Who are you trying to help? What issue are you trying to address?

We run a social theater, Hopi (Hope). This initiative brings together several groups of people divided by barriers of misunderstanding and enables them to communicate on the stage. We work with mentally handicapped people, refugees, homeless people and professional actors and directors. We work in Košice, but we want to extend our activities across the borders of our region in Slovakia.

Our directors and actors work on several performances, including plays, musicals, and dance. By presenting these performances, we help not only our target groups, giving them confidence, but also our audience. Tolerance, understanding, true stories and entertainment… that is what we are showing and teaching. And learning from each other.

What is your project and how will it help?

We want to extend our work, and ensure that it can continue.

How can other people partner with you on your project?

We are looking for partners who can sponsor :

1. a specific performance – this means that the sponsor will support us during the process of preparation from the story, script, first walk-through till the premiere. This process lasts 6 months and average budget for this is between 500-1500€ (depends on group, theme etc.)

2. a specific theatrical integrated group (refugees, mentally handicapped people, homeless people) – which can undertake between 2 to 6 performances per year.

3. The whole social theater

Also we can use partners who can just help us with IT, material, scene, costumes, theatrical technology (lights etc.), musical instruments or just buy us some ready made scripts or music (with all rights). You can also just give us tips about what we should act, and how we can do that. We have our own ideas, but we love discussions.

Please detail the resources that you need.

Material:

Funding, see above.

Also:
- Cloth – still needed, white or colorful
- Stage lights – we have some, but 5 more would be great
- Sound system – we have to borrow this. Our clients sometimes have speech problems so we need micro ports, microphones etc.
- A removable certified stage would be great, we want to perform outside (we can borrow a stage, but it is expensive)