48 Hour Magazine, a 48 hour experiment where 6 editors built, from the ground up, a new born magazine.
Aaron Christopher, play-write and brains behind Urban Samurai Productions, the Minneapolis based non-profit stage company. On stage now, May 7 – May 23, Bright Ideas by Eric Cole.
48 Hour Magazine: Why a stage company?
Aaron Christopher: I believe that live theater is still the most effective way to engage and impact an audience. There's a substantial amount of disconnect present in film because by its very nature its just less authentic or personal. In live theater the performers are right in front of you in the same room expressing emotion and your just much more likely to become emotionally invested in the story.
48HM: What financial hardships do you face?
AC: Live theater is typically not the first thought that crosses the average person's mind when they are deciding how to spend their Friday or Saturday night. So it's real challenge to attract a respectable audience. So its often the case that ticket sales only cover about a 1/3 of the entire productions cost. So we have to search elsewhere for finances to just stay fiscally viable.
48HM: What financial successes have you had?
AC: We've had a lot of success in the last year with grant writing, something we had a crash course on but has paid off. At this point the grant money we now receive accounts for 1/3 of our annual budget. That has been incredibly helpful.
48HM: Have you had to prostitute yourself in anyway?
AC: We have had our moments of sacrifice to ensure the theater company's continued growth. In particular we've contributed a great deal of free labor to various theater venues in exchange for a break on rental rates. Some venue owners have exploited this on occasion.
48HM: Do you have a day job?
AC: I do indeed. I'm the Senior Video Producer/Director/Writer for a publishing house in downtown Minneapolis.
48HM: How does your day job keep you from working on Urban Samurai Productions?
AC: In the past my day job has definitely inhibited my ability to put in the amount of time and effort it really takes to make a theater company grow. It's a very difficult balancing act. And I've found it very challenging at times to prioritize between something I built from the ground up that I'm very passionate about and something that actually pays the bills. However, as USP entered our sixth season as a company this year we've reached a point where the workload has been spread out enough to other company members that it isn't nearly as much of an issue.
48HM: Do you consider yourself a successful writer?
AC: It depends on your definition of success. For me success as a writer is when something you have written impacts people deeply and makes them want to personally confront and explore the issues presented long after the performance. And it doesn't really matter how many people, as long as my writing impacts at least one person in the audience, I feel that I have succeeded.
- Interview -
Aaron Christopher, play-write and brains behind Urban Samurai Productions, the Minneapolis based non-profit stage company. On stage now, May 7 – May 23, Bright Ideas by Eric Cole.
48 Hour Magazine: Why a stage company?
Aaron Christopher: I believe that live theater is still the most effective way to engage and impact an audience. There's a substantial amount of disconnect present in film because by its very nature its just less authentic or personal. In live theater the performers are right in front of you in the same room expressing emotion and your just much more likely to become emotionally invested in the story.
48HM: What financial hardships do you face?
AC: Live theater is typically not the first thought that crosses the average person's mind when they are deciding how to spend their Friday or Saturday night. So it's real challenge to attract a respectable audience. So its often the case that ticket sales only cover about a 1/3 of the entire productions cost. So we have to search elsewhere for finances to just stay fiscally viable.
48HM: What financial successes have you had?
AC: We've had a lot of success in the last year with grant writing, something we had a crash course on but has paid off. At this point the grant money we now receive accounts for 1/3 of our annual budget. That has been incredibly helpful.
48HM: Have you had to prostitute yourself in anyway?
AC: We have had our moments of sacrifice to ensure the theater company's continued growth. In particular we've contributed a great deal of free labor to various theater venues in exchange for a break on rental rates. Some venue owners have exploited this on occasion.
48HM: Do you have a day job?
AC: I do indeed. I'm the Senior Video Producer/Director/Writer for a publishing house in downtown Minneapolis.
48HM: How does your day job keep you from working on Urban Samurai Productions?
AC: In the past my day job has definitely inhibited my ability to put in the amount of time and effort it really takes to make a theater company grow. It's a very difficult balancing act. And I've found it very challenging at times to prioritize between something I built from the ground up that I'm very passionate about and something that actually pays the bills. However, as USP entered our sixth season as a company this year we've reached a point where the workload has been spread out enough to other company members that it isn't nearly as much of an issue.
48HM: Do you consider yourself a successful writer?
AC: It depends on your definition of success. For me success as a writer is when something you have written impacts people deeply and makes them want to personally confront and explore the issues presented long after the performance. And it doesn't really matter how many people, as long as my writing impacts at least one person in the audience, I feel that I have succeeded.
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