Gonzo was first developed as a part of the inaugural Corkscrew Theater Festival in 2017. We hope that our workshop at LPAC will be a valuable next step in the development of this play towards a world premiere production. Your contributions will enable us to reach our fundraising goal and explore this play on its feet in front of an audience for the first time.
Gonzo Fundraiser Headers.png 1.48 MB Synopsis: On the eve of Mary Beth's eighteenth birthday and first professional porn shoot, her role model Chantal returns to Miami determined to make a comeback. But their plans for stardom are thrown off by Thelma, a twenty-five-year-old newbie, whose arrival transforms the women’s shared house into a battleground over what gets filmed and who gets screwed. As five diverse amateur porn stars hustle for their next shoot, their lives play out alongside a deeper examination of the power imbalances, societal taboos, and questions of consent that shape one of the fastest growing, largely unregulated online industries in the world. Laura Winters’ Gonzo is a frank and fierce look at empowerment and exploitation in the digital age.
Built from Laura Winters’ conversations with adult film performers, as well as her research into theoretical texts, articles, podcasts, and yes, even actual porn, Gonzo celebrates female sexual pleasure while critiquing a highly problematic industry that embodies the male gaze. At a time when porn has replaced sex-ed for many Millennials and Gen Z’ers, Gonzo investigates our uncomfortable obsession with youth, performativity, and the next "It Girl." As a theatrical event, Gonzo also draws a painful parallel between the ageism and racism faced by women in both the porn and mainstream entertainment industries.
Gonzo Fundraiser Headers-2.png 1.46 MB Gonzo Team Images.png 867.05 KB Laura Winters (Playwright, Thelma) is a writer, actress, and improviser. Her full-length play Emerson Loses Her “Miand” was presented at NY Winterfest this January. Her plays have been developed and read at the Corkscrew Theatre Festival, Barefoot Theatre Company, Dixon Place, and published in The Dionysian. Improv: iO Chicago, The Second City, UCB, The Pit. BA Northwestern. LauraWinters.net
Noam Shapiro (Director) is a 2017-2018 Manhattan Theatre Club Directing Fellow, a member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab, and a 2018 Drama League Artist-in-Residence. Recent credits: The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (Lyra Theater), It Takes a Village (The Tank), Emerson Loses Her “Miand” (NY Winterfest), Little League (NY Frigid Festival), and Speaking as Then (Columbia MFA). BA Yale. noamshapiro.com
Margaret Gandolfo (Producer) is a New York based theatrical producer and performer with a background in marketing, education & performance. Producing credits: Ryan Bernsten’s Dream Ticket (NYC Fringe Festival) and The New Order (Corkscrew Theater Festival). As an actor Margaret has performed at both Dixon Place and The American Renaissance Theater Company. Margaret earned her BFA in Theater at the Tisch School of the Arts. margaretgandolfo.com
Three Hares (Executive Producer) is a producing company that brings together diverse and multidisciplinary artists to collaborate on socially conscious and political theater. Learn more.
This workshop production brings together a diverse and adventurous ensemble of artists whose previous credits include performances at the Flea Theatre, Symphony Space, The New Victory Theater, the Secret Theatre, Miami Stage Company, the Metropolitan Playhouse, the Davenport Theatre, and TheaterLab. Gonzo Team Images-2.png 815.34 KB Gonzo Team Images-3.png 816.66 KBGonzo Team Images-4.png 846.54 KB Cast: Sarah Chapin (Mary Beth), Anissa Comonte (Genesis) Yasemin Eti (Lale), Tiffany Iris (Alba), Roland Lane (Skip), Devin Nelson (Chantal), Nick Ong (Dennis), JJ Warshaw (Kyle) and Laura Winters (Thelma)
We are seeking to raise $4,500 through this campaign to cover the minimum costs of mounting this workshop production of Gonzo at the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center. Producing independent theater is New York is always a challenge, but we are experienced artists and producers who understand New York's indie theater scene. Right now we are 65% of the way towards our full budget goal and we need YOUR HELP to get the rest of the way there. Your support will help us pay our artists, cover material costs, reach a broader audience, and tell this story.
Here are eight ways your support makes a difference:
$10 covers four round-trip subway rides to our swanky venue in Long Island City. "It's like going out to Siberia!" - Scott Davis, LPAC Line Producer.
$25 pays for one hour of rehearsal space in the same studio as the next generation of theater artists: Four-year-old hip hop dancers.
$50 goes towards the marketing costs associated with producing a new play, including a dozen inflatable flamingos, a seven-foot long snake, and forty cases of red bull. Only one of these things is true.
$75 covers three of the sexy outfits that our costume designer is putting together to make our actors look so damn good.
$100 prints all of the scripts that Laura has tirelessly edited for our eight actors and six production staff members.
$250 helps us secure the appropriate insurance that we need to step foot on our stage in case an anvil falls on our heads!
$500 pays for the truck rental that Noam and Margaret will have to drive around Queens to transport our lovely scenic elements (including a comfy couch, a beat up workout bench, and a fancy Miami-inspired backdrop).
$1000 goes a long way towards helping our lovely “starving artists” get PAID! All our artists will get compensated for this production and for some of them it’ll even be their their first paid gig on the books in NYC!
Gonzo Fundraiser Headers-3.png 1.46 MB As a thanks for your generous contribution to our crowdfunding campaign, we are excited to offer you these unique, personalized perks that invite you into the world of Gonzo:
Saturday, April 14 at 7pm Gonzo runs two hours with a 10-minute intermission.
All performances will take place at The LaGuardia Performing Art Center's Little Theater, located 31-10 Thomson Ave, Long Island City, NY 11101.
Tickets
Purchase your tickets now before they sell out! Tickets are $10 general admission/ $8 for students with a valid ID.
Travel Take the 7 train to 33rd/Rawson or the E, G, V, R trains to Queens Plaza. Approx. 10-15 minutes from Grand Central Station and 15-20 minutes from Times Square.
Spread the news!
If you aren't in a position to help us financially, please consider giving us a hand in one of the following ways:
Learn More The Rough Draft Festival is a one of a kind series curated by LPAC's Associate Director Handan Ozbilgin. As a window into the creative process, The Rough Draft Festival is a celebration of artists/organizations and their work under development. RD features a wide array of artists whose work is at various levels of development all striving towards a finished product. Each year Rough Draft pushes the boundaries of theater presenting pieces that give a voice to meaningful works. #IAMARoughDraft. Learn more.
Three Hares
Three Hares is a fiscally sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Any contribution above the value of the goods and services received by the donor is tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
Rewards
Amateur
Donate $10.00 or more
Amount is fully tax-deductible.
Ever wonder how Stormy Daniels got her name? We’ll give you a personalized performer name from the world of Gonzo.
Babe
Donate $25.00 or more
Amount is fully tax-deductible.
Looking for some attention? We’ll send you a special snapchat thank you video from one of the cast members. We like to call them "The Talent." Plus all of the above!
Girl Next Door
Donate $50.00 or more
Amount is fully tax-deductible.
Claim your five minutes of fame. We’ll include your name in the program alongside the names of Miami’s other hottest stars and send you some behind-the-scenes B-Roll footage from our rehearsal process. Plus all of the above!
Rising Star
Donate $75.00 or more
Amount is fully tax-deductible.
Happy birthday, Mr. President. Our playwright Laura Winters will write you a custom monologue or thank you jingle in the style of your choosing. Plus all of the above!
Next Big Thing
Donate $100.00 or more
Amount over $20.00 is tax-deductible.
You’ve made it to the A-list. We’ll reserve two complimentary tickets for you at one of our performances and invite you to our exclusive cast party. Plus all of the above!
Top Talent
Donate $250.00 or more
Amount over $30.00 is tax-deductible.
Who needs a video when you can have the real thing? Take home a piece of our set or one of the props from our production at LPAC and think of us every time you’re ready to Netflix and chill. Plus all of the above!
Fan Favorite
Donate $500.00 or more
Amount over $40.00 is tax-deductible.
Fantasy becomes reality (or something like that) when you'll receive a limited edition poster signed by the entire cast from our show’s promotional photo shoot.
World Famous
Donate $1,000.00 or more
Amount over $60.00 is tax-deductible.
It’s so real you can touch it. Get a limited edition lookbook featuring photos from rehearsal, design images, a deleted scene, artist interviews, a copy of the program, and pictures from the workshop production.
