Boot Camp for Artists April 11, 2011

Boot Camp for Artists
Artists • Writers • Directors • Dancers • Choreographers • Actors • Musicians • Filmmakers • Performers • Producers

CounterPULSE Presents Boot Camp for Artists
with Jessica Robinson Love

Intensive skills for raising money and attention

6-weeks: Mondays, April 11th – May 16th, 2011, 6:30-9:30pm

Register at Brown Paper Tickets

Whether you’re a choreographer who’s self-producing for the first time,
a director who’s ready to expand your company, an experienced artist
looking to brush up on skills, or a performer looking to get a part-time
job in arts administration, this crash course will give you the skills
you need to kick-start your career.

The bootcamp includes 18 hours of instruction, plus in-person presentations by local editors and funders. Your art deserves the investment!

Session I– Getting the Money– April 11th & 18th
(Grantwriting & Fundraising)
How to talk about your own work so that you can raise money for
it.
How to talk to funders and find grants that are appropriate for
you.
Step-by-step guidance on grantwriting, including creating a budget,
getting letters of recommendation, and selecting work samples.
Overcoming your fear of the Individual Donor Letter.
How to throw a successful fundraising event.
Finish this session with a completed Zellerbach proposal and samples
of successful grant proposals.
Session II—Getting Attention (Marketing & Publicity)– April 25th & May 2nd
Secrets to a great press release.
When to send out your press release and who to send it to.
Who to call, when to call them, and when to leave them alone.
Creating inexpensive and beautiful posters and postcards.
Effective word-of-mouth publicity and creative marketing.
Putting together a press kit and a press file.
Finish this session with a completed press release and samples of
successful press releases.
Session III—The Show (Production)– May 9th & 16th
How to find a venue, read a contract, and get a good deal.
Building a dream production team and a realistic budget.
How to talk to technicians and understand basic lighting design.
How to invite presenters and other “important people”
to your show.
Options for effectively handling tickets, reservations and house
staff.
Overall career planning strategies for artists.
Finish this session with a working understanding of a theater and
sample contracts, timelines, light plots, and more.
Cost: $250 for the series ($200 for CounterPULSE, Intersection & Dancers’ Group Fiscal Sponsees)

Space is limited, advanced registration is required.

Register at Brown Paper Tickets

Jessica Robinson is the Executive Director of CounterPULSE, a nonprofit
that provides support and low cost resources for emerging artists, serving
as an incubator space to create socially relevant, diverse, community-based
art. She has written dozens of successful grant proposals, hundreds
of press releases, and advised artists in all disciplines on the “how-to’s”
of self-production.

About Boot Camp for Artists with Jessica Robinson:
“Jessica is among the most concise, thorough, and
enthusiastic presenters I have ever met. The information she shared
was based on years of diligent experience. Her generosity in offering
it so freely truly feels like an honor and a gift. This is information
that is vital to any self-producing artist, and no one else is teaching
it. With the skills and information I received in class, the scale of
what I am capable of as a self-producing artist has grown exponentially.
I can envision an infrastructure and potential for my company that I
could never have seen with such detail (never mind enacted) at the beginning
of class.” – Daniel Bear Davis, director/choreographer/performer

“Who else shares the secrets of how they got where they are?
It’s radical community-based organizing to help artists get the skills
to navigate the art world. Jessica does an amazing job sharing a lot
of information in a short period of time, and making it all personally
relevant to each student’s situation.” – K. Quilo Matzen,
Change of State Performance Project

“Jessica Robinson is a force to be reckoned with! She makes
the business side of the arts clear and accessible and less daunting.
There is something to be gained at any point in your career. Jessica
Robinson and the tools she teaches in this course promote a professionalism
that does not compromise the spirit of the arts.” – Janine
Trinidad, Dancer/Choreographer, Arts Administrator

“This is the only course in the Bay Area that addresses all
areas of self-production and gets you off and running in three weeks
with a set of goals, both long and short term, that you have the confidence
to complete.” — Leigh Riley, Choreographer, The Riley Project

“I learned more in 3 days that in many years of self-producing
art. It’s a must do for anyone interested in creating art for his/her
community” — Ernesto Sopprani, Marketing Director, SF Boylesque

“I have attended no less than four art institutions for higher
learning and NONE of them even approached this essential training. It
is INVALUABLE” — Emily Park, interdisciplinary performance
artist, Ethaerial Arts

“This course is super-packed with information including priceless
personal tidbits you can’t find without spending 7 years (as Jessica
has done) learning and building relationships. I can’t imagine spending
$250 better on my career.” — Laura Bishop, dancer/choreographer,
Executive Director, 418 Project

“As an emerging artist producing my first full-length
show, my sense of know-how, capability, and efficiency have been
fostered by the hands-on interactions and highly engaged nature
of this workshop.”– Sarah Day, Co-Director, Shah &
Blah Productions

“Even after two post graduate degrees and various workshops
over the years, this is without a doubt the most useful course I
have ever taken to help me further my artistic goals.”
– Kim Harmon, Performance Artist

“This course is rich and wide ranging in offering an overview
of the art world and how to navigate it. It also helps me to appreciate
and be in solidarity with other artists in the community. A friend
of mine said that to be an artist, you need to ‘take the art world
as a second language’, and I am so grateful that I have found this
course—this is it!”– Iris Clearwater, Collaborative
Sculpture & Film Artist

“Ms. Robinson is a powerhouse in the San Francisco arts
scene.” — Eric Koziol, Media Artist