Unctuous Uta Hagen (She/Her)

Hi Fefu <3 I’m writing to you as an independent theatre-maker and director. It’s a really important aspect of my work to embrace DIY aesthetics. It really comes from a place of - I’m making theatre with my friends and we don’t have a lot of money to spend on design - so let’s lean in to the trashy design and embrace it. I find this really effective toward putting on a show, but have always wondered, does this deter potential funders / funding institutions from finding the power of what funding would do for my work? Does it, effectively, dissuade them when they see work samples of projects with a fully realized aesthetic?

Thanks, Unctuous Uta Hagen

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Unctuous Uta Hagen — I must reveal myself as your friend in loyalty to the DIY theater-scape. Money can very quickly corrode your value system and compromise your creativity. But, of course, there are limitations to DIY work. We rarely pay our collaborators as much as they deserve; we mistake our own labor for a free resource and quickly run ourselves ragged; and we struggle to reach audiences beyond the insular performance community. So it’s healthy and propulsive to work across different layers of the ecosystem, which is what I’m sensing you’re craving. 

That’s all a very long wind-up towards saying: NO, I do not think your DIY aesthetic will dissuade individual funders. Funders are art-goers like the rest of us. And like the rest of us, they are idiosyncratic—each has their own taste, values, and biases. If you keep making art that is aggressively, authentically YOURS, you will find your audience. And that audience will include funders. (Well, some funders. If you’re exclusively performing in Bushwick, or something, you will definitely have to go out of your way to invite folks with expendable income. Direct, personalized invitations are key here. Start with folks you know. Friends of friends or family of friends are great places to start. Have your connection point make the intro.) Getting funding will take some trial and error! You are right that some funders might mistake your DIY aesthetic as less professional or amateurish in some way. Others will appreciate it as resourceful. And MOST will recognize singular artistry when they see it, regardless of the production value of the work. 

The same general principle applies to sharing your work with producing institutions and institutional funders. Altering your work to fit the perceived taste or values of institutions is tempting but does not work. Make your work well, approach it with authenticity, integrity, and confidence, and you’ll find the funders and institutions who genuinely appreciate your art for what it is. 

Xo,

Fefu