The Fates have smiled on us! I am proud to announce (if you haven't heard it already) that The New Colony, the storefront theater company with big dreams that I joined in Chicago, won the first round of the Chase Community Giving campaign on Facebook! This means, as one of the top 100 not-for-profits in votes, we will be receiving at least $25,000 in grant money! That's a huge boost, and like I mentioned in my previous post, will be able to cover the costs of the rest of our season. Not only that, but it means the corners we had to cut in our budget can be resharpened--design budgets have been raised back to target!

But, of course, it's not over! We have a chance at another prize in the second round, this time for one of six prizes valued from $100,000 to $1,000,000! Yeah, you read that right--one million dollars! By Jan 8th, we have to submit a proposal outlining what we would do with a million dollar grant, our so-called "Big Idea" to benefit the community. We've got a lot of ideas kicking around for what to do, including resource-sharing inventories for Chicago theaters, film projects, building a theater, and outreach. But, we need your input! Are these good ideas? Terrible ones? What would you like to see? How should it be done? Leave comments here, or (while it's still active), comment on the status update at http://www.facebook.com/thenewcolony. We really want your ideas!

In other news...I live in Chicago now! Even though I've been here for around seven weeks, I still get hit at least once a day with the realization that I have made it! If you know me at all from before I came here, there's nothing you're more aware of about me than the fact that I want to be here in Chicago, and that I've been wanting that for almost two years.

I was talking with my friend Andy about this--he pointed out how interesting it is that a very specific story has unfolded with almost everyone he knows that moved to Chicago. First, Everyman hears about some cool things that happen in Chicago. Then, Everyman visits Chicago. And then Everyman falls in love with Chicago. Then, Everyman spends most of his energy from that point figuring out a way to start a life here.

Perhaps it's just a certain creative type that cannot resist the draw. There's a type of artist that dominates the scene here: a high-energy, high-dedication firebrand that has only faint dreams of stardom. This artist's goal is instead collaborative work--art for art, with the contributions of many other creatives. The New Colony is a great example of a collection of creatives who simply care the most for absolute expression and craft. The dedication I've seen here in Chicago, tempered by good dispositions and playful spirits, is absolutely incredible, and is not matched by most artists I've known in the other big cities.

So, I am glad to be here!

Future stuff to come: Chase Community Giving Round 2, my lighting design for 11:11, and possibly moving into a new, awesome apartment.

Oh, and by the way, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Your Adventurer,
Nick

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Labels: Big Ideas, Chase Community Giving, Chicago, collaborative, film, filmmaking, The New Colony, theater, theatre

# posted by Nicholas J. Carroll @ 7:07 PM