Inspire Me: A FUNraiser

This interactive party was the culminating celebration of INSPIRE ME: Playwrights Foundation’s Community Building FUNraiser where individual pieces of creativity became an inspiration for a collective whole. Actors Sango Tajima and Erin Mei-Ling Stuart brought to life three brand new plays written by Resident Playwrights Dan, Nick, and Megan from 3 weeks of crowdsourced creativity collected online. There were opportunities to engage in fun activities around the themes of PLAY, WRITES, and FOUNDATION

The Playwright’s Foundation’s goal was to raise fun and inspiration alongside funds. They raised over $9000 in total, including $3500 just during the event that Transcend Streaming ran. 

During the month of October, Playwright’s Foundation tried something new, a different type of fundraiser… INSPIRE ME: Playwrights Foundation’s Community Building FUNraiser. Every Friday for the first 3 weeks of October, they invited their community to dig into weekly prompts and share the creative results of their participation. At the end of each week, they gathered the creative expressions, and passed them along to 3 of their Resident Playwrights, who used them as inspiration for 3 brand new short plays:

Week 1: PLAY — “All of a Sudden” by Dan Wolf

Week 2: WRITES — “A Comedy” by Nick Hadikwa Mwaluko

Week 3: FOUNDATION — “In the Trees” by Megan Cohen

View some of the event here.

Playwrights Foundation supports and empowers playwrights’ artistic growth and careers while championing their voices on a national level. They imagine a future where playwrights are radically centered as visionary leaders who transform the world through storytelling. www.playwrightsfoundation.org

Playwright’s Foundation’s Values

• Playwright Centered: We center our decisions around the specific needs of the playwrights we serve and empower them to have artistic agency. 
• Community: We strive to create a meaningful community amongst playwrights and cultivate a constellation of creative relationships between playwrights and artists, organizations, advocates, and audiences.
• Equity: We seek to build flexible and adaptable systems in order to create equitable opportunities for people across differences to participate, contribute and succeed.
• Inclusion: We create a culture of access, well-being, and a sense of belonging across a diversity of intersectional identities and voices. 
• Innovation: We value artistic experimentation, risk-taking, and innovative systems that support playwrights through a mindset of creativity and abundance.
• Transparency: We strive to practice clear, open, and honest communication at every level both internally and externally.
• Local Commitment: We invest in relationships with Bay Area playwrights, artists, organizations, and communities.

Week 1: PLAY — “All of a Sudden” by Dan Wolf

Week 2: WRITES — “A Comedy” by Nick Hadikwa Mwaluko

Week 3: FOUNDATION — “In the Trees” by Megan Cohen

Featured performers included Megan Cohen, Erin Mei-Ling Stuart, & Sango Tajima.

“Honestly, I love that I can always trust that things will be high quality, creative, and delivered on time. Plus I love you both as humans!” -Jessica Bird Beza

“Transcend Streaming always delivers above and beyond my expectations. Both Leanna and Kyra are highly skilled, collaborative, and creative. As well as good humans who you love to work with. There is no one else that I want to work with, and when I have worked with other people, I’m disappointed. Hire them. You won’t regret it!” 

– Jessica Bird Beza

Artistic Director: Playwright’s Foundation

www.playwrightsfoundation.org