ABBY PAIGE

One week ahead of deadline, my Indiegogo fundraising campaign has reached its original goal! Some time last night, the donation came through that put us over the top and assures that the DVD production of Piecework: When We Were French will move forward.

Fundraising does not come naturally to me. I love to listen to a lively debate, but I don’t have much interest in wooing anyone over to my side. I have passionate feelings about many things, but I’m not a proselytizer. So arguing the case for my show and its DVD incarnation has been humbling. But it’s also been invigorating. It’s helped me to clarify why I think it’s important, and it’s deepened my interest in my heritage and my commitment to my work. It’s also been satisfying to learn how many friends and strangers are willing to join me in that commitment, responding to my pleas and prods and arguments with deeply generous shows of support.

Since the fundraising campaign began, I’ve been posting here on topics related to Franco-American heritage, the art of storytelling, and the concept of a one-person show. I have reflected more than once on how many people are actually required to bring a “one-person show” into being. I have quoted the writer Catriona Strang, who says that “the idea of an individual writer is bullshit. All writers are collaborating. They are all talking to other people. They might go home and write by themselves, but they didn’t create their text alone. All writers are part of a bigger fabric.”

Today I’d like to pause to thank the 99 donors (and counting!) who have contributed to the campaign so far, helping us to reach our original goal of $7,000. If Piecework is a quilt, they are most certainly part of its fabric. A full list of their names will appear on this site once our campaign is complete.

There is still time for you to add your name to that list! Our fundraising campaign will run until March 10, and every penny raised will go toward the DVD’s production. Design, duplication, packaging, and distribution are all costs that were left out of our original fundraising appeal. It’s my heart’s desire to add French subtitles to the DVD, making the show accessible to francophone audiences. If you think that’s a great idea, please vote with your pocketbook and make a contribution today!

And remember, tickets are on sale now for the upcoming performances of Piecework: When We Were French at Lost Nation Theater in Montpelier, Vermont, March 28-30, including the live taping of the DVD. You can purchase your tickets by visiting Lost Nation’s on-line box office or by calling 802-229-0492. It would be great to see you there!

The following appears on the headstone of John Dewey, a philosopher who was born in Vermont and is buried on the campus of UVM. I read it this morning in a piece by Vermont Public Radio commentator Bill Mares, and I took a moment to feel grateful for all the support I’ve received:

“The things in civilization we most prize are not of ourselves. They exist by grace of the doings and sufferings of the continuous human community in which we are a link. Ours is the responsibility of conserving, transmitting, rectifying, and expanding the heritage of values we have received that those who come after us may receive it more solid and secure, more widely accessible and more generously shared than we have received it.”

Thanks.