This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:01] Jennifer Appel-Sheeher: Oh, hello. Welcome back to this week's episode of the Empowered Artist Collective Podcast. My name is Jennifer Appel-Sheeher, and this week I talked to a dear friend, a grad school classmate of mine, Lily Narbonne. Lily and her fiancé, Justin Jenna, who also went to grad school with me, co-founded a theater company called Lane's Coven Theater Co. And on this episode, I talked to Lily about all things creating a theater company, from what it means to have a vision and creating a mission statement, to writing grants, accepting assistance from others, curating your work, embracing your own artistic ideals. If you have been thinking about or you envision yourself creating a theater company at some point in your life, this episode is for you. Enjoy.

[0:54] Jennifer Appel-Sheeher: Hello, welcome back to this week's episode of the Empowered Artist Collective Podcast. I am with, oh boy, one of my grad school classmates, close friend, confidant, collaborative, artistic, creative human, Lily Narbonne. Hello.

[1:12] Lily Narbonne: Hiya. Hi.

[1:14] Jennifer Appel-Sheeher: I'm so excited that you're here.

[1:17] Lily Narbonne: Yeah, this is really, really, it's really sweet. And lovely.

[1:22] Jennifer Appel-Sheeher: Thank you. You really hold people in this space. I love it.

[1:26] Lily Narbonne: I'm trying to give a virtual hug from my sprawled out state on my couch. For any of you not watching the YouTube, I'm literally, this is a new one for me. I'm just lying here like, okay, I'm comfortable. This is a moment. And Lil has these cool plant lights in the back. He's like, truly, I mean, you live in a botanical garden in your apartment.

[1:50] Jennifer Appel-Sheeher: Yeah. Plants are our decoration. Well, there are two. It's a really good monstera right there that we birthed from Adriana's monstera. And then the light is helping grow the money tree that you got us.

[2:06] Lily Narbonne: Yeah, y'all. So I house that at Lily and Justin. Justin is Lily's fiancé and also a fellow grad school classmate back in their Brooklyn apartment back in August last year. And it was like a very daring moment for them to trust me to, it was mostly plant sitting. And I was like, y'all, I'm not daring. I mean, it was because I'm like a seasoned plant murderer. And they were like, no, it's fine. And when I walked in, it felt like the beautiful mind. I like walked into the house and it was like, post-it notes. Don't kill this one. Don't kill this one. Here's his moment. Here's this moment. Feed this one, this feed that like, Justin literally just plant truly like around all of the plants labeled, thankfully.

And then I had to figure out. Yeah, he was on it, but all of those plants. And so it's a moment of gratitude at the end, I bought them a money plant, which I didn't know anything about at all. It's just like, this looks like a cool plant. And then Justin was like, this is a money plant. And I was like, well, look at that.

[3:05] Lily Narbonne: Yeah, he's had one before. They're really, really lovely, great plants. Good choice. Is it growing nicely?

[3:11] Jennifer Appel-Sheeher: It also kind of looks like a weed plant.

[3:16] Lily Narbonne: Oh, yeah. Yeah. Excellently.

[3:16] Jennifer Appel-Sheeher: Great. Well, I hope it, what do I say? I hope that it brings you prosperity. Is that the phrase for that one?

[3:23] Lily Narbonne: I think so. I think so.

[3:25] Jennifer Appel-Sheeher: Yeah. A plant store is really actually, I've walked into one and I feel like I breathe better and it's probably because the air is clean because like plants clean air, right? This is not why you all tuned in. I'm not, I don't need to talk.

[3:37] Jennifer Appel-Sheeher: Great. So Lil, for those of you who are listening, who don't know who Lily is, who are you today?

[3:49] Lily Narbonne: Oh, today. Today, I'm a dog mom. I am, you know, relaxed Brooklyn neighborhood lady. You know, I totally embrace my neighborhood this morning in ways I don't always. I am a traveler today. We're heading to Gloucester today, which will come out in more of the descriptions of me and how I half live in New York, I guess. Yeah, I'm a meditator today and a yogi today. Whoa. Even if I just did it for 25 minutes.

[4:28] Jennifer Appel-Sheeher: Maybe that's why you're so Zen. Truly. There's like a Zen energy. I'm like, okay, okay. That's meditation. And also, I'm going to add an incredible actor and a wonderful dialect coach and also a theater founder owner. What other hyphen for that particular project am I throwing on there?

[4:50] Lily Narbonne: Yeah, yeah. So yeah, I am an actor. I am a trained, classically trained actor. I am from Massachusetts. I live here in New York. I work in New York. I've worked in other places in the country, you know, went to school with you at American Conservatory Theater. But yeah, in the pandemic, my fiancé and I started a theater company, which is called Lane's Coven Theater Co. And we are small but mighty. Yeah. Yeah. So I am the co-artistic director is what Justin and I call ourselves. I also, you know, technically, since we incorporated, I am technically the owner. And I am also technically an Actors' Equity approved producer. And I also do, God, everything. I do all the admin. I do all the admin, all the grant writing, all the managing, all the COVID safety procedure, all the contract organizing, the fundraising. I'm directing a show that will be for free, that will be a fundraiser in a month. And also acting with the company. So yeah, there's that multi-hyphenate for you.

[6:29] Jennifer Appel-Sheeher: Yeah, there we go. That was me being like, Hey, Lily, I think you're being really modest. And I'm like, let's unpack why I brought you here today, which you kind of just ventured into, because I was like, please tell them more. I wanted to talk to you today about Lane's Coven, which, you know, y'all had me come out, was it last summer now to do a fundraiser-ish promo thing for your show last season, which was a total blast to go out to Gloucester and futz around. It was like the first thing, one of the first things that I had done with, you know, the pandemic easing up and like being unmasked in a room and a creation in a space indoors.

[7:11] Lily Narbonne: Yeah, that was a wild, that was wild and fun. And, and it's also like, the things you do are the people that are part of them. Do you know what I mean? Like when essentially, okay, so just a teeny bit of context, Gloucester, Massachusetts, for everyone who's listening, is actually historically the oldest art colony in America. It's a very visually and performance and photography and music art based place on the ocean. Perhaps you've seen Coda, Coda was filmed there. And so like in your backyard there, like that, like truly, like when we were staying there, it was, I saw places that we were.

[7:58] Jennifer Appel-Sheeher: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And so there are a lot of already very established organizations and institutions in Gloucester that are always looking to collaborate. And so since we formed a company during the pandemic, with the intention of using basically 11 months just to produce one outdoor play, Shakespeare, Taming of the Shrew, amidst that and trying so hard to stay connected and stay creative and meet people virtually, we met this non-profit arts colony called Rocky Neck Art Colony. And they were like, you guys are cool. You want to do something for our 40 under 40 thing? And we were sort of like, someone wants us to do something, you know, other than just ourselves. And we didn't really know what to expect, but we were like, number one, what would get our juices flowing artistically right now? And what is the moment right now? Which, as you said, in May, June was scary. Delta hadn't happened yet, but no in-person performing had really occurred.

[9:25] Lily Narbonne: You mean Omicron hadn't happened?

[9:25] Jennifer Appel-Sheeher: Yeah. Delta happened there. Yeah. Well, yeah, but like it hadn't taken over really much of Northeast yet. And it wasn't affecting indoor stuff yet. Like you're saying, like we weren't wearing masks. But yeah, we did like a neo-futurist inspired, we didn't copy, but sort of like 21 plays in an hour and raised funds. And it was a very beautiful example of just kind of like audaciously do your thing and trust that that is enough. People might be a teeny bit shocked at first, but ultimately you never really know how someone might gloriously receive your, you know, wild experimental art.

[10:22] Lily Narbonne: Correct. No. Well, I want to double back. So let's talk, you know, I mean, clearly we can talk about grad school if we wanted to, and all those things, and you and Justin and your artistic envisionments and dreams and blah, blah, blah. But I guess I'd love to just chat briefly about the like moment of inception for Lane's Coven specifically. Why it was like, let's create a theater company. What are our ethos around it? Why these particular ethos? Why Gloucester? Why all of that in terms of this particular creation for you both? And then in that particular moment in time?

[10:58] Lily Narbonne: Yeah. So the particular moment in time when we created Lane's Coven was September, October, 2020. So as everyone knows, that was pre-vaccines. That was also pre-Biden getting elected. And I guess a little bit of context too is, okay, so everyone had been shut down since March. We had had the intention actually always of making Taming of the Shrew happen in Gloucester in August, 2020. Like pre-starting a theater company just wanting to do the production.

[11:39] Lily Narbonne: Exactly. Because we'd done a contemporary play, Mauritius, by Teresa Rebeck with local friends, just for fun. And why Gloucester? My parents live there. I've grown up going there my whole life. It was where I would go to like in the summers during college. It just feels good to go there energetically. It feels rejuvenating. We knew we wanted to do Taming of the Shrew already. But in the moment of fall 2020, I won't go into too many details, but we really needed to assert our worth as artists, Justin and I. And coupled with that, the fact that my aunt, who lives in Gloucester, right next to my parents, was like, you should do your Shakespeare here, like in her backyard. Because outdoor Shakespeare is what we wanted to do, what we do do.

So all roads were pointing towards, let's just form our own thing. Let's just put a stake in the ground. We know this isn't going to happen until August 2021. So instead of it just being a gathering of people doing a play, let's make a company and let's have a vision for it. And let's write a mission statement. And let's, I mean, it just snowballed after that. It also came from a sense of like privilege and security in that we do have spaces for people to stay. So it was like, oh, wow. You know, we have the housing. This is a really beautiful place to retreat to and make art. And we want to share that. Yeah, personally, I've always been like a connector and a giver. And sometimes I feel like if I'm only on my own train of thinking about my acting, my career, I don't fulfill that space of myself.

[14:02] Lily Narbonne: So this fulfilled that and we came up with the name. The name Lane's Coven is basically just an N tacked on to the end of the name of the cove on which we live right on the ocean. It's historic. It's where tons of lobstermen and fishermen still work out of, but it's an inspirational place and there's something about like where the land meets the sea being an inspiration for good story, you know, Shakespeare story.

[14:39] Marie Forleo: And also you are obsessed with the water.

[14:41] Lily Narbonne: Correct. That too.

[14:43] Marie Forleo: Obsessed all throughout grad school, like whenever there was anything that we had to bring that was about home or connecting us to our roots or like something that you find some sort of like inspiration. Lily would always come in with something that was blue, a scarf that like she wore on a trip on a boat or like some like shanty that she sang on a, I mean like truly like it all roads led to water. As you're holding a cup of water as we speak.

[15:13] Lily Narbonne: Yes, yes.

[15:14] Marie Forleo: Yep. So that just I feel like that all of it makes so much sense to me. Going back to the creation of like, okay, here's the snowball now we're going to create a theater company. How did you start? How did you know like, this is how one becomes a theater company?

[15:30] Lily Narbonne: Well, I guess we had some context for companies that we admire, such as Bedlam. I'll say that like that's the first one that comes to my mind. Also, I went to BU for my undergrad BFA in acting, which is very like classically focused, but also experimental. And there are a lot of companies that have come out of BU like Collaboration Town that I, you know, have supported all through time. But like Shakespeare wise, I've just I've known a lot of small, but mighty Shakespeare companies. And I think we were like, we knew, you know, you don't have to pay for rights to produce Shakespeare. It's content that we consistently want to do. We were also had been invited to a Zoom group where we would read Shakespeare every weekend, one act per week for two hours.

So we'd already been through Twelfth Night, Loves, Labors Lost, Titus, Cymbeline, and those folks that we'd been joined with, like from a BU buddy of mine, those folks had had theater companies and had all worked together and had a lot of stories. And so in the immediate, we had all this bolstering to create a company. And in the wider macro of my life, I guess I had a lot of examples, even though I never really thought I would be the kind of, I would, I never really thought I would create a company.

[17:10] Marie Forleo: What made you decide to go down, say, like to incorporate or the non-profit route? What made you go down that?

[17:15] Lily Narbonne: Good question. Okay. Yeah. Um, we wanted, we were having so many conversations with my parents who were like, you're wonderful artists. For context, they have Boston accents. So we got to support the arts and the pandemic. So, so we were like, we're going to raise money. We're going to pay people. And, you know, it's not going to be just a project where people get a stipend under the table. Um, we were like, we want this to be official on the books. So that, um, let's incorporate for that. Let's incorporate for, you know, it's just really important to have insurance when you do really, really physical, uh, Shakespeare plays.

[18:05] Marie Forleo: How did you know how to do this? Did you have a lawyer? Did you call friends? Did you call, what did you, how did you do it?

[18:11] Lily Narbonne: We learned as we went. Okay. Well, of course we would, we would think of anyone who we knew who had a small company, um, who would willingly just, you know, give a referral. We would obviously tap that. Our best inspo for what to become legally, officially. So I found this article by Rebecca Novick who started Crowded Fire Theater Company. And we were just doing tons of research at this point and looking for good advice. And I think the article is something towards like, please don't start a theater company. Clearly. Great. Good job. But again, we were in this mindset of against all odds, right? Because we knew that the pandemic was like crushing everything. Um, basically her advice was if you're starting a theater company, do not start a nonprofit right away.

Okay. And the answer is because a nonprofit in the way capitalism defines business is required to have a board and get advisement from that board. And if you're trying to start a theater company for the purpose of your artistic vision and doing what you want to do, that could get threatened in the first years of inception while you're dealing with a board. Right. So it's, yeah. So it's kind of like chicken or the egg. Right. Um, obviously we want to become a nonprofit someday. And obviously theater companies, nonprofit theater companies do incredible work because of their board and, um, inspired by their board. And there are agreements that, you know, the board makes money and networking happen and they leave the art to the artistic director and the teams. Right. Um, but we knew we're going to create an LLC so that at this moment, no one controls the artistic vision, but us, which is not to not share at all. It's just to have control over our mission.

[20:44] Marie Forleo: And what would you say, what is your mission? I know you've written a lot of grants, which we can talk about in like a hot moment, but what would be your like elevator mission statement?

[20:54] Lily Narbonne: Yeah. Uh, Lane's Coven is a project-based actor driven theater company presenting classical and contemporary art to the Cape Ann community and its visitors. Um, we are committed to low cost experiences everyone can enjoy and whether indoors, outdoors, virtually, or collaborating with community partners, we will create innovative family-friendly fair.

[21:25] Marie Forleo: Yes, you will. And you have thus far. Well, I want to then unpack this moment. You, okay. So you did all your research. You found the thing that said, don't do the thing. And then he said, Oh, we're going to eventually do the thing. And then you decided to do a version of the thing. So how did you go about either raising money capital? Uh, I know you work with fractured Atlas. How did, like, how did all of those financial aspects, grants, all of those things start to kind of create the buoy under which you can kind of start to float?

[21:40] Lily Narbonne: Yeah. Yeah. Um, along the way, I was getting a lot of good advice from people who have had a theater company or are a grant writer also COVID safely. We were integrating with the storefronts and the community that we felt the most held in, um, like this incredible used and rare bookstore named dog town books owned, uh, by Caroline Harvey and Lucas Cotterman, who have totally made things possible for us. And so they, uh, they Caroline actually told us about mass cultural council and the local subsidiaries. So the Gloucester cultural council, the Rockport cultural council, and you can apply to these small townships, granting programs, stating your mission, stating, um, why your project will bring benefit to the town, how many people you will reach.

So that forced us to put into words, our intentions. And also my dad's a business dude. Um, so he, yeah. So he was the guy who was like, where's the business plan? Where's the business plan? And we were like, we don't know how to create a business plan. Um, but we did research on how to create a business plan, um, which obviously meant, you know, your whole line item budget. So we did that meaning, um, how much everyone needs to get paid, how much a stage costs, lights, sound, costumes, insurance, um, audience services, porta potties, you name it. Right.

[23:44] Marie Forleo: Did you find an itemized list somewhere and then kind of adapted it for you? Was it more just like you and Justin sat down and we're like, this is a show. This is what we need. These are all of the things. Let's just really think it through. How did you create your mass itemized list?

[23:50] Lily Narbonne: Uh, I think it's the second one because again, we're not business minded first. We're artistic minded first. So we would, and we've produced plays or films before. So we were just like, we'd put ourselves in the moment and be like, okay, what are all the things? Um, and of course you don't know everything you don't know. Um, so like slowly those things would get added to the budget. Um, but to go back to Fractured Atlas, I knew about Fractured Atlas because shout out to, um, my BU girls theater company, Don Pat and Tom, they had used Fractured Atlas to raise funds for a show called Leaves that they brought to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. And they also had only become an LLC, not a nonprofit.

So that was another reason, um, for doing so there. Um, the purpose of Fractured Atlas is they are a giant 501 C three nonprofit. Okay. And what you do is you apply to work with them. You'll probably get it. I mean, obviously do the work on your application, but, um, uh, you pay $10 a month for their services and they represent the legal element of your project, right? Then they make it, sorry. They make it possible so that you can receive tax deductible donations. Okay. And when you're raising money for a project, sure. You can do Kickstarter, you can do Indiegogo and everyone will give 10 to $15 and they don't need, you know, a tax write off on 10 to $15. But if you're incorporating your company, you need to have the service of writing off all your expenses and stuff.

And so Fractured Atlas also tracks that. Furthermore, if you need more than $10,000 to do a project, you got to ask people for like a thousand bucks, you know, or 2000 bucks like here and there. And there's money out there. There's people with money who want to give it. So at that level, you want to be able to give people the tax deductible option because it's, you know, good for them, you know, and, and you need to be competitive with other companies that they give their money to who are really organized in being a 501 C three tax deductible organization. So, uh, uh, that is to say Fractured Atlas is really worth looking up and look and then looking into, it's not always easy to explain to folks, but you have to just swallow that hurdle because it is worth it. They really do just support projects who don't have their own resources to be there on 501 C3 yet like me and Justin, because it takes time and money.

[28:04] Jennifer Apple: Is a podcast where I talk about the importance of finding your own monologues. I go off on my own and find you monologues chosen just for you that fit like a glove. I have been doing monologue sourcing for years as an extension of the coaching I do with artists, and I have found pieces in this way for over hundreds of artists thus far. So if you are someone who wants to feel empowered about the monologues you bring into rooms and use for auditions, I would love to help you find them. And because you are a dedicated listener of the Empowered Artist Collective Podcast, I want to provide you with a custom link to an exclusive rate when you check out today. Head to EmpoweredArtistCollective.com slash podcast promo to register. That's Empowered Artist Collective.com slash podcast promo right now. I cannot wait to help you find monologues you absolutely adore.

[28:57] Jennifer Apple: Yeah. I want to veer now into like the artistic aspect of it for the two of you, why you have chosen the pieces you have chosen thus far to produce, why you are drawn to the ones that you have done, and then I guess the artistic envisionment behind the way in which you create, right? So whether that's the casting process, whether that's who of you gets to direct or perform or lead or whatever in it. So really just like the artistic lens for you.

[29:28] Lily Narbonne: Yeah. The artistic lens is a bit born from the real life truth. Truth. Wow, I can speak. That Justin and I really do like sit at the kitchen table and talk about like, ooh, if we did Twelfth Night, like, ooh, who'd be a good Viola? Like, who could be like her twin? Like, ooh, and who'd be a great, why do I want to call her the queen? Olivia? Olivia. Yeah. I was like, we're still on Twelfth Night. I know. We truly do ruminate on that stuff and not just Shakespeare. And we truly do envision not just in the way of not just what is my dream to do. So yeah, I mean, geez, it's also sort of like artistic bucket lists you have. So in December 2019 is basically when we decided to do Taming of the Shrew.

And I think that was birthed from we did a really naturalistic, dark comedy. And the energy was like, okay, what next? And Taming is totally a bucket list of Justin's. So we were hungry to exercise that physical acting element in a play. And we were also like, yeah, after we produced that play, we produced it with a couple and then they were like, okay, you guys need to choose the leading positions now for yourselves. So we were like, okay, cool, you know. And then we had two years to work on that because of the pandemic. And of course we, you know, geez. So we had the opportunity to delve so deeply into the language of that play. And we realized how actually successful it could be as a nautical in a nautical theme.

So it's just like, you know, when you give yourself really time to meditate on a play over years and years, and you don't know what you don't know about what's going to come out of it. Otherwise, what we did last year in 2021, mainly came from people coming to us, which is the concept of kind of like build it and they will come. So we did a virtual recording process of a radio play. We made a radio play all through pandemic 2021. Savannah, it's called Savannah, a highly original, very intimate piece about voyeurism and introversion and personal artistic frustration. Then, you know, someone else reached out to us to do the sort of variety show type thing. Then the Cape M Museum reached out to us, you know, and that's such a big museum.

Sometimes the projects that you end up doing are more for the community than you. But that's really, really, really important, you know, in today's age, because too many theaters have their community engagement sector, which is not truly community engagement. Right. And we really believe in cultivating that authentically. So then there's that. Right. And then basically our Shakespeare's are intended for like, quote unquote, main stage slot. And, you know, the reality is lean on your friends, you know, and listen to what your friends want. And when you need to lean hard on a friend and they really pick up for you, then ask them what they want. Do you know that's sort of how it worked with Oliver, who was our director for Taming of the Shrew?

And I mean, let's not kid ourselves. He is a brilliant person and great director. Oliver Yall is another one of our ACT grad school classmates who is going to be going to law school because he's going to change the world. He's like, I'm an artist, I'm an actor, I'm a director. And also my brain works in like math and science and logic. And so why don't I literally take all of those skills and literally use it to help people? And it's just like, anyway, we can talk about Oliver forever.

[34:22] Jennifer Apple: Yeah. Yeah. No, but you know, like who you're surrounding yourself with, like who. And so Oliver was always intended to be part of Taming of the Shrew in an acting capacity. And then it developed to the point that he was going to be only in directing capacity. And then we were like, OK, you know, give and take here. So what do you want to be in next iteration? And he was like Macbeth. And also Macbeth is a favorite. It is a favorite. And it's such a dialectic way of you saying that favorite. Like you hit all of your like favorite or favorite. Got it. OK. Yeah. Yeah. But I just I mean to dispel myths, you know, when I say at the level of small theater companies like us, we're not having like a super serious meeting about which play to do only our second year in inception.

Again, we don't have a board. And furthermore, we don't want a board that puts their foot down about what we can do. No, like we will make that artistic decision. Thank you. But, you know, decisions really do happen in artistic conversations with other artists. So Justin was like, OK, I will happily direct that and you play markers. And so that is how that started developing. Yeah. You know, and we just sort of think of it kind of like spreading the wealth to like, OK, who haven't we used yet of our network? You know, and obviously we will need to have auditions as well. But, you know, you envision the people who you want to give an opportunity to and who, you know, will lift your product. And in addition to Macbeth, this is like sort of a slight spoiler.

Someone who reached out to us when they found out we had started a theater company was like, check out this play. You know, I'm not sure if it's what you're interested in doing, but check it out. And so essentially we've been workshopping this contemporary play for a year and a half. And yeah, I'm not going to like do all the reveals, but it's all female. It's about queer relationships and neurodivergence. And that was more sort of, you know, very official with Justin and I and with the artistic team of this play, like playwright and director, like much slower process in deciding to do something and process of, do we have the budget for this? And do we have the bandwidth for this? Because essentially with Shakespeare plays, you know, generically that you can produce in the budget that you're producing in.

Do you know what I mean? Yeah, sure. But yeah, with this one, this contemporary one, it challenges us. Not like Shakespeare doesn't, it's just, it's a topic that Justin and I stretch our minds to hear that topic. And you know, we have a lot of research to do and et cetera. But when something resoundingly is also saying, produce me, I will make a difference in people's lives. You know, I am a story that will affect a certain age group, right? I have a certain age group in mind to reach and that is young. I will give that away too. I guess, I guess I said this would be a spoiler and then I'm like, I don't want to. You're like, I'm not even telling you. Well, we can veer away from that. I feel like some of the things that I would love to hear from you are, you know, as you've gone through this process and there's so many nooks and crannies we could, you know, we could have talked about or we could still talk about in our little bit of time left.

But I guess I want to throw it to you about like, what are the things that you wish you knew either before starting Lane's Coven or that even in this moment right now you are still like uncertain about what you know? What you wish you knew or you wish you knew faster?

[39:16] Lily Narbonne: Well, something that's been like trickling a lot on the edge of my thoughts that I want to offer that I wish I knew is that you will get a lot of pushback. You know, like, A, when you are not in New York City, you're not in a place where theater companies abound. When you're kind of the new kid in town as a business, it takes a lot of groundwork and it takes a lot of pushing past imposter syndrome.

[39:40] Jennifer Apple: Yeah, yeah, I didn't know how much imposter syndrome I'd get. Do you feel like you've overcome part of that? Or do you feel like it's just something that now that you're aware that it's part for the course, you just have to own that it is what it is?

[40:00] Lily Narbonne: Oh, good question. I mean, we've had disappointments. And then in those same arenas, we've had wins, like the second year or whatever. So sometimes, once you actually crack that nut, that kills the imposter syndrome a little bit. Yeah. But then you get to a new level. Right. And this is the thing, like, I didn't expect it. Because I'm an actor, I'm a professional actor, I couldn't be more trained, you know, I've been a professional actor for whatever, 12 to 15 years, I thought, you know, like, all the ingredients are there. Right. You know, and I'm like, Justin and I have worked across the country, we've worked in a diverse array, you know, like, why wouldn't people listen to us or trust us?

But it's not just we the actor. It's our product. And it's our like theater company brand. So that takes a lot of just processing time. I also didn't know how hard it was going to be to articulate that, like in a formal grant writing way. Like, if you've never written a grant for yourself, as an artist, or a project that you're doing artistically, do one, just for the practice of it. Because it helps you articulate in a really small amount of words. So many grants ask for just 100 word, 500 word things. And the tough thing about our project is that it's a lot of moving pieces, especially because it's new. With that, did you have anybody who was helping you grant write? Or how did you learn to even do that?

[41:59] Lily Narbonne: Learning as I went.

[42:06] Lily Narbonne: Okay, that was probably part of it. Yeah, I am a good writer. It just takes so much editing. And then yes, I did have a experienced, very experienced professional grant writer who retired during the pandemic, assisting me. Amazing. Amazing. And then, and then technically, there's also Fractured Atlas, like they have to approve, like if you ask for any corporate funding, they have to approve your letter, your ask. So usually in that there's a bunch of articulating your project, articulating your effect. I don't know, all said and done, I'm just recommending ripping the bandaid and, you know, doing a grant, even if it's like a cash grant for yourself someday. It's related to like when you're working on your actor brand.

[43:02] Jennifer Apple: Yeah.

[43:02] Lily Narbonne: But there is a praising but like, sure, sure. I hate that phrasing too. And it's and it's triggering in a way, correct. But what's releasing, actually, it's very releasing and not triggering. It's very like open hearting to practice writing a grant, and to articulate why your art is important for the place you're doing it in. You know, for sure. Well, to the second part of the initial question of what are you learning now that you wish you could learn faster? What is that thing? If you like had like a skill that you wish you could be learning on an expedited path?

[43:45] Oh, God, every day. I mean, there are so many skills that I've had to rally in myself to do this. For me, personally, I'm a fast typer, but I'm not a good overall computer organizer.

[44:05] Jennifer Apple: Uh huh.

[44:05] Lily Narbonne: Yeah, no, that's really real. It's very real. Yeah. So I just wish I was I were better. I'm like, especially for like contract stuff and like finding my, my, you know, stuff from two months ago, and why isn't it more readily available? Um, I mean, there's so many, I wish I could fast track my fundraising across all platforms skill, like MailChimp at the same time as Facebook at the same time as Instagram, at the same time as direct email reach outs. Yes, creating copy that I can more easily get into all these different streams, or channels, I think the word being channels, so like email as a channel, social media is a channel, you know, and getting the word out about stuff.

[45:02] Another would be union relations.

[45:09] Hmm, that is somewhat a lack of help on the unions part, a lack of people there.

[45:20] Yeah, to answer your questions immediately. Um, that's a dish. Sorry. We like a hot dish. Yeah. This is a personal skill, like self doubt and self belief, which is kind of related to imposter syndrome. Um, but I'm so sensitive about it in, like sharing the company and the company's goals with a town that is so small-ish in a way. Do you know what I mean?

[45:58] Yeah.

[45:58] Lily Narbonne: So, you know, it's like, it's like that liaison skill. Right. You know, like, taking a poll of like, how or what exactly is it that the people want to see or Yeah, whatever. I mean, you know, we've had sold out shows. So it's fine. I guess I also wish I could fast track like, some sort of ability to have a constant engagement with our audience year round, even though we're not year round. I'm saying, yeah. But I feel like that's something that will happen. You know, when the pandemic loosens itself, and when there's whatever the word normalcy means, you know, comes back into some sort of rhythm, I'm not going to say we're not going back to normal pre COVID. It's just not but like, a new rhythm is established.

[47:00] I think a lot of it is the fact that we're still in this touch and go and touch and go. And is it starting? Is it stopping thing that like, the momentum behind anything kind of, there's always like the fear that it's going to get the rugs can get pulled out from underneath you, right? So even if you are, you know, a theater company that is for the most part having one main stage situation a year, and then a couple workshops here and there, or whatever, you know, the rhythm of doing that will allow you to have more flexibility once there's the actual rhythm for it, rather than like planning for the fact that at any moment, you might actually have to pivot, you know, so there's a little bit of a I would imagine a difference in that, too.

[47:35] So before we wind our time down, what would be one thing that might be heavy on your heart that we perhaps did not discuss about?

[47:48] Well, it is the idea of don't wait for the opportunity to be given to you to do that artistic thing that you are dying to do. It may not be a path that has a tangible look, or navigation right now. But don't not do it because of that. Like make your own opportunities. Do not wait for others to give them to you. Also, the reward that you get in your heart when you create your own work with the people that you love and trust and share vocabulary with is so big. The reward is so big.

[48:45] Yeah, that's why I'm saying don't wait. The reason we wait, the reason I waited so long is because I couldn't see it. There wasn't a map. And the other paths were more glamorous. But is glamour really the goal? That's why I don't think we're becoming artists living the way that we are, where we are vulnerably open and extended within our heart all the time for it to be glamorous. I think the point is to be vulnerable people able to share.

[49:23] You know, I love that idea of don't wait, which is obviously clearly easier said than done. But it's also to be able to just access parts of yourself and really go where you need to emotionally. Only you know what that is for yourself, right? And so if you are waiting for somebody else to hand that to you, first of all, it takes away from the fact that it's honest and authentic and real in that moment. But also, yeah, there's like the glamorization of like, well, if they give it to me, it'll come in this gorgeous little package. It's like, actually, it might come to in a very different way also.

[49:53] True.

[49:53] Lily Narbonne: Yes, true. And you can control the package when you create it yourself. You can control the container. You can control the time frame. You can control how little or big it is. But that's why I also say lean on your friends, like take stock of what is going on with your contemporaries, because sometimes that is where you find this sweet spot of like, oh, that's why that's what I want to. And if we just put in a little more effort other than just generically mentioning something.

[50:35] Right, if we put in just a little bit more DIY effort, the return is exponential.

[50:45] Yeah, I love that. And what's one piece of advice that you would give somebody who is perhaps thinking of starting their own theater company?

[50:52] Don't start it alone. I don't mean to say don't, but given all these things that I have mentioned that are some of the hard elements and some of the beautiful elements, it's nice when you have people who are right there with you in the goal of the company, the vision of the company to springboard off of. You know, theater is a social art form. You don't want to be alone on an island. And you also want the energy of ensemble to grow exponentially. Like, I don't know how to, I'm making this like hand gesture.

[51:40] No, but it's a vibration. It's a vibration.

[51:47] Yes.

[51:47] Lily Narbonne: Yeah. Yes. So, you know, like, Justin and I knew that when we created Lane's Coven that there were so many, our contemporaries at ACT, there are so many folk who are going to get it. Um, and that is really useful. And just like slightly to add to that is mission first is a pretty good idea. And it's not easy making a mission. You will not get it right the first day, the first week, the first month. It took us a lot of workshopping and there are professionals out there who are willing to donate their time for free to help you create that mission. Usually that's because maybe they've never worked with a theater company before or something like that.

[52:35] Thank you for popping on here with me and chatting about Lane's Coven and yourself. This is the first time that Walter has really made an appearance. He's going through a moment. So this might be a really princely, I know this might be a YouTube one for y'all to tune into, um, on our YouTube channel because the Walter and entrances and exits are, um, he was like, oh, you're talking about a theater company. Like, this is my audition. Do you need a dog? Cause I mean, as he yawns, he's bored, like y'all, you know. Um, so thank you so much for popping on and talking about all of this.

[53:11] Jennifer Apple: Um, what are some of the ways that people can, uh, kindly, respectfully, um, reach out to you if they wanted to either coach with you for dialect work, or if they are curious and in Massachusetts and perhaps want to be a local hire and audition for all of you, or if people want to pick your brain a little bit more, if they are starting their own theater companies, like what are, what is the best way for people to reach you respectfully?

[53:38] Lily Narbonne: Respectfully, uh, the theater company, uh, uh, email address is lanescovenatgmail.com. So L A N E S C O V E N at gmail.com. You can of course also email me personally, which is L I L Y N A R B as in boy O N N E at gmail.com. Follow us on Instagram because we have a lot of stuff going on there and you can engage there at lanescoventheaterco.com. So L A N E S C O V E N T H E A T E R C O. My personal handle is at L I L Y N A R B as in boy O N N E. Um, that's me as an actor person lady. Um, and then Beckett, Lily also has an amazing dog. You should follow Beckett's account. Um, they Beckett and Walter play. So sometimes you'll see the two of them romping around.

[54:33] Jennifer Apple: Um, I love you very much.

[54:33] Lily Narbonne: I love you.

[54:34] Jennifer Apple: You're welcome. And I'm, I'm so grateful and proud to know both you and Justin, and I'm so proud of the work that you have done thus far and will continue to do with Lane's Coven. And, um, I'm, I'm so grateful that you were willing to share all of that with our listeners today. So more soon. Bye-bye.

[55:11] Jennifer Apple: Perhaps this episode was the thing that you needed to start that theater company or get to the drawing board and do some more research. If anything, I hope you're at least curious to sit down and attempt writing a grant just to see what might happen. Now, if you liked this episode, please like rate follow. And most importantly, review us from the bottom of my heart. I cannot express to you how much this means to us and the ability to continue doing these types of episodes for you. If you did not like this episode, just let it all slide. If you haven't done so yet, please follow us on Instagram at empowered artists collective on Tik TOK at empower artists collective and more on our website at empowered artists collective.com. If you're seeking some merch, we got you. Just look at our show notes as always. I am so endlessly grateful that you keep on coming back and we will be back here again next week until then.