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Thinkery and Verse

Theater and Film for the Mind

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THOU SHALT NOT: a resurrection of the infamous Hall-Mills double homicide of 1922

Raising funds to take our immersive stage play to New York City at The Center at West Park in October 2020.

 New Brunswick, NJ and New York City, NY, US
  • $4,373 raised of $10,000 goal
  • 41 donations
  • -2300180 minutes left
This is a Fiscally-Sponsored Project

Fiscally Sponsored by Fractured Atlas

Thinkery & Verse and COVID 19


Dear Friends,

Live theater is an art form that brings people together into the same space for a unique, yet collective experience. Even a show running night after night with the same script, director, and cast is different each time.

The audience is a vital part of this experience -- they are not there to consume your work, but to create it with you. In our previous run of Thou Shalt Not, this became incredibly apparent to us. If you didn’t see our first run, know that we engaged with the audience much more than one might in other pieces. We led the audience through the space and spoke directly with individual patrons, both scripted and candidly. Your response was amazing: Most of our shows were sold out. We had large, excited audiences packed into the small space and with them came a tangible energy. One night (I believe it was a Wednesday), we suddenly had a much smaller audience. And immediately, the show felt changed. It seemed to become much more intimate and exposed. Moments from previous nights landed differently. We were following the same script, but the energy was altered-- smaller, quieter, but static. You could feel the hushed electricity. No night during our first run was any “better” or “worse” than any other. But the experiences were distinct. It instilled in us an understanding that to experience a live show is to experience the human condition in an unreplicable way. 

This is why we find live theater to be not only important but integral, especially in a time when so much of our lives happen through a screen. But what happens to live theater in a time like this? Where does it find its place when social distancing is not only encouraged, but required? The unfortunate answer is that we hang tight and do our part in helping end this crisis. This means we stay home to help flatten the curve and decrease exposure. Which, of course, means we cannot engage in our art. 

For many of us, theater is not only our passion, but our profession and livelihood. Like many others, COVID-19 has put us out of work. In regards to Thou Shalt Not specifically, we may not be able to have our May run as intended. However, we are passionate about this project and determined to see it happen, whenever or however that may be. We’ve been working hard to determine a game plan and have come up with two primary considerations for how to move forward -- we postpone, or we film. Either way, your help is needed -- perhaps more now than ever before. I encourage you to help support our project in whatever way you can. You will be supporting not only a project that we have put our hearts and souls into, but also your local theater artists during this time of crisis. 

You can continue to support us by sharing our fundraiser with your e-network, and explaining what we are up to. 

We know we are not the only community hurting right now. We still feel very lucky that you all have empowered us to make art with you and for you over the past few years. 

Safety and well wishes to you, and to all of your friends and family. 

All of our best,

Thinkery & Verse and the Thou Shalt Not Team
SEPTEMBER 1922:  Young woman finds life destroyed when mother discovered murdered alongside New Brunswick priest!  SHOCKING double homicide! October 2020: Thinkery & Verse invited to bring their critically-acclaimed resurrection of the Hall-Mills tragedy to New York City! RAISING FUNDS to stay above water while crossing the Raritan and Hudson rivers!

THE STORY SO FAR:
In 1922, near the banks of the Raritan River, a small city priest and a choir singer were slaughtered in the most infamous unsolved double homicide of the 20th century. The woman, who was not immediately identified, was shot three times in the face. Her throat had been cut. A later autopsy showed that her tongue and vocal cords had been removed. Her name, it was discovered, was Eleanor Mills, the young mother of Charlotte and Daniel Mills, and wife of James Mills, the handyman at the Church of Saint John the Evangelist.  Her body was found beside that of the Reverend Edward Hall, the rector of the Church of Saint John the Evangelist. The priest was shot once in the face. His calling card had been carefully placed against his shoe. The star witness: Jane Gibson, a farmer (denigrated as 'the pig woman') who rode to the crime scene on her mule, Jenny.

Incompetent cops, political operatives, and the poorest and most powerful families in New Jersey were all swallowed in the circus that followed. Thinkery & Verse, working with the Church of Saint John the Evangelist, now present THOU SHALT NOT, a nightmare narrative seen through the perspective of Charlotte Mills, a young woman desperate to find her mother's murderer. 

THOU SHALT NOT is a theatrical exploration of real events. As a guest of Charlotte Mills, the audience will meet Reverend Edward Hall, Mrs. Frances Hall, Eleanor Mills and all the main players of New Brunswick in 1922. The audience will be guided through the dark and surreal  events leading to (and following) the vicious murders of "the minister and the choir singer," and the "circus" that surrounded it. THOU SHALT NOT is a re-assessment of history, an interrogation of the complicity of a community, and the sharp revival of a young woman's voice long since silenced. The staging of this play will be site-specific, peripatetic and immersive.

Thinkery & Verse has received an invitation to perform the play at the Center at Park West as a part of their spring residency. Performances will take place during the last two weeks of May, 2020. The venue is perfect for the play: it is a performance space adapted from the West Park Presbyterian historic church. The Center at West Park is a secular, 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization. Thinkery & Verse is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, an umbrella not-for-profit that supports artists. 

ARTISTS MAKE ART. BUT CAN THEY AVOID BANKRUPTCY?
Because they are  newcomers to the NYC market, Thinkery & Verse cannot count on ticket sales to defer all the expenses of the production.   

Costs include: 
  • Artist stipends.
  • Transportation. 
  • Lighting Design.
  • Costuming.
  • Administration.
  • Marketing. 
  • Publicity. 
  • Off-site rehearsals. 

Thinkery & Verse always stays on budget. Whether crossing the ocean for the Edinburgh Fringe for Bride of the Gulf, creating polarizing new work like Dionysus in America, or workshopping a new musical like Rita, the Cleaning Lady, Thinkery & Verse strives to make your investment in art beautiful and meaningful. 

All donated funds will be used to make life a little more bearable for the artists involved. The team believes in this project, and they have already sacrificed a lot to tell this story: but let's give them a hand. 

SPECIAL THANKS to each of you, you incorruptible souls of humanity’s twilight. 

Rewards

Featured

A carefully folded newspaper

Donate $10.00 or more

Amount is fully tax-deductible.

"Just take it. I'm done with it. Oh, don't mention it. No, really: don't." In this instance, let's just say that carefully timed acts of generosity are their own reward. Thinkery & Verse will graciously accept anything that you can offer. 

Carman Street

Donate $25.00 or more

Amount over $1.00 is tax-deductible.

"We can't all live in a big house on a hill. But we can still make a difference." With a $25 donation, Thinkery & Verse, thankful for your contribution, will modestly note your generosity on the appropriate social media platforms.

Easton Avenue

Donate $50.00 or more

Amount over $25.00 is tax-deductible.

"They lived on Easton Avenue. They lived close enough to know what happened: Close enough to care." A donation of $50 will not only get your generosity noted by Thinkery & Verse on our social media platforms, but will also provide you with one (1) ticket to opening night! 

Lover's Lane

Donate $100.00 or more

Amount over $50.00 is tax-deductible.

"A popular trysting place for local lovers...the area has been irretrievably defiled by the hoards of souvenir-hunters who continue their daily pilgrimages.” No need to take a branch off the crab apple tree because if you generously donate $100, Thinkery & Verse will provide mention and thanks on our social media platforms as well as two (2) tickets to any show/s of your choice at either of our venues! 

Nielson Street

Donate $150.00 or more

Amount over $60.00 is tax-deductible.

"This may look like the back alley, but baby, before you were born, it was the main street." If you graciously donate $150, Thinkery & Verse will provide mention and thanks on our social media platforms as well as two (2) tickets to any performance of your choice at either of our venues AND a poster signed by the cast and crew. 

A cooperative public servant

Donate $250.00 or more

Amount over $95.00 is tax-deductible.

"Captain Michael Regan of the New Brunswick Fire Company Number Three noted that on September 15, 1922 Willy Stevens told him 'There's been trouble at our house.' Willie refused to elaborate. He just said, 'Something is going to happen. You'll hear about it later.'"

If you graciously donate $250, :we promised to keep quiet about it"...but Thinkery & Verse will provide mention and thanks on our social media platforms as well as three (3) tickets to any show/s in either venue of your choosing AND a poster signed by the cast and crew. 

George Street

Donate $500.00 or more

Amount over $225.00 is tax-deductible.

"People living on a main street take pleasure in charity. That's with a lower-case 'c', mind you." If you graciously donate $500, Thinkery & Verse will provide mention and thanks on our social media platforms as well as four (4) tickets to any show/s in either venue of your choosing, a poster signed by the cast and crew, AND a filmed copy of the production.

A staged photograph

Donate $1,000.00 or more

Amount over $250.00 is tax-deductible.

"Say, I got an idea. What if Joe and I pose like the bodies? Would that make a good picture?"
If you graciously donate $1000, Thinkery & Verse will provide mention and thanks on our social media platforms as well as four (4) tickets to any show/s in either venue of your choosing, a poster signed by the cast and crew, a filmed copy of the production, AND Thinkery & Verse will take a photograph of two of our cast members re-creating the infamous "Cops Posing as Hall-Mills Victims" photograph of 1922. We will sign it, frame it, and send it you. We will also post the photograph, and our thanks, on appropriate social media platforms. 

The Dame of Nichol Avenue

Donate $10,000.00 or more

Amount over $1,500.00 is tax-deductible.

"It's not all the money in the world. Just enough to swim in." 
Real money has real influence. If you graciously donate $10,000, or more, (in addition to all the previous rewards),  a co-artistic director (Alvarado or Meyer) will take you out to coffee or drinks at least once per week to keep you informed of the play's progress. (If you're too busy or too distant, we will call.)  In addition, we will provide you with a producing credit and finally, we will create a tailored song and dance written and performed specifically for you by the cast and crew. 

Previous Rewards:
Thinkery & Verse will provide mention and thanks on our social media platforms as well as four (4) tickets to any show/s in either venue of your choosing, a poster signed by the cast and crew, a filmed copy of the production, and Thinkery & Verse will take a photograph of two of our cast members re-creating the infamous "Cops Posing as Hall-Mills Victims" photograph of 1922. We will sign it, frame it, and send it you. We will also post the photograph, and our thanks, on appropriate social media platforms.