Time is now flying and everyone is gearing up into work mode.  The paper production is behind us and the real stuff ahead ... not that paper and planning isn’t real!  It’s just that it will be nice to get stuck into making it reality.  4  months and 23 days to go!

 

All of the working parties are starting to move now.  The first (and a bit cheeky) marketing ploy is in Black Box Shakespeare which is nearing the end of rehearsals.  It goes into schools this time, rather than having them come to us.  T-shirts adorned with the new Festival logo, the actors will go into schools, work some of the scenes, talk to the students, and hopefully get them and their teachers enthused about coming along in March.

 

Anita’s planning and research is going ahead great guns.  Anthony and Samfya presented their Festival promotional plan with a HUGE price tag last week at the OC.  I know it’s for 3 years, but this is where it gets real and the nerve kicks in.  If I thought we were going to be underwritten and guaranteed for 3 years, I’d be in like Flynn!  I imagine we will have to go with the “lite” version for this year, despite the integrated nature of the whole plan.  Which reminds me I need to talk to the V-C again to secure the University’s financial support.  Talking to Ian Olton in MPR yesterday was heartening; he supports us and promised to assist the “in schools” program if we want to extend it next year.

 

After a brief time thinking we might go down onto the oval in the Park rather than stay in the trees, we are back in the trees, which means we can probably investigate using the lanterns which Lily Podger makes.  She is the artist who made the gorgeous candle, rice-paper figures and lanterns for the Pacific Edge Conference.  I want to get in touch with her to see whether she is interested in running a workshop here to make the lanterns to decorate the grove.  She happens to live in Hervey Bay, so I want to meet with her when we do our visit next month and see whether we can reproduce them up there.  Nice when these opportunities come out of nowhere.