January 6th MAP Chat Transcript Now Online

Kelly Welcome! Thanks for coming! Do any of you have any MAP questions?
Jen Yes, I have a question. I need some help with the Artists section - We are doing a children's holiday opera and I am listing the librettist and composer as lead artists, as far as ensemble - should I list our children's chorus?
Kelly No just the librettist and composer.
Jen So it is okay not to have an ensemble listed?
Kelly Yes.
Az14 Our project will go up in the summer of 2010, but we are looking for funding for the long development process over the next year for the piece. So, a couple pieces of the project are not yet solidified. Will this be a detriment to our application? For example, we have not chosen the writer we would like to collaborate with.
Kelly It really depends on the project. In the case of a new play, you'll need to have the writer attached before applying. Your application wouldn't really be competitive without the playwright identified, so you wouldn't want to apply in this cycle.
Tip7 We're a small organization looking to submit a piece that we've been developing. How much substantiating documentation do you want for the budget numbers?
Kelly Do you mean for the project budget?
Tip7 Both, project and organization
Kelly For the project budget, you want it to reflect the project in its entirety - i.e., development and production (if there is a production planned). For organization budgets, we just ask for a brief, simplified version of your operating budget for the last two fiscal years.
Don We are a community theater that normally does productions with a budget of around $7,000. We are looking at doing a much more ambitious production -- a new play based on the events in Postville, Iowa. The draft budget for our project is $17,500. Is it a problem that it is so much bigger than our usual projects and that we are looking for $10K out of a $17.5K budget?
Mapentry That is fine but the project would be more competitive if you had more sources of funding you were looking for as well since we don't fund that high of percentage of a projects budget.
Julia On your website, it stresses the importance of the creative individual . . . what I'm working on is a collaboration between two companies to create a new work - should I assume that in our application it would be better to stress the primary artists rather than the overall work of the two companies?
Kelly Can you tell me a little more about your project? Are these ensemble theater companies or dance companies?
Julia I'm collaborating with a dance company - which comprises of two primary lead artists and then a core group of dancers with whom they work.
Kelly Ah ok. Yes, it sounds like what you are describing is fine.
GR Our project is collaboration amongst company members led by our artistic director. Should we list it as collaboration between our artistic director? and "the company" as lead artists with a company profile and artistic statement crafted by the company members, or must we list each of the 8 other artists as lead artists with 8 bios, artistic statements etc..?
Kelly It’s really case by case, but I think for your situation, the best way to go is to list the company as an ensemble lead artist and the artistic director as a separate lead artist.
Steve We are proposing support for the commissioning of a new work. It will be one of six pieces performed at a concert. Should the budget reflect costs of performing all six pieces, or just the commissioned piece? Thank you.
Kelly Just the commissioned work.
Don What is a target maximum percentage that you would fund?
Mapentry We tend to tell people to ask for around 30 percent of a project budget, we may or may not fund the entire amount requested.
Cornell Can an organization bring back a proposal that was rejected if it is much more fleshed out?
Moira Yes. it's a new panel each year. It is fine to bring something back. More than 2x, we don't recommend.
Tip7 How beneficial is it to have the show cast before submitting?
Moira It depends on the work. Is it a script-based work? Or a co-created work with an ensemble?
Tip7 Script based. An opera-musical.
Moira Hmm..In the case of opera, the casting can be key. Not necessarily essential, but it would be stronger with singers in place, yes.
Don: So the minimum project size is $33,333, right? Since 30% of $33,333 is $10K and $10K is the minimum grant amount.
Jen I didn't realize there was a minimum of $10K - We have two outstanding grant applications, together totaling $45K (plus a lot of in-kind) - we have included this on our budget but that only leaves $9500 left. We won't know if we get the other grants for a while - I am not quite sure what to do in that case.
Kelly: There is no minimum project budget to apply for MAP. MAP welcomes project budgets of any size.
Moira There isn't a fixed minimum grant amount. We have, in the past, awarded as little as 10k and as much as 45k.
Jen So if I asked for 9500 would I get automatically rejected?
Moira Ask amount isn't considered an eligibility issue. You simply ask for what you need.
Cad Do you have any samples for budgets?
Kelly Unfortunately, no. There are no sample budgets available at this time.
Cad How many performances are we supposed to do?
Moira There is no minimum number of performances. Number of performances is not an eligibility issue for us.
Tip7 How helpful is it to have a venue lined up?
Moira We don't require a venue to be in place.
Cad In the budget we need to put the rent of the theaters? Right?
Moira Yes in your expense section.
Julia Is there anything in particular that MAP is interested in? Or is the development of new work by individual artists really the only focus?
Kelly MAP is seeking to fund new, innovative work with a live performance component - MAP is project based, so the focus isn't on funding individual artists, but rather a particular new project by an artist, ensemble or combination of artist(s) and ensembles.
Tip7 Are there any retroactive penalties for coming in over budget or under budget?
Moira No. But MAP expects that the budget submitted with the proposal is an honest, reasonable estimate of costs.
absh Do the performances have to happen in certain places? for example, can a performance happen in a school? A synagogue? A church? A bookstore? In the street? I ask because from the info about MAP Fund it looks like you don't like arts-in-schools.
Moira We don't fund education projects. We fund professional artists working in any manner of setting.
Mug I have a question about work samples. I would like to submit 5 mins of video and 5 mins of audio. Can I have multiple audio tracks make up the 5 mins?
Moira Yes, you can have multiple tracks that make up the 5.
Brook Our production is celebrating the 100th anniversary of an important event in our area. The 100th anniversary is 9/25/09. We know that productions cannot be launched prior to 9/2009, but are we allowed to apply for development funding that would be incurred prior to 9/2009?
Moira You can include those development costs in the overall project budget, but any funding you receive from MAP has to be expended after Sept. 1, 2009. So, likely, you'd channel MAP money into production costs.
absh Does school=education projects? Because an artist can work in a school. The no funding of education projects confuses me because I see art and education as intertwined. Can you give an example of an education project that would not be funded?
Kelly For MAP, educational projects are projects where the focus is on teaching and learning (primarily with students), rather than a professional artist's creative exploration.
Ny Can one of 3 lead artists be a designer?
Moira Yes. As long as they are participating in a truly generative way -- meaning the work wouldn't happen without him/her.
absh Since it seems that explorations of cultural diversity are important to MAP fund, I am wondering if social justice is deemed an important part of an application?
Kelly MAP welcomes social justice projects, but a social justice element is not a requirement.
Emilo For the work sample for a composer can I send a CD with multiple tracks for a total of 10 minutes?
Moira Yes.
Ny San applicant organization and lead artist (in case of an ensemble) be one and the same?
Mapentry Yes the applicant organization and lead artist can be the same

Julia Any generic advice you could give us? or any tips on how to make our applications more attractive?
Moira Talk from your passion for your work, and why you think it needs to exist in the world NOW. And why you are the one to bring it into existence. Every single person making work is unique. Articulating that uniqueness is the whole enchilada.
tip7 As an organization submitting, do you prefer to have the artists talking in their own words, or is a producer's description sufficient?
Kelly As much as possible, we prefer the artist talking in his or her own words.
Ny The guidelines say that General Operating Costs are not eligible - so no admin personnel or overhead (rent, utilities, etc.) allocation allowed in the budget?
Moira Generally that's true...some organizations literally only open their doors for projects, in which case, a percentage of those kinds of costs can be attributed to a specific project budget.
Brook To double check: I believe outreach/advertising of the production is an allowable cost?
Moira Yes, as it pertains to the proposed project, and in some admin roles -- Marketing for example -- you can prorate a salary, according to percentage of time spent on a project.
Tdah Question about work sample... the guidelines specify no promotional splicing... However, is it acceptable to splice together various segments of a performance to give an overview of the work?
Kelly We find that it's really best to use longer, uninterrupted clips as samples, rather than lots of short clips spliced together. So, I would discourage you from combining a lot of segments.
Bren I am submitting a project created by two writers. I am wondering if they should be submitted as two lead artists (with individual bios and artist statements) or as an ensemble (with a unified artist statement and bio for the partnership)?
Moira Two lead artists, unless they have a long history and clear identity as a team.
Bren And should the work samples be in the same discipline? (For example, they are a playwright on the proposed project, but may want to submit a sample of a directing project they did.)
Moira Samples should for whatever they're going to do on the proposed project.
Cad The organization that is serving as an umbrella is not an art organization, is that okay?
Mapentry Yes, that is fine.
Racont I have a video of a performance piece that I had hoped to produce for commercial release on DVD but the sound has some problem spots. It was professionally filmed and recorded and is good quality overall. Does the jury expect work samples to be finish edited?
Kelly It really depends on how bad the sound problems are. Is it possible to hear what's happening in the sample? The panelists don't expect professionally filmed samples, but they have to be able to take in what's happening in the work. Is the sound problem throughout the whole sample?
Racont You can hear and see fine, it's just not up to the level I wanted for commercial release.
Kelly: In that case, I think it's fine to go ahead and submit it as a sample.
Ny Work sample is of project presented in promenade style, so uninterrupted 5 minutes would have lots of audience walking, whereas 2-3 sections spliced together would give better sense. Would that be acceptable?
Kelly: I think in that case, it would be fine to combine segments, but I would make the clips as long as possible. No shorter than 3 minutes or so.
Cad Do you need to see a traditional budget or I can create one based on what the project requires?
Moira Traditional budget as laid out on our online form.
Jen On the Organization section I am not sure who to put. The children's opera will be organized through our university music department with collaboration by a local opera company but our 501c3 status comes from our university's foundation - should I go through those layers when I describe the organization?
Moira Just choose one -- either the U or the opera company -- and apply through them. For our purposes, it's not a big deal. You can mention that it's a co-production in the project description, but no need to go into great detail. We're more interested in the work itself.
Nicola I have so many line items in my budget. Should I combine them to fit your forms or just choose various areas? Don't you want to know the total cost? And, what if I do not have matching funds as yet?
Moira You should combine items in a reasonable way to fit the number of lines we provide. You must provide total costs, yes. You won't be able to submit an application without that. We don't require matching funds. We require that you show how you EXPECT to meet the total budget costs. That means telling us where else you have applied, or how else you'll raise funds (and this should be realistic).
Tip7 Regarding the samples. Most of our songs are fairly long, but they cover a wide range of styles. I wouldn't want to not show the breadth of the show, but also don't want to annoy you by cutting short numbers. Thoughts?
Moira Generally speaking, breadth of work is not as important as sending a sample that the panel can really sink into. For music, the shortest sample would be one to two minutes.
Julia What would be best - to provide you with a good overview of work accomplished? An in-depth case study of a particularly successful project? Or would a broader view of a body of work be better?
Moira In depth is better than broad.
Julia But on a single piece?
Moira I’m not sure what you're asking. You have 10 minutes of sample time allotted per artist. You would not want to offer 10 1-minute clips from 10 shows, for example. The most you'd want to do is 2 5-minute pieces. Unless we're talking about music, in which case somewhat shorter excerpts can work. But not too much shorter.
emilo For music sample is it better to send four different excerpts (shorter) of two different excerpts of 5 minutes?
Moira Two excerpts of 5 minutes are best. You want to give the panel some time to sink into the work. That’s your goal. There is no definitive length of sample. It’s dictated by the music itself. The thing you want to avoid is a flurry of excerpts that don't do justice to the music.
Ny Should artist statement be focused on the artists' work overall, or just the proposed project (or have both aspects)?
Moira It's really a personal thing. The statement is the only place in the application where you have carte blanche, so you should take it.
Cad Although we are an ensemble that is a mixed of music, theater, and mixed media, sometimes we had performances individually. It is okay to send samples where we are not together?
Kelly If you are listing yourselves as an ensemble, you should only send samples of the group working together.
Moira Thanks for joining us. We’ll stick around for a few more minutes, if anyone thinks of anything. You’re also always welcome to call.

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