The Queen of Nori Production Costs

What is THE QUEEN OF NORI?

THE QUEEN OF NORI is an original contemporary ballet that follows a Queen who turns to dark magic to save her kingdom from war with neighboring powers. Directed and Choreographed by Holly Stone, the show brings story ballet into the 21st century and explores power, magic, parenthood, and what happens when people in positions of power are put to the ultimate test.

See more about the cast, crew and world here: https://thequeenofnori.com/ 

The Story:

Director Holly and Composer Ian Guthrie met in spring 2019 at Florida State University and began work on the piece. Holly assembled a small cast and began work on the movement, planning a 'proof-of-concept' premiere in April 2020.

Well. We all know how that story ends.

COVID-19 shut down rehearsals and erased grant funding. The cast dispersed, Holly moved to the Boston area. The idea wouldn't leave Holly alone, and in December 2020 the project was resurrected in virtual form over Zoom. We rehearsed for 3 months solely on Zoom, discussing character and building short movement phrases that would fit in our living rooms before slowly phasing in to in-person rehearsals at the Dance Complex in April. The entire cast, including dancers from five states, came together for a week-long in-person residency through the Dance Complex in late July, culminating in two workshop performances of a first draft of the hour-long show.

Holly self-produced the workshop shows using savings left over from life as an engineer at a Fortune 500 company, but now needs extra support to fully realize the vision of THE QUEEN OF NORI as a full production on a larger proscenium stage.

Where does the money go?

The biggest costs for producing dance are music, space, and dancers. The music is currently only piano and some audio effects, and we need money to pay composer Ian Guthrie to transcribe and re-orchestrate it for a larger ensemble--and then be able to hire a larger ensemble. Access to rehearsal space, especially in a metropolitan areas, is a significant cost. And, most importantly, dancers are the most valuable part of this project and deserve to be paid a fair wage for their work and previous training.

Perks!

$10+ -- Names listed on website and in future programs as producers of the project 
$25+ -- Access to a recording of the workshop performance 
$50+ -- Art print of the world map
$100+ -- Access to a recording of the workshop performance PLUS director's commentary 
$150+ -- Private lesson with Director Holly Stone