicago Opera Theater, where he oversaw individual & planned giving, special events, and an endowment campaign. As Manager of Auxiliary Relations for Chicago History Museum, he transformed the volunteer donor experience, exceeding all financial and membership goals. He is a graduate of the AFP Chicago Fellows program, was awarded the 2019 Chamberlain Scholarship, and proudly serves on the Board of Directors as Vice-President of IDEA. As a member of the public engagement and jr. member committees for the Arts Club of Chicago, Ishan proudly advocates for equity and access within one of our city’s greatest cultural institutions. He holds a Vocal Performance degree from Boston University, and held a professional career as an opera singer for more than a decade.