Client: Playmakers Lab
The problem
Playmakers Lab, an educational theater company based in Chicago, IL, needed money - fast. An online fundraiser was critical to their survival. They had a draft of what they wanted to use on the Go Fund Me platform, but it lacked, shall we say, the pizzazz that the company is famous for.
My role & approach
I got the delightful task of punching up the fundraising letter with clever jokes, references to creative writing stories from past students, and structural changes that made it clear they were asking for money, but in a charming and on-brand way. I also brainstormed headlines and taglines to snag folks’ attention.
To learn more (and donate!) check out out Playmakers Lab here. Full disclosure: I was their music director for many years, and this work was done pro bono because I do love them so and don’t want them to die.
How to Write a Story by Playmakers Lab:
Setting: A Pandemic.
Characters: An Arts Education Non-Profit Org. & Chicago Public School Students.
Conflict: We're in danger of closing forever.
Hero: YOU.
In the words of one of our 3rd grade students, Jaiquan H. from Henderson Elementary, “Sometimes you might get bodyslammed.” And friends, we got body slammed.
For 25 years, Playmakers Lab (formerly known as Barrel of Monkeys), has been bringing creative writing residencies and performances to 3rd-6th graders in underfunded Chicago Public Schools. 25 years is a lot of students. That’s over 30,000 students in our classrooms.
But two weeks ago, we got some bad news.
Think of it as a quarter life crisis.
Playmakers Lab hit a bump in the road. And, as Freddie B. once said in his story 'Bad Car,' “The car turned upside down.”
After two years of a pandemic, after shut down performances and remote schools, after pivoting on top of our pivots, our former board hit a wall. You get it.
The pandemic hasn’t gone light on any of us.
But it’s been especially hard on the students we serve. We had a full spring of residencies and shows planned, and suddenly that was gone. And it was really difficult for current and former company members to give up on providing our programming to those students.
So we decided to rally.
We have a new board, with new ideas and a lot of fight.
We are reimagining ways to serve our students and keep the company around for years to come.
And we need your help. More than we have in a while.
This is us, squishing both of our normal fundraisers together into one monster fundraiser. But the good news is, we’ve got a plan, and it’s going to work. And the best news is, we’ll be back in schools in March, doing the work that gets rave reviews:
“When you have them you will never want them to leave.” Jasmin P, Avondale Elementary.
“{PlayMakers Laboratory} made me feel like a star because I really didn’t like writing until they showed me how I can be creative with writing.” Khaliya P, Morton Elementary
“I have reluctant writers who now have lots of ideas and are more ready to take risks.” Adriana Fernandez, Lorca Elementary 3rd Grade Teacher
With your donation, YOU WILL BE WORLD CHAMPION. Because now, and for a long time to come: KIDS WRITE IT. WE DO IT. WORLD SAVED.
*Your donation includes a super cool gift straight from a classic PML story!* You'll receive a link after your donation to claim your gift.
Just look at these awesome prizes, right below this awesome story!
'I Am A Boxer'
By Jaiquan H., 3rd Grade, Henderson
'Some Time you might get Body Slammed and you might Challenge him again and you might win This Time and you might challenge SomeBody and you might win The Belt and you will Be The Word Champion and you might go to another City and vs. another challenge.'