SHAPING-THE-PRODUCTION

     Dr. Stanton's letter was like food and drink to me. The line between madness and genius may be thin, but the line between the struggling artist and the bum is even thinner. Nevertheless, I proudly shared the letter with my friends, and one, in San Jose, California, wrote back that if I wanted to go forward with a production of GRUMPUSS, he and his wife would put up $50,000.

     I was moved. $50,000 was not enough, but his offer lifted my spirits, and other friends listened to the demo and pledged another $100,000! This was becoming serious. I updated my budget for a Penshurst Place production. I still lacked a marketable star to perform the rhyme, but my backers argued it was my audio performance that sold them. It would minimize the financial risk if I did it, and they believed a premiere performance by the author would be marketable as an historical event.

     I was unconvinced. Who would book the show? I was an unknown. As far as the world was concerned, I might have just crawled out from under a rock (and ultimately, in the performance, I did!) Then, to my dismay, I learned that Penshurst Place was no longer available. Finally, I had access to development funds, but no location, no star and no hook . . .

      I called my friend in England, Philip Moores, and explained my current situation. He said there were any number of alternative locations that might be suitable and he would look into it for me. All well and good, I replied, but where would I get my audience? He'd given that some thought and suggested an alliance with a charity, and inasmuch asGrumpuss was a wholesome family-oriented fantasy told entirely in rhyme, he suggested the Save the Children Fund might be interested.