Not In My Dundee

Aim: Help us make a short film bringing together the queer community in Dundee through dance, taking a stand against homophobia and transphobia.

Hi, we're Shaper/Caper!

Here at Shaper/Caper, we believe that dance and art are for everyone. You don’t need to be a classically trained ballerina to get a creative kick from moving your body around (or watching someone else do it), so we want to make sure that as many people have access to dance as possible — regardless of background, age, identity, experience, or ability.

As a queer-led charity, supporting queer artists and telling our stories is one of the most important things we do. Whether that’s funding queer artists through our BRAW bursaries and Queer to Stay residency, honouring oral history with our Queer Stories project, exploring trans identity through short films Period and The End, or bringing the community together with our LGBT+ arts festival OutFest — platforming queer voices is at the core of our work.

This summer will bring one of our biggest projects yet: Small Town Boys, a production set in the 1980s queer nightlife scene, exploring the impact of the AIDS crisis and Section 28 on the queer community both then and now through dance and verbatim spoken word.

Speaking Out

While Small Town Boys’ 1980s dance floors may be a thing of the past, the hate and hostility peddled by media and politicians alike towards queer, especially trans, people is not. Drag bans and restrictions on trans healthcare are becoming law in the States, efforts have been made to block vital Gender Self-ID reform in the UK, and queerphobia is hitting closer and closer to home. Just last December, a Drag Queen Story Time event hosted at the DCA by a local drag queen became the target of online abuse and intimidation – a small handful of individuals committed to making queer people feel unsafe.

Over the years, we’ve gotten to work with a huge range of wonderfully queer organisations and artists  — we refuse to let a handful of homophobes speak on behalf of our hometown, just because they think they can shout louder than the rest of us.

We want to make a short film bringing together as many different LGBTQ+ folk and organisations in Dundee as we can (alongside some stellar dance performance, of course) to shed light on their experiences, take a stand with all the queer joy and self-expression that the city has to offer, and tell that loud, hateful minority: “Not In My Dundee!”

Lights, Camera, Action!

The money raised for the short film through the Crowdfunder will be used to do the following:

• To ensure that all professional dancers, drag performers, and others are paid fairly for their time and involvement in the film, and that all of their expenses are covered.
• To cover the research and development of the film, ensuring it is as impactful as it can be.
• To bring in a professional filmmaker, to elevate the quality of the film.
• To cover the costs of rehearsal space and equipment, as well as some suitably fabulous props and costumes.
• To cover the cost of editing the film.

We really hope you will lend your support to our film by donating and sharing (not least to get your hands on some of the fab rewards we have to offer!), and join us in saying: “Not In My Dundee!”