Manuscripts
Proposals: Sam Scripps and Friends of the Synergic Theater
Other documents
In Memoriam
Manuscipts
"Death of Charlie Noble" staging plan (pdf) / overview (pdf) / figureheads script (pdf)
"Private Lives" movement score from quartet (pdf) 1982 version
"Old Stones" creative process notes (pdf) / source images (pdf)
"Editing Eurydice" script (pdf) (with lighting cues)
"I, Migrant" script (pdf)
"Lost' script (pdf)
"Birthday" text of behind-the-scrim character intro projections (pdf)
“Requirere”written version of Suzanne’s groundbreaking MFA thesis
Proposals
We first approached Sam for funding at the urging of his wife, Luise, who David befriended when he was marketing the American Dance Festival’s first season at Duke. (See memorial article below.) At first we demurred — the Scripps were among the first friends we made when we moved to San Francisco — but “everyone else asks him for money,” Luise prodded. We compromised and, as you can see below, we made our proposals as entertaining as we could (David wrote them).
It is a testament to Sam’s own creative sensibility, sense of collaboration and great good humor that he shared in the conspiracy and gave us about $5,000 or more a year. It was our primary source of funding and went a long way toward sustaining the dedication of volunteer performers and collaborators, smaller donations, generous contributions of theater space and other in kind resources, a ton of sheer resourcefulness, a touch of madness and a lot of magic that miraculously came together to fill the enormous gap between what we had and what we needed to pull off our ambitious productions.
David also played an instrumental role in establishing the funding relationship between Sam and the ADF, just as Suzanne played a role in the ADF’s move to Duke. But both of those are tales for another website.
Interactive cards (pdf)
this live but non-verbal approach was designed with Sam in mind.
"World's most expensive piece of broken brick" proposal (pdf)
"Philanthropist of the Year" form letter satire (pdf)
with reply postcard
“Philanthropist of the Year” press release satire (pdf)
"Philanthropist of the Year" award certificate mockup (pdf)
"Save the Synergists" satire (pdf)
Sam & Luise Scripps "Arts Detective Award" certificate
Other Scripps-related items
Christmas dinner with the Scripps, Fairmont Hotel, SF, 1978 (pic)
David Manning's memoir (pdf) for ADF's Luise Scripps Memorial program
Friends of the Synergic Theater
And here are some equally amusing (hopefully) documents generated through our outreach efforts to Friends of the Synergic Theater, to whom we are equally grateful for their own generosity, good humor and collaborative spirit. We badly needed every dollar and thrived on their priceless moral support.
Friends "money seed" pitch (pdf)
Friends cut up dollar bill pitch (pdf)
Friends Ungala invitation (pdf)
Duke Media Center highlights "Project Synergy" (pdf)
Duke President Nan Keohane reply letter (pdf)
re arts at Duke
September 1991 Newsletter (pdf)
Lee Connor
Michael Kenna
Katy Matheson
Bur McAllester
Emily Mayne
Nancy Powers
Sam Scripps
Luise Scripps
Ray Simone
Frank Smullin
Christopher Thomas
Bryce Wagner
Suzanne White Manning
