Official Kickstarter to get Spring Awakening to perform on the Tonys- Page 21

[hypno68]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 2:58pm

Don't miss Ken's $149 webinar on Regional Theater Enhancements! Something tells me it won't include how to crowd-fund and ruin reputations.

https://www.theproducersperspective.com/my_weblog/2016/06/the-ins-and-outs-of-regional-theater-enhancement-deals-explained.html

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 3:03pm

Do you not read what I write? I clearly stated there is a Board, according to their 990 report from the last year publicly available (2014): 

 

David Kurs, Artistic Director

Michelle Baron, President

Mark Freund, Vice President

Nancy Popovich, Treasurer

Scott Plantinga, Treasurer

Beverly Nero, Secretary

Ed Waterstreet, Founding Director

Jeff Lenham, Director

Shelley Cohen, Director

Keri Kelsey, Director

Carol Doran, Director

Erin Moss, Director

 

I would love for any of the above listed to come on here and explain the situation. You would be doing a disservice to your organization and continuing to increase potential exposure/liability by failing to comment on the situation. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 3:43pm

Liza's Headband said: "If you do any basic research on Deaf West, like review their publicly available 990's, you will see there is a small Board and at least two salaried full-time staff members, along with a moderate amount of private support, which translates to "donors." So yes, they exist and I knew that when making the reference. 

I also find the suggestion that they weren't aware of this campaign beforehand completely preposterous. Someone at the organization knew. It would had to have been authorized beforehand, especially since the funds are being directed to Deaf West; that is after all, their KickStarter account being used for this campaign. "

No question that on paper they have a structure, as do all tiny non-profits, but my point was that it does not appear they have any real structure and I do not see how they could possibly have "going concern" staff, as opposed to ad hoc payroll, again, like every tiny non-profit. Ditto for donors. LCT has donors, DW appears to have people who give them money like now. All of the kids who have given their allowance money to kicksstarter are "donors" but they do not represent anything of substance. 

Re being unaware, you are talking about mechanical awareness which they obviously had, but again I am talking about the substance-did they appreciate they were participating in a scam? I doubt it because, as should be clear, they are likely to be one of its most devastating victims.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 3:51pm

@Liza, you are assuming that most of these folks have some actual involvement. Not sure what your point is in all this anyway. You want someone to fall on a sword; they not gonna. 

[lexivas]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 3:55pm

I'm just saying, does everyone forget the whole reason this show even started is from a Kickstarter? That's why they went back and decided to do it this way for the Tony performance. They needed money because the show is not currently running, so they decided to go back to the original way they got it for the first production. They got the funds to do the show the first time, so they assumed they would this time (which is why they told them they would be able to perform before they actually raised the money). They have backers who supported them from the very beginning. Ken Davenport had nothing to do with that original production out in LA! Plus, if you guys actually got to see the status update emails, you would realize the funding raised didn't happen over night to all of the sudden reach the goal after it was announced they would perform. They were almost all the way there a few days before, at about 70%, then a day or so before 80-90%, so once it was announced, many fans continued to help surpass the goal. Plus, with new rewards being added through the whole process, it added to the donation influx. It might have seemed odd because no one else obviously was following the status updates closely, that's just how it happened. It seems suspicious to you all because no one ever has done this for a show before.

[hypno68]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 4:00pm

Lexivas- are you saying Ken Davenport had nothing to do with this Kickstarter for the Tony performance? 

[LesMiz24601]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 4:00pm

I always thought this article in the New Yorker was an excellent look into the world of Davenport. http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/ive-got-a-musical-to-sell-you

[HogansHero]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 4:14pm

@lexivas, you are being naive to the extreme. Not what you want to hear, I'm sure, but it's true. What you are saying does not add up, and does not comport with the facts, unless you learned your math from a flim flam man.

 

[lexivas]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 4:21pm

Actually, I'm not at all and I know a lot about this topic. My facts are facts; I have friends involved. Trust me, if it was for personal benefits, I wouldn't be on here defending them, I would have been avoiding this thread. You all like to believe it was for personal benefits, but I know it wasn't. I'm not just not believing because I don't want to. The math is pretty close to being true, by the way. How do you know it is not? I got updates as the whole thing went along, I have emails to prove it. They were at 81% about two days ago, so it's feasible given the whole timeline and rate the funds were raised to become fully funded after it was announced they were performing. New prizes were also added, so more people had the incentive to donate, along with the fact that they are performing so they want them to reach the goal, and the fact that the show is only a few days away.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 4:23pm

Ah! So do you have access to the funder list? Can you tell me who supported the campaign? 

 

(ETA: I know what the answers will be but I'll play along just for the fun of it)

Updated On: 6/9/16 at 04:23 PM

[lexivas]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 4:25pm

It's not my business to have a list of over 1700 backers names and information, is it? (:

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 4:28pm

My point exactly. There is no transparency and thus you have no idea who the backers are or how unique/individual backers there are. For all you know, Ken Davenport could have kicked in $20,000 just to hit the goal. We have no way of knowing. So not only is your argument and reasoning disingenuous, it's a moot point. We are not doubting they hit their goal. We know that. Undoubtedly, that was always going to happen because Ken made sure of it. You're conflating two separate issues.... 

[hypno68]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 4:32pm

And let's just reiterate- if Davenport Theatricals donated to the Kickstarter, and Deaf West has to cut a check to Davenport Theatricals to repay upfront costs, Deaf West's 990/audit is going to be a mess. My guess is that is one of the reasons they chose to use Kickstarter and not a platform that displays donor names/amounts.

[lexivas]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 4:33pm

So how would there be five different backers of those large amounts all from Ken Davenport alone. Who's to say there are not 5 people out there who want to attend the Tony Awards party so they donated. They all also weren't donated at the last second to reach the goal, so you have no idea he did that.

Honestly, why's it such a bother? The money is literally going to the Tony performance, the money it costs to get the set and costumes out of storage, the cast to actually be there... It's not for personal gain. I'm just here to defend my friends who actually have worked hard and want to get the world to see the Deaf talent, that they CAN perform on Broadway, to see a girl in a wheelchair, to see the races, etc. I don't understand why people have to assume it's "suspicious" and bring it down when you don't know the facts.

[lexivas]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 4:35pm

They used Kickstarter for the first production out in LA, that Michael Arden and Andy Mientus started with Deaf West, Ken Davenport had nothing to do with then. That's why they chose it again. 

[hypno68]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 4:36pm

Lexivas-  we assume it's "suspicious" because no one involved will tell us the facts.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 4:37pm

lexivas said: "to see the races, etc. "

Oh, that is rich, seeing as this production was less ethnically diverse than the first.

[lexivas]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 4:37pm

Why should they have to? No one should have thought it in the first place, and who knows, maybe they will. DJ Kurs already released one or two videos about it..

[Kad]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 4:38pm

Lexivas. They were not on track to hit 200k by Saturday yesterday morning.

And then they were announced to be performing.

And then 35k- in the form of several large donations- came in.

That looks crazy suspect..

[Kad]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 4:39pm

And the central issue STILL remains: this campaign was (and still is) pitched as "make it or break it". If they hit 200k, they get to perform! If they didn't, they don't.

That was patently proven to be untrue. It was untrue when the campaign started with an end date of 6/11. It was untrue as cast were tweeting about coming to NYC. It was untrue yesterday when the performance was announced.

The entire campaign was built on a false premise. Updated On: 6/9/16 at 04:39 PM

[lexivas]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 4:39pm

I was just adding it in because it's not what it's all about, but mixed with the other diversity, it adds an aspect. This isn't a show that's just focused on Color diversity, but all diversity. Good try, though.

[lexivas]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 4:41pm

Alright, I give you that, a marketing tool. Everyone does it. Why should it bother you. Maybe if they truly believed in the beginning that it was, that's why they said it. Then they realized they were on a track. Be it, done in some large donations, but also tons of small donations you all don't realize, because you weren't tracking that, were you?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 4:42pm

Guess I'll look elsewhere when shopping for bracelets!

[Jallenc32]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 4:42pm

lexivas said: "Alright, I give you that, a marketing tool. Everyone does it. Why should it bother you. Maybe if they truly believed in the beginning that it was, that's why they said it. Then they realized they were on a track. Be it, done in some large donations, but also tons of small donations you all don't realize, because you weren't tracking that, were you?"

 

If they hadn't hit their goal until Saturday night, how would they have been able to fly to NY and rehearse prior to the dress rehearsal on Sunday morning? 

No one has answered that one simple question.

[lexivas]

Posted: 6/9/16 at 4:44pm

They did it assuming they would hit it by Sunday, because that's the track they believed they were on. Also, a bunch of the cast was already in the city, or would upfront it themselves (because most people can afford a simple flight), and stay with friends, if they had to.