Crew seeking funds to take show on road
Writer and performer Chelsea McRae sings her heart out about saying the wrong thing out loud and letting go of past hurt in Therapy: A Musical Comedy. PHOTO: RIVER QUINN
Funding the arts is a full-time gig, say the team behind Dunedin-created show Therapy: A Musical Comedy.
Written by Dunedin-based playwright and performer Chelsea McRae, with music by Mario Sadra-de Jong, and debuted at the 2024 Dunedin Fringe Festival, the award-winning show is about cults, comedy and closure.
Having toured to five cities, winning a Fringe Touring Award along the way, Therapy: A Musical Comedy is off to Auckland next month.
To fund the trip, the team behind the show — McRae, Sadra-de Jong, and Cody McRae, have been battling for financial support, reaching out to local businesses and groups.
And with Creative New Zealand's funding slashed by the government earlier this year, the competition for funding has been at an all time high.
For this reason, the team have turned to Arts NZ's creative platform Boosted to raise the funds.
McRae said, in a statement, the show was not just a passion project, but was part of the team's careers.
"This show is important," McRae said.
She wrote the script based on her own lived experience of overcoming the loss of a parent to suicide and overcoming the trauma of sexual assault.
"We've had people engage in therapy themselves because of this show. We've spoken to people who have felt destigmatised by the open and honest conversations we have about trauma in this show.
"Art should not be left out of the equation — art changes people's lives."
The Boosted campaign continues until Friday, June 27, with a goal of raising $2000.
For more information, or to donate, go to https://www.thearts.co.nz/boosted/projects/therapy-a-musical-comedy — APL
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