How do you launch a Kickstarter campaign with a bang?  Hold a “Key Connector” party and engage your friends to become your partners in spreading the word about the campaign to a wider community.

WIFV/NE member Ellen Brodsky (Director/Producer) and her team (including Associate Producer Pam Chamberlin) did just that this weekend and generated interest, built a community and raised funds (over $5000 in just two days) for her documentary on “OUT Youth Theater.”  From Ellen: “This work in progress is about the lives of LGBTQ youth and their allies who are a part of True Colors: OUT Youth Theater, a troupe that creates original productions based on their experiences, and tours the show to schools and community groups. These youth need to get their stories heard beyond Boston and the LGBTQ community!'” 

With over forty interested people attending their first of two planned “Key Connector” parties this past Saturday, their crowdsource fundraising campaign is off to a great start!

The financial goal of the Kickstarter campaign is to raise $55,000 over the next 30 days.  As per Kickstarter’s rules and regulations, Ellen and her team won’t receive a penny unless they reach their benchmark.  For more information about the project, please check out their Kickstarter trailer for the OUT Youth Theater Film Project.  Once you have checked out the project, please share the Kickstarter link on your social media outlets as spreading the word is a huge help to getting this film made! Click here to like the film on Facebook, and click here to follow the film on Twitter.

This is just one of the many ambitious film projects WIFV/NE members are producing and we are proud to do our part in supporting filmmakers like Ellen Brodsky and Pam Chamberlin.

More about OUT Youth Theater Film Project…

For 18 years, young people have come together from Boston’s neighborhoods, homeless shelters, and area suburbs to share their experiences, write scripts, and take their performances on the road. These Lesbian Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBTQ) young people and their straight allies, tell stories rarely heard in the school auditoriums where their troupe performs. Their stories and the process it takes to tell them will be the subject of a 75-minute documentary.

The U.S. has made progress in LGBT legal rights and in the mainstream acknowledgement of LGBTQ people. But popular TV show characters still don’t depict the tough, inspirational, everyday neighborhood challenges of these True Colors troupe members.

The award-winning youth program was founded by The Theater Offensive, New England’s premier LGBTQ theater. Even in Massachusetts, which is perceived as an LGBT friendly state, in comparison with their peers, LGB young people are: 4 times more likely to attempt suicide; over 3 times more likely to be threatened or injured with a weapon at school; and over 4 times more likely to skip school because they feel unsafe. That said, in the last two fiscal years, 100% of high school seniors who participated in True Colors have successfully graduated high school, and 100% have pursued higher education.

The film is shot in verite style, incorporating interviews with troupe members and their families and friends. The film examines individual growth starting in the fall at call backs after initial auditions, and shooting the weekly sessions where the troupe members develop and refine the script, rehearse scenes, and take the show on the road.