FUNathon 2021

WATCH INDIVIDUAL VIDEOS BELOW & DONATE TODAY!

WATCH INDIVIDUAL VIDEOS ABOVE & DONATE TODAY!

How can I support this FUNdraiser!?

Your participation gives others the chance to fly! As a non-profit, Echo Theater Company relies on your generous donations to keep our programming running, especially during this challenging time. Please consider pledging what you can to as many acts as you find entertaining. It’s all in good fun; supporting friends, family and your ETC community!

You can donate to individual participants by going to givebutter.com/FUNathon21 and clicking on their icon. Or, you can donate to the general fund in the box below or by texting FUN to (202) 858-1233. 

What is FUNathon!?

A hilarious FUNdraising circus of the extraordinary starring: 

• YOU, OUR Echo Theater Company (ETC) students, and friends


• ETC teaching artists & performers


• ETC’s youth performance ensembles…the Tik Toks & the Zig Zags


• Did we mention YOU? Participation from our amazing community is what makes this event so fun!

FUNathon performers help raise funds for ETC by inspiring family and friends to make donation pledges based on the performer’s ability to do weird, wondrous, entertaining things — or even normal things, which, when done repeatedly, also become strangely entertaining. Past performers have done things such as:  

• Hula-hooping for as long as possible!


• Twisting as many balloons into dogs as possible while hanging upside-down!


• Reciting the entirety of Jabberwocky while doing a headstand!

Prizes include:

• Grand Prize: Most $ Raised in Pledges


• Jury Prize: Longest Duration or Most Repetitions!


• Bonus: “Easter Egg” prize drawing

FUNathon ONline is the week of April 12 – 17, 2021. FUNathon LIVE Celebration – TBD. 

How is this year different?

Instead of being a one day live event, the FUNathon is a week long ONline event. Participants will film their acts on their own, and submit these videos before Sunday, April 11, 2021. Filmed Acts can be viewed on our website for a week, from Monday, April 12 to Saturday, April 17. During this time participants will compete to get the most pledges on their personalized ONline Pledge page. The week will culminate in an optional Celebration in the park for all participants. Prizes will be announced and FUN will be had! (details TBD, due to OHA guidelines)

How can I participate in FUNathon!?

1. Invent a FUNathon activity that works in one of these categories:
   
   
   
   1. How Much/Many (can you do)?
   
   
   2. How Long (can you do it)?
   
   
   3. Spoken Testimony (What do you Love (or miss) about the Echo)?
   
   
   4. Other (please include an explanation)!
   
   
   
   


2. Fill out this ONline Registration Form by Monday, April 5.


3. Once ETC gets your registration, you’ll receive a personalized link to your ONline Pledge Page, instructions, and helpful invitation templates you can email or post on social media to ask your family and friends to pledge their support! 


4. Make your video! See the helpful tips for filming and submission below. Videos are due before Sunday, April 11, 2021


5. Then ask your family and friends to pledge their support.  All pledges made on your personalized Pledge Page (we are using GiveButter for this) will be recorded towards your goal. Anyone can donate Pledges to any participant, or even multiple participants.  Remember: pledges are accepted before and during the FUNathon this year. All pledges are due by Saturday, April 17, 2021 to compete for the Most $ Raised prize! 


6. Invite everyone to watch the FUNathon so they can witness your awesome activity first hand!!

How to submit?  Videos are due before Sunday, April 11, 2021

Videos can be submitted via dropbox. After you’ve completed your registration form, you will receive an email with a request to submit your video to ETC’s dropbox account. Please keep this email until you are ready to submit your video. The deadline for doing so is Sunday, April 11 at 11pm, but you are welcome to submit as early as you like.  If you have any questions or run into any problems during this process, please reach out to us by emailing hello[at]echotheaterpdx.org with the subject line: “Funathon Video Submission” and the participant’s full name. 

Tips for Filming:

1. Videos can be made with any camera you have on hand. 


2. If you are recording on your phone, film horizontally with your phone on its side (landscape mode). If you record vertically, your video will appear small in the video playlist.  


3. Place your camera on a tripod or a balanced surface for steady recording.


4. Instead of zooming in, move your camera closer to you to avoid a blurry picture.


5. The best lighting for filming is natural sunlight. Be sure to stand facing your light source to avoid having a shadow cast over your body. 


6. For best audio, limit background noise by filming inside or use an external microphone. Your video could also just have music or a voice over.


7. Videos can be edited or not, but should be no longer than 2 mins. 


8. If you’re doing a “how long” act, you can speed it up to edit it down to fit the two minutes.