The news I had been waiting for
this past six months finally came, but I’m afraid it was not the answer I was
hoping for. The Canada Council for the
Arts has turned down my request for $14,000 to cover travelling costs to
Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Korea and Japan. I had hoped to do this in order to deepen my
research into international musical theatre.
Somebody had suggested that I make a proposal to Kickstarter.com, but I
learned that only US residents/taxpayers are eligible. The Arts Council England had also previously
turned me down.
To date, I have spent over
£4,000 of my own money on this project.
This includes a trip to Australia and Singapore, as well as to a
conference in Canada, as well as purchasing research materials. To complete the project in the way I would
like, I would need another £6,000. This
is money that I simply don’t have.
I’ve always had a “Plan B”,
which is to deliver the manuscript more or less as it stands at present,
writing about these places without actually going there. (Even with Australia, most of my actual
research was done from London.) It’s not
my first preference, but it is a reasonable, practical consideration.
I have applied to Access
Copyright Foundation for a grant of $7,500 which would cover Argentina, Brazil
and South Africa only. I should hear
from them in about three months. I am
also going to approach the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation as well. However, realistically, I am now aiming
towards Plan B. I have held off on
approaching a publisher because I was unsure of the scale of project I would be
able to deliver. I can’t hold off much longer. Therefore, I’m going to give it
until the end of June. If I haven’t
raised the extra money by that time, I will then consider my research to be
completed and deliver a final draft.
Of course, if I go with Plan B,
that will make me even more reliant on the support of my colleagues in the
places in question – for which I am extremely grateful. Also, the growing network of educational
institutions that have shown interest in using the finished product will be
vital in persuading a publisher to come on board.
I’m not giving up – far from
it. I’ll let you know what happens.
