Scott Moyle is bringing classical theatre to the future. His Urban Bard Productions is a recently-formed Toronto theatre company. They do classical theatre in unusual places, staging awesome plays in urban locations to tell the story in a way that is fresh, accessible, and exciting. Their previous productions of 'Twelfth Night' and 'The Two Noble Kinsmen' were huge successes.

Now, Scott is looking to crowdfund 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and was gracious enough to share his thoughts about the process with me:

What was the inspiration behind the classical theatre project you are currently running on RocketHub?  Why is it important to you?

Urban Bard Productions is at a tricky point right now: we're really starting to pick up creative momentum, and our reputation is picking up substantial momentum beyond our immediate circle of contacts. But we're running on empty financially, because part of our mandate is keeping classical theatre accessible with a Pay-What-You-Can admission cost, so we've only ever managed to break even. RocketHub seemed like a great opportunity to get the season on its feet, while also raising some awareness of the company.

This specific project, Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, is a play that's very dear to me: it was the first play I directed way back in highschool, it's one of Shakespeare's funniest works, and it's a show that we have exactly the right cast for right now. Oh, and it's a great contrast to the show we've got planned to follow it up: the dark and disturbing Richard III.

Sounds like it's the perfect time for a crowdfunding campaign. How has your experience been as a crowdfunding pioneer in the world of theatre in Canada - how are your supporters responding?

I'm having a great time. I knew we had plenty of people who support and value our work, but I had no clue how dramatically RocketHub would galvanise them around this project - I just about fell out of my seat when our first $500 fueler showed up! It was also a fantastic exercise to think through potential rewards, particularly the ones that take advantage of Urban Bard's unique approach to staging the classics. This whole experience is proving tremendously fun right now, and (at the time of writing) our campaign still has seven weeks to go, so I'm really excited to see what happens next.

Our supporters are responding with an overwhelming amount of positive feedback and generosity - we're 10% of the way through our campaign and we're nearly halfway to our goal. I couldn't ask for better friends, colleagues, and supporters.

We're glad that we can play a small part in your success. You've built a lot of momentum quickly. Any advice for Creatives looking to crowdfund a similar project?

Having a good bit of video seems to have made a substantial difference. It's crazy enough that strangers are intrigued, but sticks close enough to the aesthetic of our previous shows that our fans can relate to it. Janine Harris of Keyring Media donated her time and equipment and expertise to make the video look as professional as it does, and we went through a lot of drafts of that speech to make sure the message was clear, entertaining, and representative of our brand. And, of course, a small army of my talented friends showed up and did amazing things on the day of the shoot - the actors were so great that we got it in just three takes!

Never underestimate the power of the soft sell! Very few of the messages that I've sent around have had a request for financial support, because the video does that all on its own. All I've done is ask people to check out the video (promising a swordfight and knife-juggling probably helps), and linked them to the RocketHub page. A hard sell right in the initial message could turn potential fuelers off, but there's a lot of merit in showing them a sample of of our work before asking for their support.

And finally, though this may seem obvious, the blog at rockethub.org has an insane amount of priceless advice for potential Creatives. A great deal of what we've done has followed the strategies laid out on the blog, and it seems to be paying off spectacularly well. Rather than reinventing the wheel, potential Creatives would do well to look at what successful campaigns have in common. There is huge room in a campaign's content for originality, but I think the structure of a successful campaign is probably pretty clear.

Thank you Scott and Urban Bard for your awesome project and innovative take on theare. Check out one of the best pitch videos we've ever see, here.

-Vlad