UPBEAT at Southwark Playhouse

‘A’ is a DJ navigating the city whilst pursuing her dreams. After losing herself in substances, people & shame she has hit rock bottom. Through her connection with music, she unravels moments & relationships imprinted on her heart. UPBEAT is a bold play laying bare a woman's recovery journey, challenging the stigma at the intersection of gender & addiction.
Produced by Speakbeat Collective.

Ella
Zgorska
£3,306.00
raised of £15,000.00 goal
20 Days left
30 Backers
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Scope
Feature
Seeking funding for
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    Project

    UPBEAT at Southwark Playhouse

    Ella
    Zgorska
    Genre
    Stage
    Seeking funding for
    Production
    Scope
    Feature
    Campaign type
    Flexible Funding

    CREATING A DYNAMIC NEW THEATRE / DJ PRODUCTION

    UPBEAT is produced by SPEAKBEAT COLLECTIVE. It will premier at Southwark Playhouse in May 2025.

    UPBEAT weaves DJing, live sound production and text together to tell the story (think theatre meets DJ set). The story lives at the intersection of gender & addiction, emphasing the misplaces shame women experience. Alongside the public production in May, we are fundraising for an extensive community engagement programme for women in recovery from addiction. UPBEAT harnesses the power of creative arts to serve as an artistic intervention, encouraging connection & community as antidotes to addiction.

    The innovative DJing & theatre form creates an opportunity to reach new audiences. SPEAKBEAT COLLECTIVE are a non-profit company, all funds raised will contribute to a high quality, accessible & inclusive project. Ultimately amplifying UPBEAT's social impact to affect profound & positive change for women with lived experience of addiction.


    To get a sense of our work, check out our Research & Development highlights footage below!

     

    THE FUNDING (WHERE YOUR MONEY IS GOING)

    We are generously supported by Southwark Playhouse, Good Night Out, OASIS Project and The Amy Winehouse Foundation, with mentoring from Clean Break. Our partners are giving us in kind support by; free rehearsal & performance space, technical assistance, mentoring on working with challenging content, safer nightlife training and curating workshops for vulnerable adults.

    Donations will directly fund all remaining costs, which include; rehearsals, live music development, all production costs & our community engagement delivered in partnership with The Amy Winehouse Foundation and Oasis Project Brighton.

    A BIT MORE DETAIL:

    Paying all artists a sustainable rate across the project, guided by industry standards & reflecting the cost of living crisis. We are committed to hiring a diverse team, reflecting that addiction is indiscriminate across race, gender & class.

    The form of the play requires us to purchase or hire specialist equipment including DJ decks, an SP404, microphones & a four channel mixer.

    It is very important for us to make this work as accessible as possible. We will use funding to meet any access requirements of the hired team & community participants. 

    Funding will also provide wrap around care for women in recovery, including: free travel and tickets, self care guide & pre show workshops to ensure our work is being seen by the community we seek to serve. 

     

    OUR STORY SO FAR… 

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    SPEAKBEAT COLLECTIVE is a woman centred company telling stories with soundtracks, founded in 2021 by Annice Boparai, Ella Zgorska & Sarah Huckin. As theatre makers, we formed through our shared love of music and the drive to tell stories with a social impact. We collaborate with: DJs, sound designers, audio engineers, performers and live music production artists. We founded SPEAKBEAT COLLECTIVE on the belief that theatre can be brave in story and experimental in form.

    We have curated 8 sold-out Pillowtalk Sessions (multidisciplinary events) at the Bush Theatre. Platforming over 80 artists, fostering a vibrant community which celebrates the fusion of music and words as a vessel for storytelling. Each session was centred around a topic e.g. Protest, Motherland, Sisterhood; carefully selected to spark important conversations. Please see the highlights video of PROTEST below.

     

    UPBEAT PROJECT PARTNERS

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    Recovery arts research is kindly being supported by Dr Cathy Sloan (Senior Lecturer in Applied and Socially Conscious Theatre at the University of West London)

    £3,306.00
    raised of £15,000.00 goal
    20 Days left
    30 Backers

    Pledge without reward:

    You can make a pledge to support UPBEAT at Southwark Playhouse without a reward. The minimum donation is £1.00.
    £
    A little boogie

    Your donation supports UPBEAT at Southwark Playhouse, every donation goes a long way. Thank you!

    (2500 remaining out of 2500)
    £5.00
    Damn You've Got Moves

    By donating this amount we want to thank you by including you in a special video on Speakbeat Collective's instagram.

    (1998 remaining out of 2000)
    £10.00
    Teach Me How To Dougie?

    Thank you for supporting us. We will include in our thank you video & send you an electronic postcard from the creative team!

    (1494 remaining out of 1500)
    £25.00
    Napoleon Dynamite's Got Nothing On You

    You really are very cool and very kind.
 We will include you in our thank you video & send you an electronic postcard with a personalised poem from the creative team. You're a star!

    (1496 remaining out of 1500)
    £50.00
    Dancing All Night Long (All Night)

    You are one of a kind. To say thank you, we will include you in our social media video, post you a personalised poem & gift you a surprise Speakbeat Collective keepsake.

    (499 remaining out of 500)
    £100.00
    You're A Number One Hit

    Wow. Thank you. We will include you in our social media video, post you a personalised poem, gift you a surprise Speakbeat Collective keepsake & an exclusive Speakbeat Collective laptop sticker!

    (250 remaining out of 250)
    £250.00
    You Need A Concept Album All About You

    Really blown away by your generosity. To show you our appreciation we will give you all of the above & you'll get 2 free tickets to see UP(BEAT) in May 2025, plus we will include you in our programme for the first run at Southwark Playhouse. We want everyone to know how awesome you are!

    (49 remaining out of 50)
    £500.00
    The Next Headliner On The Main Stage

    You deserve to have thousands of people cheering your name for donating. Thank you!!!! We will give you all of the above (surprise Speakbeat Collective keepsake, 2 free tickets to UP(BEAT) in May, a thank you in the programme plus lots more). In addition, we will send a bespoke piece of Speakbeat Collective merchandise.

    (25 remaining out of 25)
    £800.00
    You should have a tribute act

    We are absolutely over the moon and you are going down in the Speakbeat Collective hall of fame! Thank you!!!! We will give you all of the above (surprise Speakbeat Collective keepsake, 2 free tickets to UP(BEAT) in May, a bespoke piece of merchandise plus lots more). In addition, we will name you as a mover and shaker (Executive Producer) on the project.

    (10 remaining out of 10)
    £1,250.00
    ALL TIME LEGEND

    We feel a bit starstruck and are overwhelmed by your generosity… To acknowledge your support, we will give you all of the above (surprise Speakbeat Collective keepsake, 2 free tickets to UP(BEAT) in May & name you as a Mover and Shaker plus lots more). In addition, we will invite you to a meet & greet over some food. This would be with the creative team & we will celebrate how wonderful you are!

    (4 remaining out of 5)
    £2,000.00