Urgent request from head of local Laurel & Hardy film group

[SteveBaileyPlaywright]

Mine is not the most pressing issue in the Jacksonville arts, but I hope you will indulge my making an urgent request on behalf of my local film-society group.

I am the head of the "Leave 'em Laughing Tent," Jacksonville's chapter of The International Laurel & Hardy Appreciation Society (a/k/a Sons of the Desert). (If my name sounds familiar, or if you need further cultural credentials, I've also written, directed, and co-starred in several local plays, both at the former Boomtown Theatre and in the Beaches area.)

Once a month for the past three years, my "Tent" (group) has screened Laurel & Hardy comedy films for free to the general public at the Pablo Creek Branch Library. Until this month, I have screened the movies on Monday evenings, where we have gotten a small but regular group of attendees. However, I've recently gotten a new job which takes up my weeknights, so I was forced to switch my meeting day to Saturday afternoons. Yesterday (Nov. 7), I held my first Sat. meeting and unfortunately got zero attendees, the first time this has ever occurred with my group.

If this unfortunate trend continues, I will probably be forced to shut down the group after the Jan. or Feb. 2010 meeting. I really do not want to do that. These comedy films meant a great deal to me when I was a child, and showing these movies for free (as a member of the L&H Society) means a lot to me and especially to my young son (who assists me at the meetings). I feel that the group is my way of "paying forward" my love of Laurel & Hardy's comedy.

To everyone, I ask that if you have any designated space -- this blog, a printed publication, etc. -- in which you can promote my group, I would greatly appreciate it. I have no advertising budget of any kind to promote this group. But I would like to think that fans of old-time comedy, people looking for free, family-oriented entertainment, and even Jacksonville film historians (Oliver Hardy made his first movies in Jacksonville) would provide enough of a base to make publicizing this group worthwhile.

My group's next meeting is on Sat., Dec. 12, 2009 at 4 p.m. at the Pablo Creek Library. Future screening dates, as well as much other info about our group and about Laurel & Hardy, can be found at the group's website (URL listed below). Any help you can provide in getting the word out about our group would be most appreciated.

Thank you so much for your time and help.

Sincerely,

Steve Bailey
Leave 'em Laughing Tent
Phone:  246-0312
http://leaveemlaughing.moviefever.com

[stjr]

This sounds like something good for Jax.  Maybe you could share resources and audiences by working with other groups like the Jax Film Festival, Florida Theater, Cultural Council, the Downtown library, a comedy club or group, the Jax Historical Society, the silent film studio folks in Arlington, FSCJ, UNF or JU (exposing these movies on campus to new audiences at their student unions or working with a film history class), etc.  Maybe you could interest the City and/or other organizations to host a Laurel and Hardy themed or charity event.

It's hard to keep things going as a one man show and the extra help might help you promote more and widen your base.  Good luck, we need more people like you in Jax.

P.S. Maybe you could cross promote with a Jax Suns game (bobble-heads?) or Jags (halftime show?).

[SteveBaileyPlaywright]

I'd be glad to work with anyone as a partner on this. However, I've previously contacted the Jax Film Festival and the Cultural Council without getting so much as a reply. If anyone has any connections to help me "get on" with someone, I'm all for it. Thanks for your interest.

[stjr]

Steve, no matter how good your idea, persistence pays!  I sense you haven't used it by your choice of words:  "....without getting so much as a reply".

You can't just send an email or leave a voice mail and wait for the call back.  These people have callers with new ideas everyday.  You need to stand out in the crowd.  PUSH.  Keep calling and ask for the top dogs.  If your sane and rational, they will at least take your call.  These are small organizations so they can't hide behind layers of people.  But, they aren't just waiting around for you - they already have full time jobs.  You have to "nicely" assert yourself.

You may not get them interested (you are going to have to give a good sales job and convince them why YOUR project is good for THEM, particularly from a financial standpoint in these trying times for non-profits) but they should at least tell you the whys of their thinking and maybe give you a referral or suggestion on where to go next.  You can then react to that by addressing their concerns or following a lead to the next possibility.

Also, I gave you another half dozen organizations and others may add to this.  You didn't mention your efforts to contact these.

To be successful, you are going to have to convert your passion into a head of steam to ramrod your project through.  If you are lacking energy as the idea's originator, you can't count on lighting a fire under others, no matter how worthwhile the project.

Go get 'em, Tiger!  And, good luck.

[devlinmann]

what is the current status of your project?

we may be able to help in the near future if you are still doing this

[Ethylene]

For the latest update, visit this link to the organization's initial blog on Jacksonville.com.

http://jacksonville.com/interact/blog/disgruntledteacher/2010-03-01/an_introduction_to_my_laurel_hardy_film_group