We are going to try a little experiment with “Dreams Awake”.  For awhile now I have wanted to take the film out on a tour around the country, and to have more interaction with an audience about some of the ideas and concepts presented and expressed in the film.  As you can well guess, that endeavor would probably be a quite a huge undertaking, and one that could become financially prohibitive.  Well, to test the waters a bit, we’ve decided to do a little mini-tour in the Pacific Northwest in October, just before the film is released on DVD.  We initially have in mind a six to eight city run, with multiple nights in a couple of them.  How many places we go and how long we stay depends entirely on you, our audience.  Tentatively, we would start in Mt. Shasta, then head up to Ashland, then on to Eugene, Portland, and Seattle, with maybe another stop or two in there somewhere.  Or maybe scoot over and down to Boise, and then back to Mt. Shasta for a final screening.  If any of you in those areas have any input, please let us know.  We are still searching for the right venues to screen it.

Anyway, to restate a point I’ve made before, the film was never intended to be an end in itself, only a beginning of something more than a film would ever be.  Something of a catalyst, if you will, to ignite (incite?), to provoke (stoke?), to engage (maybe enrage?), a discussion, a conversation, a debate … and beyond.  About what, you may heartedly ask?  Aahh, there is the rub.  You will certainly have to show up to find out.  But just to throw out a hinting tidbit; we hope to get into one of the great mysteries of life.  Sounds somewhat grandiose, possibly invoking the b.s. meter, doesn’t it?  We shall see, we shall see.  But just maybe, we’ll dig out a few signposts from the film, and we’ll find some direction where we least expect it.

When I originally had an idea for a national tour, I was pulling my hair out to come up with some kind of identifier or name for it.  I threw it around with some of my cohorts, and when I finally came up with something I liked, something that seemed to resonate with its meaning, and something that would get people’s attention, these same cohorts immediately raised their eyebrows.  They were probably thinking, “Uh oh, Jerry’s finally gone off the deep end.”  They didn’t really express disagreement, but their body language and expressions gave them away.

So, the name of the tour I came up with is the “Dreams Awake Fugitive Tour”.  Huh, you say?  I agreed with them that on the surface it seemed a bit edgy for this type of film, but that got me thinking even more about what type of film this is and who it is for.  After some more consideration, it seemed to fit even better.  Let me explain.  I feel, think, believe, that this film actually can draw from quite an eclectic group of people to create its audience.  I also think that it doesn’t quite fit into any particular genre, as others have attempted to pigeonhole it and came up short.  Also, it seems no particular studio or distributor knows what to make of it, or how to handle it out in the real world (marketplace).  In a way, it is a film with no home.  Truly a film that it is in search of its home, its destiny, its future, its audience … You.

It seems to not quite belong anywhere, so searching for its destiny on the road seems quite appropriate.  It is like a fugitive with the touch of a bohemian vagabond.  Not being chased by anyone or anything, only elusively and longingly searching like an orphan for its true home.   A home only you can help create for it.  It is truly an original with unrealized potential, only fully realized when audiences can help put together its destiny and morph it into more than just a film.  That can only happen with your help.

The bottom line is that our little mini-tour will help gauge the appetite and logistics for doing a much grander national tour next year, so we can continue the film’s journey.  (And no, we haven’t decided on a final name for the tour, just tossing out ideas for now)

JAD