Support Artists, Equity, Economic Access, and Community Engagement.
Become a QAF Co-Producer.

This page is for folks interested in partnering with us as Co-Producers on our next big project, QAF (Queer Athletic Futurity). Co-Producers provide essential financial support and help us engage community for the QAF public activities in 2023. We’re looking for 8-10 households to join us.

Our Artistic Director, Charlie, would love to chat with you about the project and how we can work together to bring it to life. He’s available at 415.407.9393 or via email at cslender@factsf.org.

QAF (Queer Athletic Futurity) is an ambitious and timely contemporary dance project about queer people and sports. QAF considers deeply personal experiences of LGBTQ+ athletes alongside broader social and political concerns relating to LGBTQ+ inclusion in civic life. QAF is created in response to recent upticks of “concern” about transgender athletes participating in sports, the ‘don’t say gay’ laws currently making their way through state legislatures across the country, and the continued lack of visible, public representation of LGBTQ+ athletes.

The project is multi-faceted, and includes a podcast series with interviews from retired and current queer athletes (release begins April 2023), 8 outdoor performances and an inclusive sports day at Tunnel Tops in the Presidio (June 2023), and three indoor performances at ODC Theater (August 2023). Research has already begun, rehearsals start in February 2023, and we have a goal of raising at least $36,400 from Co-Producers by March 3, 2023.

Directed by Charlie Slender-White, QAF is partly informed by his personal experience of isolation as one of just two openly queer athletes at UC Berkeley, where he dove on the Men’s Diving Team from 2002-2004. Our creative process is also inspired by interviews with current and retired queer athletes, essays on queer futurity, queer aesthetics, and gender performance, the personal experiences of the collaborators, and current events at the intersection of sports and LGBTQ+ rights. QAF seeks to honor the experiences of LGBTQ+ people in athletics while simultaneously being open and welcoming to audiences of all orientations and identities. A more detailed project description is available here.

Like all of FACT/SF’s work, QAF is conceived via a cultural equity and social justice lens. For us, this means cast and crew that is at least 50% LGBTQ+ and at least 50% BIPOC, economic access for all members of the public wishing to attend, ADA accessible venues, and a range of accessibility services available on-site for anyone who needs them. Of our 31 artists and arts workers on QAF, 90% are LGBTQ+ and 55% are BIPOC.

QAF is supported by 2 major grants, six community partners, individual donors, and ticket sales revenue (more on our budget below). In the non-profit concert dance world, it is always precarious to balance affordable ticket prices alongside artist compensation. We need your help.

Our goal is that QAF Co-Producers will donate an average of $4,400 per household. Across 10 households, this will allow us to keep all of the QAF activities inclusive and accessible, while compensating our team at an equitable hourly rate.

Donate here to help us reach our $36,400 goal!

Below are details about the QAF production budget as well as our governing mission and vision statements.

Mission
FACT/SF believes that civic life is made more vibrant by the cultural contributions of dance artists, and that a robust and healthy arts ecosystem enables all artists to create at their greatest potential. In service of these beliefs, we produce our own adventurous and composed contemporary dance performances for the public, employ and model ethical work practices, and design and offer programs that support dance artists in their work.

Vision
FACT/SF envisions a world where dance artists have the agency to make the work they want, with the people they want, and for the people they want. FACT/SF is seeding an ecosystem where:

• Dance artists have equitable access to the necessary and relevant resources, training, and community required to enter and remain in the field.

• Dance knowledge and resources are shared across communities, regions, generations, economies, and identities, working from a model of resource abundance.

• Gatekeepers listen to artists and prioritize their needs and interests.

• Performing arts events are accessible to all people, as are educational tools and resources for expanding one’s understanding and appreciation of the arts.

QAF Production Budget - $92,160

• People

  • $64,250 in compensation to 31 artists and arts workers

  • 70% of total production budget

  • FACT/SF believes in pay equality, and all QAF collaborators will be paid the same rate ($30/hour)

  • 90% of our collaborators are LGTBQ+ and 55% are BIPOC

• Rehearsal & Performance Venues

  • $6,500 in rental costs for rehearsal and performance space

  • 7% of total production budget

• Additional Production Costs

  • $21,410 in additional production costs

  • 23% of total production budget

  • Includes payroll taxes and fees, workers’ comp insurance, liability and accident insurance, set materials, costumes, community interviews, etc.

QAF Income

• Grants - $29,000 (confirmed)

  • 31% of total production income

  • California Arts Council ($19,000)

  • San Francisco Grants for the Arts ($10,000)

• In-Kind Support - $11,700 (confirmed)

  • 13% of total production income

  • Logistics, facilities, and staff support at Tunnel Tops in the Presidio

  • 6 days of subsidized venue rental at ODC Theater

  • Rehearsal space at CounterPulse

• Ticket Sales - $7,500 (projected)

  • 8% of total production income

  • $25 average ticket price, 300 tickets

  • Free tickets available to all who need them

• Co-Producers - $36,400 (projected)

  • 40% of total production budget

  • Goal is $4,400 each from 8-10 households

  • Directly supports artist fees for QAF and accessibility services for community members who require additional support to experience QAF.

• Supporting Partners - $7,600 (projected)

  • 8% of total production budget

  • Goal is $760 each from 10 households

  • Directly supports artist fees for QAF and ticket subsidies for those who cannot afford a full price tickets.

Donate $4,400 and Co-Produce QAF with us.