David Stephens - All Hands Productions F-2 CONTACT David Stephens PO Box 1773 Decatur GA 30031 Project Budget Grant Request $8,169 $4,000 PAST GRANTS AWARDED 2008 Family - The Reluctant Dragon 404.713.1588 davidstephens@mojono.com allhandsproductions.com 501 (c)(3): Aurora Theater, INC The Pied Picker In a fractured mash-up of two fairy tale classics: "The Pied Piper" and "The Emporer's New Clothes," David Stephens will incoprorate puppetry and live music in this new offering for family audiences. VIDEO SAMPLE Title: "The Pied Picker" overview shot 9/4/2016 Artists: David Stephens Description: A look at some preliminary puppets to be used and an explination of the project. FAMILY
THE PIED PICKER PROJECT OVERVEIW PLOT: While celebrating New Hamlin's 62 nd annual Founder's Day, the town is infested by crowds of rock music loving roaches who have also declared the town as the site of Bonaroach, the largest all-roach outdoor music festival. Pied Peter, a tailor hired to create a spectacular new suit of clothing for the town's mayor, offers up his secondary talents as a banjo picker to drive the roaches away. After this is accomplished, he seeks payment from the mayor, who realizes only too late that he has blown the entire annual budget on the Founder's Day decorations. The mayor is apologetic, but dismissive. Unfazed, Pied Peter convinces the Mayor that his new suit has been made of the finest threads and fabrics. However, when addressing the town's citizens for his big speech, they fail to see anything fine about the Mayor who appears to be wearing nothing but his underwear. And as Little Jimmy Dawson observed in his essay about the town, I like New Hamlin because you never know what's going to happen here! EXECUTION: Intended to be a 40-50 minute family oriented show, The Pied Picker is a fractured mash-up of The Pied Piper and The Emperor's New Clothes. Designed as a single-performer show, it will showcase Stephens' talents as a puppeteer and musician. All puppet characters will be performed and voiced live. Stephens will design and create rod and mouth style puppets. Costuming expertise will be provided by Atlanta designer and fabricator, Scottie Rowell. Music will be an integral part of this production. Some will be performed live and some will be prerecorded. All will be composed by Stephens, whose banjo playing skills will be utilized. The Pied Picker debut performances will be hosted at the Aurora Theater in Lawrenceville, GA., which has pledged to be All Hands' fiscal sponsor. After the initial run, the show will be added to the touring roster of All Hands Productions for further booking opportunities.
Expenses: BUDGET FOR THE PIED PICKER Foams 1/2, 1, Closed Cell 1/2, 1/8 neoprene $200.00 Antron Fleece 10 yards @ $16.00/yard $160.00 Fur Various colors/pile lengths/sizes $50.00 Dye Various colors ($7.45/bottle) $50.00 Thread Various colors ($5.00/spool) $40.00 Heavy Duty needles For sewing machine $12.20 Plastics Various shapes/sizes $35.00 Flocked black out paper 1 sheet $10.00 18 gauge wire 1 spool $4.88 Large bead garland 1 pk $8.59 Cotton batting 1 yard ($14.99/yard) $14.99 Polypropylene plastic 2 sheets ($3.00/sheet) $6.00 Velour Various colors $10.00 Gasket rubber 1 sheet (1/16 x 24 x 24 ) $16.95 Wooden shapes Various sizes/shapes $35.00 Spray paint Various colors $28.00 Zip ties 1 pack $6.25 Barge contact cement 1 can $32.00 Welding Rod 2 packs $24.00 Barge contact cement thinner 1 can $20.00 Acrylic paint Various colors $16.00 3M 90 Spray adhesive 1 can $12.98 Spray contact cement 1 can $15.98 Braided tie line Black, 12lb, 1 spool (547 yards) $22.19 Puppet Construction cost Estimated 240 hours @ $16.00/hour $3,840.00 Costume fabrics Various types/patterns/colors $250.00 Costume design/construction Estimated 80 hours @ $18.00/hour $1,440.00 Settings design/construction Estimated 56 hours @ $18.00/hour $1,008.00 Trunk(s) For transport $300.00 Publicity Photos, brochure, etc $500.00 TOTAL PROJECTED EXPENSE $8,169.01 Income: $350.00/show Average summer bookings @ full rate: 10 $3,500.00 $250.00/show Average summer bookings @block rate: 50 $12,500.00 TOTAL PROJECTED INCOME FOR SUMMER BOOKINGS $16,000.00
ARTIST BIO FOR DAVID STEPHENS ALL HANDS PRODUCTIONS For over 20 years, David Stephens has been delighting family audiences with his humorous interpretations of classic fairy tales. Working exclusively as a solo puppeteer, he has traveled extensively throughout the United States. His shows have been favorites at such prominent institutions as the Puppet Showplace in Brookline, MA and the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, GA. He has also performed in Canada by invitation of Puppets Up!, a 2-day puppetry festival in Almonte, ON, and Wide Open Puppet Theater of Saskatchewan. His shows have received such honors as an UNIMA-USA Citation of Excellence in 2004 for Billy Goats Gruff and Other Stuff and a 2013 Best Playwriting award for The Reluctant Dragon (2008 Henson Family Grant recipient) at the Puppeteers of America Festival (r)evolution. Stephens was initially attracted to the art of puppetry through the work of Jim Henson, whose Muppet characters captivated his imagination. He became so intrigued with the work of Henson and his team that he began creating his own puppets as a middle school student and soon after began producing his own live performances. A trip to the Center for Puppetry Arts in the early 1990's introduced him to Terry Snyder, a Richmond, VA based puppeteer who would become Stephens' mentor and friend for 20 years until Snyder's death in 2015. He joined the Puppeteers of America in 1992, attending regional and national festivals which opened his eyes to many forms of puppetry and a community of puppet professionals and enthusiasts. Stephens received his undergraduate degree in Speech and Theater from Troy University in 1995 and went on to obtain his Masters in Puppet Arts from the University of Connecticut in 2001. He maintained his professional identity as a touring, solo puppeteer during his years as a full-time student. Upon graduating, he returned to his home state of Alabama and founded All Hands Productions and continued concentrating his efforts as a performer in venues such as schools, libraries, churches and small theaters. Stephens relocated his company to Atlanta in 2004 after several successful consecutive seasons as a guest artist at The Center for Puppetry Arts. In 2006, Stephens briefly lived in New York and gained experience as a television puppeteer. He joined the cast of SeeMore's Playhouse in it's second season performing Shades Wolf, one of the show's main characters. He became a utility Muppet performer during season 39 of Sesame Street and later worked on several Sesame Workshop specials. In 2008, he was one of four puppeteers cast in Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, an off- Broadway collaboration between The Jim Henson Company and Goodspeed Musicals. For the show's second season, he was promoted to Puppet Captain. As well as his accomplishments as a puppeteer, he has enjoyed a 20 year career as a banjo player and songwriter. He has produced 7 CDs of original music and plays in local Atlanta venues as Banjolicious and with other bluegrass and old-time bands. Several of his puppet shows incorporate his talents as a songwriter and musician. After returning to Atlanta from New York in 2008, Stephens hit the road once again with his one-man shows. He performs well over 100 shows per year, most of which are concentrated during the summer months for reading programs in public libraries across the Southeast. His mission and his passion with All Hands Productions is to create original, quality puppet theater for children and their families.
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