URGENT - Business Writing

Laughs in the Park: Comedy Festivals and Classes

in Conjunction with The Chicago Parks District

Prepared for:

The Chicago Parks District

Prepared by: Name

Theatre Company

Your Name Your Street Address Your City, ST Zipcode Date Name of Recipient Street Address City, ST Zipcode Dear Recipient: Chicago has a deep and storied history making it known for many things such as Al Capone and the mob, Wrigley field, and deep-dish pizza. Recently though, Chicago has been getting recognized for something a lot more laughable, comedy. Chicago is the breeding ground for many of today’s greatest comedians, an incubator of improv and sketch comedy. Comedians such as Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, Dan Aykroyd, and more were cultivated here. So why not bring the institution that is Chicago comedy and an institution that has been helping the Chicago community since 1934, the Chicago Parks District, together for a summer of Laughs in the Park. Through this proposed collaboration the many communities of Chicago could be united in laughter. The collaboration would include improv classes for all ages to be held at a diverse selection of Chicago Parks District cultural centers, culminating in community comedy exhibitions. As well as taking popular Chicago improv and sketch comedy teams to various Chicago parks for 3 free one-day comedy festivals in an effort to expose different Chicago neighborhoods to comedy. Below is the proposal with details of the plan for your review. Thank You, Name Theatre Company 555-555-5555 [email protected]

Summary Laughs in the Park is a collaboration between The Chicago Parks District, Theater Company, and other Chicago comedy theatres that would include an educational and a performance portion. The season would kick of on Memorial Day 2016 and conclude on Labor Day 2016, with the goal to make this an annual and expanding event. Education Details The education portion would consist of 6-week class sessions at 10 various Chicago Park District cultural centers. Locations to be decided, and session dates to be determined based on the locations decided upon. Three sections of the class will be offered at each location: Middle School ages 10-13, High School ages 14-18, and adult ages 18 and up. The classes would have individualized curriculums based on the fundamentals of improv. Each class would create their own long form or short form improv troupe that would perform a 20-minute set in the culmination community comedy showcase at the end of the session. Teachers will be determined based on availability and level of improv education/skill. A selection committee would invite teachers as well as review the applications of other interested people. The teaching positions will be paid. Each class session will cost $60 for the entire 6 weeks. Scholarships will be available for students based need and funds raised through grants and donations. Performance Details Three one day comedy festivals will take place in conjunction with Laughs in the Park The dates of these festivals will be Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day 2016 from 12pm-6pm. Each festival will be located in a different Chicago park and will have at least 3 stages with a variety of acts. The selection of improv and sketch groups will be as follows, 3 headliners and about 15 other acts. Our committee will invite headlining groups and all other groups will fill out an application with their interest. The acts will have the opportunity to perform at multiple festivals. The headliners will be paid; the other groups can negotiate pay though volunteering will be encouraged. Chicago restaurants and beverage providers will be given the opportunity to be vendors at this event. The running of the festival will be mostly through volunteers, provided by the Chicago Parks District. We will try to keep ticket prices low to encourage more people to come and enjoy comedy at a low rate. Our Company Theater Company is a theatre company in located in Chicago. Touching brains creates experiential theatre with an emphasis on classic comedies. The goal of the company is to engage audiences on a deeper level. This audience connection is where the name of the company comes from. Whether it be through laughter, deep

human emotion, or relatable human experiences it is our goal to figuratively touch the audience’s brains in some way, Name, Executive Director Name is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago where she earned a bachelors degree in Live and Performing Arts Management. She worked as an arts administrator at several Chicago theatres before founding Touching Brains. Sadie Geauthreaux, Artistic Director Sadie graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Production Management. She has stage managed many productions on the east coast and in Chicago. She is one of the founding members of Touching Brains Emma Costello, Events Manager Emma Costello holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Stephens College. She has also completed the programs at both IO and Second City. She is currently on a Harold team at IO, and performs sketch comedy by night. Potential Partners Other institutions we would like to have involved include: Comedy: The Second City IO The Playground The Annoyance MCL Stage 773 Under The Gun

Vendors: 312 Goose Island Lagunitas Jeni’s Ice Cream Big and Little’s Cheesie’s Portillo’s

Other Organizations: Chicago Public Schools Ele-Varte Redmoon Chicago Children’s Theatre Urban Gateways The Saints Columbia College CCAP

Budget

Break Even

Break Even For Performances

Ticket Type Ticket Prices Number of Tickets Per Event Total From Ticket Sales Adult $10.00 600 $6,000.00 Teen 10-18 $5.00 425 $2,125.00 Child under 10 $2.00 330 $660.00 Total per Event

$8,785.00

Total for All events

$26,355.00

Total Cost $26,355.00

Revenue $0.00

Break Even for Education

Class Type Price for 6 Week Session Number of Participants Total form Enrollment Adult 18+ $60.00 10 $600.00 High School 14-18 $60.00 10 $600.00 Middle School 10-13 $60.00 10 $600.00 Total For One Location

$1,800.00

Total For All Locations

$18,000.00

Total Cost $12,300.00

Revenue $5,700.00

Fundraising Money for this event will come from combination of grants, corporate sponsorships, and individual donations. Potential grants include: The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, American Express Cultural Heritage Grants, 3arts, and other local and national grant opportunities. Corporate sponsorships would be Chicago based corporations to keep the event rooted in Chicago, to support our community oriented goals. Individual donations can be made through our website. Marketing Different methods of marketing will be used for the two portions of the event. For the educational portion of the event we will send out information through the Chicago Public Schools and advertise at the community centers where the classes will be held. We will also encourage community organizations to share the event with their email lists. For the performance we will do many online ads using cookies and Google ad words. Other advertising will be done through our partners in the event and specific to the neighborhoods where events are being held. Print ads will be placed in newspapers to bring in the local audience we are looking to attract.

Out Comes The goal of Laughs in the Park is to unite Chicago communities using something that is a Chicago gem and tradition, to expose Chicago communities that otherwise wouldn’t be to comedy. The goal of the performance aspect is celebrate the city of Chicago and the comedy that is being created in it. The goal of the education portion is to use comedy as a tool to engage communities in learning and to create a fun activity to enhance the summer. Conclusion Laughs in the Park, a collaboration between Touching Brains theatre and the Chicago Parks district will be a great event to bring different aspects of what Chicago loves together through several events. Through the mingling of one of Chicago’s greatest public service institutions and the comedic minds of this city we can create a great event for old Chicago natives and new Chicago transplants alike. The goal is to keep all events as affordable as possible to encourage many people to enjoy what Chicago comedy has to offer in Chicago’s best season.