REACHING OUT
Good wine and good conversation is a perk that TEST investors and supporters like. And they keep coming back for more. The fourth TEST Happy Hour took place in the cozy confines of TEST music co-director Christine Archer. The dancing flames of candles created the atmosphere, while the smell of good home-cooking wafted in from the kitchen.
You might think that TEST investors are getting spoiled with all the good food and wine. But then again, TEST is also their show, and they are eager to make it a success (message: there is work to be done). The number one factor right now is for investors to bring all relatives, friends, and acquaintances to see the Basel show. But the heavy-lifting is still with the core creative and production team. And they’re on it.
LONDON NETWORKING
The investor event featured reports from three of TEST’s main drivers, starting with the associate producer Anirvan Ghosh. Anirvan has been instrumental in cultivating international contacts for TEST. His primary focus is London, where he set up several important meetings in November.
“When we were in London,” Anirvan told the 30 persons in attendance, “we saw that about 15 minutes into our presentation on TEST, we had them hooked.” At that point, Anirvan added, it was no longer a question of selling TEST. It became a question of how we can work together to bring TEST to London.
The good news is that five London producers are already on board to come to Basel in February to see TEST. And there should be more coming, Anirvan said.
GETTING SCIENCE ON BOARD
After Anirvan’s remarks, James Sievert, co-author and executive producer of TEST, told the assembled guests how he is reaching out to the science community in Switzerland. The recent major advances in gene editing technology, spurred by the development of the CRISPR-Cas9 technology, has grabbed a lot of headlines for genetic engineering. Jamie has attended several conferences to network with the academic community and students. In the last month, Jamie has attended talks at the universities of Basel and Zurich, and awhile also meeting with key people at the Federal Technology School in Lausanne.
“At the Zurich talk, someone in the audience said that the issue of gene editing needed to be more cool,” Jamie told investors. “That was my opening. I told the group that we have a cool rock opera opening soon in Basel that addresses exactly the issue of gene editing.”
People appreciate it when we reach out to them, Jamie said. When he told the students and faculty at the University of Zurich about TEST, they broke out into applause.
FINAL MEETING THIS YEAR
Krista Jaquet, also co-author of TEST, rounded off the presentations by updating investors on various initiatives going forward. The TEST team is currently negotiating with an international musical festival to present TEST there. As soon as the specifics have been worked out, the TEST team will announce when and where the next performances of TEST will be after the Basel shows, Krista said.
Following the presentations, the TEST investor event continued late into the evening. It was the last time that investors would be gathering this year. The next meeting will be in late January, and it will include the TEST cast as well. The actors start arriving in Basel in early January, with rehearsals for TEST beginning on January 8.