Hey there, everybody. My birthday is on the 23rd (February), and I'm celebrating by peddling my wares!... Which seemed like a great idea until Texas (where I am at this moment) cratered under a crust of ice (*insert "hell freezes over" joke here*).
Nevertheless...
An update on "Rosegold": the show is now scheduled to be in another 5 virtual festivals this year (so far), the first being Fresno Rogue Festival. "Rosegold' first appeared at this festival last year, as a staged reading. Midway through the festival, we all received word that the world was shutting down. At that point, I was convinced that this show was shelved, but then FringeLiveStream gave me an opportunity to try it out in this COVID-inspired format, and... here we are.
It is my sincere intent to have a new recording of the show by Rogue time. The hellfreeze slowed me down a bit, but it is still my aim. Would you like to see the new recording? You can buy tickets for my show and many others here: https://roguefestival.ticketleap.com/rosegold/dates (My two show dates/times are visible at this link.)
And now, on to other issues. Let's talk about the future.
I'm starting a Patreon page.
This is a thing I find difficult to discuss, because, though I can ask people for money, that doesn't mean I enjoy it. My upbringing still rings in my head that this ThEE-AAY-trr stuff isn't "real work".
But, you know whut? It is. In a country that values the heroic status of small-business entrepreneurs, you would think there would be more praise to the constant hustle-n-grind of independent artists. It is still unseen to many. But, let me tell you that some of the hardest-working folx I know give their years and comfort and lifeblood to do what they do best, which is entertain you. They work multiple part-time jobs so that they may travel half-way across the country to entertain an audience of 60. They live on a bare-bones budget and spend their days writing press releases and contact emails and artist grants to debut an album in shitty bars at 11:30 pm. They live in a room, burrowing a bed in a corner, surrounded by canvases, typewriters (yes, people still use typewriters), books, costumes, musical instruments of all kinds, a P.A. system, and boxes of protein bars so that they may eat on the run. They continue taking classes to make their skills sharper and sharper, no matter how many years they have been earning money with those skills. They work 10 hours or more a day/ 7 days a week, without work benefits, or vacation hours, or 401Ks. They give up having relationships, children, a social circle within reach... all because they would rather be a great performer than a mediocre bank teller, they would rather sell Ideas than cars. They want to bring you joy while being their best selves.
Well, it's about damn time I start working like I'm an artist. Because that is what I am.
So, I'm starting a Patreon page. It is amazing what even $12 year can do. A few extra bucks a month can permit people like me to not only jump on opportunities, but it also lets us donate skills and do benefit shows to help others. It is the flow of love (to put it cheesily).
So, on February 23rd, Patreon.com/DonnaKaySpeaks will go live. While $$ per hour work is still slim, I want to make the most of my "open" time. It's time to get back to writing music, making comedy, building my Voice Acting library, find an agent to do camera work, create a podcast of short fiction (a hope I've had for quite a while). And continue doing Fringe Theatre, the delightful face-to-face intimacy (which we'll hopefully be back to soon) that feeds the soul.
Here, I humbly ask you to help me be the most valuable being I can be, to give back to the world.