Executive Summary

Gum Drop Productions Company will create educational and interactive “choose your own adventure” DVDs for children ages 3-10 covering a variety of subjects including dance, theater, music, literature, science, math, history, foreign languages, and fine arts. By engaging children with movement, speaking, and allowing them to input answers to questions, they will both be learning and be entertained. The DVDs will be sorted by both subject and level (beginning, intermediate, and advanced) that allows parents to identify a specific area in which their child may develop their skills.

Eventually, the DVD’s will include material sets, special remote controls, and books to allow for further study and easier navigation in each subject. For example, if a DVD about colonial times includes a “make your own basket” session, the set may include the materials to make a basket. Similarly, if a DVD on music included learning a short piece of music, a small keyboard remote control would be included in the set to facilitate performance.

We will begin locally by working with elementary schools in Urbana and Champaign to identify appropriate curriculum topics but plan to develop a nation-wide program. Our website will allow customers to not only purchase our DVDs but will allow them to preview short clips. However, the distribution goal is to eventually sell our products through a nation-wide retailer of educational toys, such as The Discovery Channel Store.

To reduce our initial costs, the DVDs will focus on dance and theater which include learning basic steps, simple folk dances, and lines and songs from well-known plays and musicals. By networking with Krannert Center for the Performing Arts and Parkland College, we will also be able to advertise age-appropriate performances. When we expand our distribution, we will continue to network with local theaters, artist organizations, and museums to encourage children and their families to further their hands on study.

Gum Drop Production Company is owned and operated by Anna Marie Coronado, Rosemary Robertson, and Vienna Willems who have extensive experience in video, dance, theater, childhood psychology, and education.

Club A.M. Proposal

Club A.M., is a night club located in Austin, Texas that provides a venue for local artists to display and sell their work at the club such as Musicians, DJ’s, and Visual Artists. The club will operate on regular hours throughout the week with a full bar as well as hosting special events such as Period Costumed Balls.

Club A.M. will not only appeal to people who already enjoy Night Life and clubbing, but will also peak interest to artists, art appreciates, and those who are involved in events such as the Society for Creative Anachronism and Historical Reenactments. By providing these specific customers with an extra venue, they in turn will be more willing to support the club by investing their resources into Club A.M.

Drinks and Cover Charges will be the main source of income. Additional revenue can be brought in by renting out the club to groups for private parties and events. A large portion of advertisement comes from the artists promoting the work they will display. Visual artists who rent space to display their work will be charged a small fee.

Club A.M. benefits the community by supporting art and bringing people with diverse interests together. It provides work and marketing opportunities for Musicians, Photographers, Dance Teachers, and Caterers by contributing to the Balls. Also, artists who are involved in Club A.M. will be given opportunity to staff the club.

Long and Short Term Goals

1. Long Term - Have my own fashion line.
Short term - Design and Build a small series of outfits and host a fashion show for local people. Make outfits available for purchasing after show.

2. Long Term - Having a Web-based business to sell masks.
Short Term - Selling Masks at local Art Shows.

3. Long Term - Having a Specialty Costume Shop
Short Term - Build 2-3 costumes for people attending Special Events.
Ex: Halloween, Renaissance Festival, Anime Conventions

This Month's Goals:

• Contact friends from the summer and begin laying down the ground work for business collaboration.
• Collect materials for Masks.
• Assist 1 friend in creating a Costume for Halloween.
  

Plans for the Future

This is my last year at the U of I and I am really excited about what is around the corner. All my friends, family, and even strangers ask me what my plans are for after Graduation. At first I knew exactly what to tell them, "Vegas! Work on some Show Girl shows and work my way into Cirque Du Soleil." But so much has happened within the past few months that I am not 100% sure if once my diploma is in my hot little hand that I will be setting out for the West. I am not saying that going to Las Vegas to find the "American Dream" is not at all a bad idea, just that, maybe Vegas is not what I should do right off the bat.

I have a couple friends getting married in the Fall of '08 and I would like to attend these weddings. One is in Vermont and the other, Scotland. I have been thinking that perhaps I will work another summer job, possibly going back to Colorado Shakes, maybe taking that job at Glimmerglass in New York. With the money I make over the summer, I would like to take the Fall off, go to those weddings, spend time with my family, and just relax. Basically, recover from Grad. school.

What do I do after that? I could go to Vegas in the winter... Then again, I have some friends of the family who live in the UK and they have suggested that I come and work in London for a year. I will be in Scotland anyway, why not stay in Great Britain and experience something new? I could see how Theatre is done in England, meet more people, learn new techniques, and get more ideas. How much richer would my designs be, my skills, my knowledge? After some time abroad I could then return home, free lance for a while, and eventually settle down and accomplish my dream.

Someday, I would like to have my own business, my own Costume Shop. It will be nothing like those little shops that sell you costumes made from cheap fabrics that come in one size fits all packages. It will be a custom Costume Shop, specializing in Masks and Millinery. I will sell masks and hats that I personally design and/or build. I will design, build, and sell costumes to people for Festivals, Balls, Weddings, Parties, Reenactments, etc. I plan on starting small, perhaps beginning with an Internet based business, then expanding and traveling through the Renaissance Festival Circuit, and eventually settling down to a location (preferably one with a warm climate) and setting up my shop. Someday I will make this happen. Till then, I am going to take the necessary steps in order to make my dream come true.

About Me

Currently, I am a third year Costume Technology Graduate student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). I am the Costume Coordinator for the production Approaching Africa, Costume Designer for the production Measure for Measure, the Costume Technician for the production Henry V, and the Costume Rentals Assistant at UIUC. This past summer I worked at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival (CSF) in Boulder where I was the First Hand on three shows: A Midsummer Night's Dream, All's Well That Ends Well, and Around the World in 80 Days. I also did some craft work for CSF on the production of Julius Caesar. In addition, I have had the opportunity to work at New York Stage and Film in Poughkeepsie as the Costume Assistant and at the Pacific Conservatory of Performing Arts (PCPA) Theatrefest in Santa Maria, California as a Crafts Artisan.

I am a Costume Technician/Designer. I came to Graduate school to gain the skills needed in order to drape, pattern, and build costumes. The decision in coming to UIUC was because while it has both a Costume Design and Costume Technology program, it emphasizes the idea that it is essential for Costume Designers to understand Costume Technology and vice versa, which I strongly agree with. I believe that in order for Costume Designers and Technicians to communicate and work effectively and efficiently, they must understand both aspects of the trade. When I first came to UIUC, I was focused solely on Costume Technology. However, through the classes I've taken, my instructors' and advisors' guidance, and the different work opportunities I've been given, I've decided to not limit myself, but instead, embrace all the possibilities at my fingertips.

Just Signed Up

I am really excited about being able to take this class: Building Careers in the Arts. I have been wanting to take some sort of business-esque class in order to better my knowledge and to start laying down the foundation of my future career endeavors. At the moment, I do not know exactly what kinds of questions to ask or what it is that I am expecting from this class. I do know that I want to be successful. By successful, I do not mean that I want to be rich and famous. No. I mean that I want to be able to make my dreams a reality. I want to find enjoyment from the work I do and that other people find enjoyment in it as well. I hope that in my work I am able to support myself comfortably and that I will be able to enjoy all that life has to offer.