| Subject: FOOLS' RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY: concepts for the general biz-plan |
Author:
Lorenzo Bocchese
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Date Posted: 07:10:58 08/22/02 Thu
FOOLS' RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY
Act of Life
Mission Statement
A clear statement of your company's long-term mission. Try to use words that will help direct the growth of your company, but be as concise as possible.
"Theatre is any moment, everywhere one is, and art simply helps to persuade that this is the case".
John Cage
What is Fooling?
The ancient art of Fooling has been with us as long as there have been audiences, and the theatrical archetype of the Fool is the starting point for our journey.
The Fool is a part of ourselves which sees life innocently and is not afraid to say what it sees - like the child who declared "the Emperor has no clothes" - as it is free from being bound by society's rules of self-censorship.
Fooling also holds the key to how we learn and create. The Fool plays on the edge, with one foot on the solid ground of the known and the other hovering over the abyss of the unknown. The Fool plays solely for the sake of the pleasure of playing, utterly absorbed, with no concern for success and failure.
Who are the Fools?
Fools are naturally solos who several times have found themselves playing the role of the outsider, trying to follow his/her own self-beliefs.
In the years Fools have been experimenting working and living together for short periods, sharing dramas that come with staying together, exploring how to deal with such issues using the key of the circle, a place where all the players and their masks can sit in equity, expressing what needs to be said in respect.
There are about 1.000 Fools spread all over Europe. In Britain, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Italy. They study, meet, play, organise events, perform together.
Today, Fools want to concentrate the energy that is used for all this in different way from the past, acknowledging that many solos, who share a healthy way to live together in respect and support, actually form a Community.
For carrying on our study on being a Community Fools need a space, an empty space to fill with our dreams and with our resources, giving us the opportunity to 'be' and to study a 'togetherness' based on solos. This empty space requires at least 1 studio where to carry out our activities.
Fools believe that life, although being a separate journey for each of them, can offer a lot of good in sharing abilities and energy. Fools are dynamic, creative, expressive individuals constantly contributing to the components of life... and thus they want to create their world, enough separate to feel safe, but also enough merged with nature and the environment to keep them aware of the world that is hosting them.
Fools' objective is, simply, to find, create, live in a space that, provided at least with 1 big studio and 1 small studio, will allow:
1) To research and rehearse theatre and the nature of the Fool;
2) To run theatrical and training projects and events;
3) To work with the local community on a cultural basis;
4) To experiment with an ecological-sustainable way of living;
5) To practice living and working with circles as an organisational structure;
6) To research and develop a Foolish economy;
7) To be a home base for travelling Fools;
8) To be a more permanent residence for some Fools;
9) To be a Foolish holiday space, providing a retreat for fools;
10) To be
Some Fools will live the space as residential: the perfect place has got at least 4 separated living units and some space to be used for hosting guests and students.
"Totus mundus agit histrionem"
William Shakespeare
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The Team
List CEO and key management by name
Include previous accomplishments to show these are people with a record of success
Summarize number of years of experience in this field
Act of Life Productions Ltd. is a non profit-making co-op formed to provide management and support for education and research into:
1) the nature of the Fool in life and on stage;
2) the essence of nature of creativity and imagination;
3) to develop a sense of Community and promote networking.
There are facilitators that have got expertise and work in different areas, sharing Fooling as the common background.
Those facilitators have already got shared experiences - Siena (I), Weilmunster (D), Bristol (UK) -.
At the moment, the Fools who decided to involve themselves specifically in such research are:
1) Franki Anderson (UK), who has been researching the Fool for the past 18 years, developing a way of working which can liberate and cultivate natural talent. She was course director at Fooltime and subsequently created 'The empty space' research studio in 1995 and co-funded 'Act of Life' in 1998. She has toured extensively with her solo shows and companies and worked in wide variety of theatre forms, from street to film. Franki works as a director and consultant and is presently directing a performing group of Fools, 'The Troubadours'. Franki continues to lead workshops and perform her solo show internationally.
2) Lorenzo Bocchese (Italy), who has worked in theatre since 1985, performing all over Italy and experiencing many different facets of theatre: from classical Shakespeare, Molire, Goldoni and Wilde to comedy and cabaret. In 1989 he discovered the powerful spirit of improvisation in the Commedia dellArte that has influenced his approach to the stage ever since, both as a player and as a director. Since 1996 he has been working with Franki Anderson.
Lorenzo performs in Italian and in English as a solo and with the Troubadours, gives lectures, runs drama and impro workshops, organises events in Italy and abroad both for children and for adults.
3) Angela Attianese (Italy)
4) Massimo Cavallini (Italy)
5) Petra Wilmer (Netherlands), who is born in the north-west of Holland and therefore her life is influenced by water, both physically and spiritually. At the age of six she was already wishing for a life in the theatre. After attending several courses, she applied for a place at drama school (dep. Teacher) in 1988. She got her degree in 1992. Since then she has been teaching and playing in many different forms, for different schools and companies. At the moment she is working in Educative Art projects for children at schools and working as a performer with three other women on a show wich is to come out coming June (2002). Petra met "the way of the fool" in 1995 attending a workshop facilitated by Franki Anderson. Since then she has been working on her path as a fool, both on stage and in life. As the fools work has been a big inspiration in her life, she is about to start new ways of offering trainings and work to organisations, companies and groups.
6) Oliver Hosp (Germany)
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Market Summary
Market: past, present, & future:
Review those changes in market share, leadership, players, market shifts, costs, pricing, or competition that provide the opportunity for your company's success.
Market
Act of Life Productions ltd. is a co-op of people who work in their countries and abroad in theatre. At the moment it seems correct to say that the Fools' market is as wide as Europe. Like the original Troubadours, so far Fools have travelled, trained and performed in the whole continent.
Nevertheless, it is meaningful to say that Fools have got their own country of origin as a privileged market, in terms of language and contacts, to be thought as a possible basis for networking in the future.
Products
The possible outcomes of the Foolish Community are in terms of:
1) theatre training projects;
2) theatre performing projects;
3) theatre research projects;
4) theatre activities for children;
5) 'therapeutic' projects for business organisation;
6) languages studying through theatre;
7) creativity workshops;
8) cultural projects in general, mainly related to the locals.
The presence of facilitators and teachers that can work at least in their own native language and in English, which is the common language, will guarantee the feasibility of the projects. Italian translation will be offered, when needed.
The main part of the above activities are aimed at an European market. The idea is that, next to the willingness to study and perform, European Fools and not just will be enticed to work and come to Italy by the beautiful environment and setting that the Fools' Space will have.
The connection to the locals will be kept through activities that will allow the Fools to join the environment, both in terms of organisation of their Community and in terms of contribution to the local culture.
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Opportunities
Problems and opportunities:
State consumer problems, and define nature of product/service opportunities created by those problems.
In a Western world that is mainly concerned with productivity, the main focus of Fools' activities is creativity.
Creativity can be described as the ability to convey solutions that were found for certain problems as a possible inspiration to find new and unexpected solutions to different problems.
In today's society, mainly based on specialisation, everyone is asked very often to choose and live a specific role, a character (mask) that becomes a main part of our personality. If, on one hand, living that role allows to deepen it in terms of knowledge, this specialisation carries also the risk of numbing other parts of our personality that could be of great help in terms of creativity.
Fooling, as a mirror of reality, validates all the different masks that are part of our emotional Self and the wishes that are the real push towards finding something 'new' that did not exist before. Therefore it is a powerful tool for training the Self in terms of authentic expression, giving space to natural creativity.
Creativity can be looked at both as a problem by all the people who are stuck in a mask and cannot find a way to get out of it) and as an opportunity to solve problems, depending on what perspective to choose.
As a matter of fact, creativity can be an interesting 'product' for everyone, especially because Fooling principles work through a validation that is free from any judgemental evaluation.
Fooling will be an opportunity to be used as a tool by different sort of potential clients:
Theatre and arts
1) actors;
2) artists who have chosen a different way to express (dancing, painting, sculpting, pottery, singing etc);
3) people who are interested in finding a satisfying way to express themselves letting go of judgmental conventions;
New Age people
1) people who are interested to get in connection with the Self and its real needs;
2) people who are interested in learning how to widen the integrity of all the different aspects of their personality.
Business facilitating
1) teachers, coaches, counsellors, entrepreneurs and everyone whose profession relies on communicational skills;
2) business and marketing people that need to build strategy and tactics client-oriented.
If what is listed above are the different aspect that Fooling can touch, the use of a living and working space will allow to research and to carry out activities experimenting also on:
1) living together working towards inter-dependence;
2) creating an eco-sustainable way of living together, in terms of relationship with environment and money;
3) offering a safe space for Fools to carry out their own projects.
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Business Concept
Summarize key technology, concept or strategy on which your business is based
The opportunity to express in a safe environment, the support of like-minded people and the respect of the individuality of the singles, the opportunity to research and play together are the fundamentals on which to base a Foolish Community.
The strategy is simple: Fools want an empty space, both in terms of living and in terms of working. Once they have it, it will be possible to fill it with their wishes and dreams.
The key technology is, so to speak, the acknowledgement that relationship-wise everything in nature can be lived in the form of a circle. Using this as a starting point, Fools observe relationships and live them according to a non-hierarchical system that, within the Community, is aimed at being experimented even money-wise.
Business strategy
Fools' strategy will follow steps that need to take place at the same time:
1) Searching a place compatible with what is requested;
2) Completing the business plan according what is found;
3) Buying/renting a place that has at least 1 studio or something to be transformed into it;
4) Fund-raising (Fools, eco-Community, cultural projects);
5) Gathering the core group to co-ordinate the project.
6) Linking and networking with the local municipality and with potential client organisations (Business associations, NHS, Theatre groups, New Age groups/centers, Unions etc.)
Services to be advertised and offered:
1) workshops (theatre, arts, therapy);
2) facilitators' training in different fields;
3) selling Italy as a holiday place;
4) performing;
5) organising events.
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Competition
Summarize competition
Competition mainly will come from subjects that organise similar activities:
1) Training organisations;
2) theatre group/teachers;
3) New Age centers;
4) Art workshops.
On the other hand, the vast range of opportunities and activities that Fools can offer seems to give good opportunities.
Outline your company's competitive advantage
The main advantage is given by the differences that all the Fools have among themselves.
Different nationalities, languages, work experiences, ages will allow to be able to focus on and to tune into different possible clients' interests.
Even if difficult to said in a business plan, it needs to said that, next to expertise, Fools use their human qualities, listening, tolerance to differences, acceptance rather than judgement, mirroring, taking responsibility, care, using naturality to give the opportunity to people to take the responsibility for their own learning process.
The success of workshops and events all over Europe tells that students are willing to pay for ' being looked after', 'cared for' as an extra that comes with our services.
Another difference will be the pricing. Students will be charged according to their income.
The iedea is to experiment in setting up an economic system based on validation of the personal resources, and money will be just one of them.
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Goals & Objectives
Five-year goals
State specific measurable objectives
State market share objectives
State revenue/profitability objectives
In our wishes:
September 2002/September 2003
In the first year the Act of Life Productions Ltd. will focus on the following goals:
1) Administration:
a) putting together a database;
b) framing and guaranteeing the Messenger 2 times a year;
c) having a reference administration point in each connected country;
d) archiving;
e) funding (projects and structural);
f) to update and extend the use of the website;
g) creating financial plans.
Masks to be played: financial mask, administration mask (contact-person for the activities)
2) Public relations:
a) to develope the network (organisations, locals, students, media)
Mask to be played: Contact person
3) Activities:
a) A Foolsjourney (3-months course);
b) 2 Summercamps (1 for tasters / 1 for experienced fools);
c) 1 Festival (weekend with different activities and workshops);
d) 5 separate week workshops;
e) 10 separate weekend workshops;
a) 1 public Troubadours show;
f) A show to be played for the local community;
g) 2 projects for children.
Masks to be played: facilitators and initiators, organisers
4) Eco-Housing and Eco-living:
a) Finding (restoring, adapting) a place with at least 4 living units and possible hosting 20 people with 1 big studio and 1 smaller studio
b) research funding for eco-sustainable housing and funding for restoring
c) working in a biological way with the land
Masks to be played: housing- and building- expert, architect if needed, farmer if needed
September 2003/September 2004
In this following year the organisation will work on consolidating the matters as listed above.
About administration, there will be a stronger focus on structural funding to run the community.
From the activities point of view, there will be a stronger focus on the possible cultural exchange with the locals, with special care for the children. Within the Fools' circle there are already strong connections with Arciragazzi, an Italian national Association that cares for children.
September 2004/September 2005
The third year will be used for setting up and selling a European tour.
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Financial Plan
High-level financial plan that defines financial model, pricing assumptions, and reviews yearly expected sales and profits for the next three years.
Use several slides to cover this material appropriately.
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Resource Requirements
Technology requirements
Personnel requirements
Resource requirements
Financial, distribution, promotion, etc.
External requirements
Products/services/technology required to be purchased outside company
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Risks & Rewards
Risks
Summarize risks of proposed project
Addressing risk
Summarize how risks will be addressed
Rewards
Estimate expected pay-off, particularly if seeking funding
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Key Issues
Near term
Isolate key decisions and issues that need immediate or near-term resolution
Long term
Isolate issues needing long-term resolution
State consequences of decision postponement
If you are seeking funding, state specifics
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