This is the story of 

  • a (very) Mad Scientist,
  • a heroic Airship Captain (who hates his job),
  • a respectable Mayor (who isn’t secretly a Lovecraftian cultist or anything),
  • and an Evil Chocolatier.

They abide in peaceful Alternative Universe Victorian London, where everything is splendid and nothing could ever, ever possibly go dreadfully, horribly wrong.

Trust me.

Would an absinthe-crazed unreliable narrator lie to you?

 Absinthe Heroes is a propulsive, darkly humorous rock opera which both satirizes and celebrates the weird, wondrous world which is Steampunk.  It’s got a gorgeous score by renowned Steampunk headliner Psyche Corporation, whose work has enthralled audiences all over the world.  Absinthe Heroes has been described as “a riotous blending of the ridiculous and the sublime”; “mad science in theatrical form”, and “A Steampunk rollercoaster”.  It’s chock full of surprises, plot twists, Easter eggs, and, just as things are starting to get seriously silly, it arcs into exhilarating drama and storytelling.

My name is Jeff Mach.  I run the world’s largest Steampunk event, The Steampunk World’s Fair, which has about 6,000 attendees annually.  Some half a decade ago, when SPWF was just a weird little labor of love struggling to be born, I was struck by how little theatre this fledgling culture had produced. We had authors, we had music, we had spectacular garb and gear…but almost no theatre.  What theatre there was tended to be mostly about costuming – like a Steampunk Hamlet, for example.  And that’s grand, but pretty derivative. It doesn’t do or say anything unique.

So I set out to create a work that would bring together all of those Steampunk arts – song, fashion, writing, gadgetry – and meld them together into one unique show.

 Now that The Steampunk World’s Fair is internationally known, now that our show is a fixture in the Steampunk calendar and our stages feature stadium-quality sound and light, I’m bringing Absinthe Heroes back – and this time I want to share it with the world!   

Every Mad Scientist Needs A Secret Weapon

Actually, our secret weapon isn’t secret at all – I can tell you exactly what it is.  It’s that thing I mentioned above – namely, the world’s largest Steampunk event.

Because SPWF isn’t just the host of this show – it’s a massive advantage for us, and for you!  Here’s how it helps:

  • Most theatricals need a ton of budget for theatre space.  We don’t!  We’ve got a brilliant stage ready and waiting for us!
  • Sound and light are difficult and expensive – especially for musical theatre!  But SPWF already has the services of Circuit 6, whose work has graced stages of all sizes throughout the nation.  They’ve designed for tiny theatres and massive venues.  Our sonic and illuminatory production values are going to be tremendous – at no cost to us!
  • And not to put too fine a point on it, it’s hard for a good show to find a good producer.  But being a producer/promoter is my full-time job, and has been for a decade.  I don’t just have the relevant skills and knowledge – I literally wake up every morning and go to work making things like this happen.

Charity

 I feel pretty fortunate.  The Steampunk community has helped me make this wild, crazy world into my actual day job.  And how many playrights can say that they have the resources of a giant festival to put behind their show?

So we wanted to give a little bit back. 

  • We’re going to auction off some of our props, sets, and memorabilia.  Proceeds go to (charity TBT).
  • We’re reserving five front-row seats for the highest biddger.  100% of the proceeds go to (other charity TBT)
  • And we’ll also be taking yarn donations for Warmer Winters, a nonprofit which knits clothing for people in need.

Our Gift To The Steampunk World

Not only will your contributions help make this show incredible, not only will you get fabulous rewards, not only will many get to you have great seats at the show…

…you’ll also help bring this show to the whole Steampunk community, and, in fact, to the world!

One of the many benefits of doing this show at The Steampunk World’s Fair lies in the sound design.  SPWF was the first – and still one of the only Steampunk shows  – to have major-venue sound; among other things, our event includes the world’s largest festival of Steampunk music, so sound really matters.

What that ALSO means is that we’ve already got a top-notch sound mix coming through our system.  which means in turn that we’re already fairly set for a phenomenal cast live album!

I mean, getting it to the quality we’d like is still going to take some work, and part of our fundraising will go into a bit of extra gear, postproduction, and mixing  But even at our baseline goal, we’ll be releasing a half-dozen of the Absinthe Heroes’ songs for free.  So anyone in the Steampunk community – actually, anyone in the world! – can access these tunes!  And for a modest contribution to the Kickstarter, you can get them all – that’s nearly 20 songs!

So while we’re using The Steampunk World’s Fair as our engine, the show doesn’t belong to SPWF. In true Steampunk spirit, we offer our humble show to all and sundry!  

And The Next Part Is Up To You!

 Now, Absinthe Heroes is not inherently a lavish show.  It can be done – and has been done – with production values as simple as a couple of goggles, a ray gun, and one Large And Mysterious Switch.

But…

Steampunk is capable of such glorious pomp and puffery, such dizzying heights of the divinely over-the-top pageantry!  And we know such amazing Steampunk artisans!  We’d love to give them a chance to really strut their stuff.  

In general, some of our budget will go towards compensating the directoral team.  Some will go towards getting the word out – we’d like to make sure, for example, that the artists and actors and musicians involved get recognized for their work!  Some will go to props, some to costuming, some to sets, some will go to musical accompaniment – in general, we’re going to take the money we get and use it to maximize your enjoyment of the show!  

And if we do well, we’ll go beyond our goal of a live album, into our stretch goal – to do a live video shoot, preferably at least a three-camera shoot.  That way, you can bring Absinthe Heroes right into your own screens!

Summary:
My name is Jeff Mach. I run the world’s largest Steampunk event, The Steampunk World’s Fair, which has about 6,000 attendees annually. Some half a decade ago, when SPWF was just a weird little labor of love struggling to be born, I was struck by how little theatre this fledgling culture had produced. We had authors, we had music, we had spectacular garb and gear…but almost no theatre.
See Campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jeffmach/absinthe-heroes-the-darkly-humorous-steampunk-rock?ref=category
Contact Information:
Jeff Mach

Tags:
Kickstarter, United States, Reward, Theatre, English, Media & Entertainment, Industry verticals, Regions, Types of Crowdfunding deal, Language, New Jersey

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