Now, obviously the lite version of UAC wouldn't be producing nearly the amount of material as the full version - which is the whole point, frankly, to go ahead and simply start producing what we can, taking the miniscule profits each project would generate and applying them to future projects of an ever-growing scope. So, for example, the full plan calls for the center to publish ten paper books its first year; and the lite version would publish ten books as well, only electronic versions instead of paper, and given out for free under a Creative Commons license instead of sold. Each time, then, that the center does find itself with an extra $100, we could go ahead and print 100 paper copies of one of these books, and hopefully have three to four such titles actually published and for sale by the end of our first year. And UAC would also still have merchandise, as another example; but instead of $5,000 spent on a whole range of objects, like the full plan calls for, the lite version would be producing only a single t-shirt design, and printing only a couple of dozen of them at a time, some of them sold at live events but mostly existing as promotional giveaways to touring authors, members and the like.

What's so exciting to me in particular, though, about the idea of a lite version of the center, are the live events; because this is the background I myself come from as well, of course, the one part of center operations where I have the most experience, know the most about what I'm doing, and which frankly can cause the greatest amount of attention for the center with the smallest amount of money. So the first thing I would do under such a plan, for example, is establish a new weekly poetry slam here in the city - at a bar in Uptown I already have in mind, in fact, that I can't mention yet because I haven't formalized things with them, but can mention is a place already popular with artists and fans of artists, that is already holding live events in its back room, whose owners used to regularly attend poetry events themselves, back when I was a writer in the '90s, and have even donated money in the past towards my travel adventures. (My whole point being, of course, that it's very likely that they'll be into the idea of hosting a slam.)

Under the lite plan, the UAC Slam would be the social focal point of the entire organization - the place where we recruit most of our Fellows (working artists, that is, who donate three of their pieces to the center, in return for free admission to all our events), the place where we generate a huge portion of our content, the place where we maintain a very public face within the existing Chicago literary community. It'd be run like the Green Mill's slam, frankly, because the Green Mill's slam works almost perfectly as it is - 45 minutes of an open mic, then a break, then 30 minutes of a featured performer, then another break, and then a 30 to 45 minute slam, featuring six to eight competitors, for a grand total of around two and a half hours for the entire event. Charge $3 at the door, free for Members and Fellows; and then of that money generated, $50 goes towards that night's feature, and $20 apiece towards the host, Nikki and myself as "salaries," with the rest going into the UAC account. (So in other words, we would need 25 paying audience members per show to break even, not counting my and Nikki's salaries, which would be the first payments dropped on a slow night.)

But see, here's the beauty of the lite plan - that at the same time we're sponsoring this weekly slam at this hipster, funky tavern, we would also sponsor a quieter, more laid-back event once a month, at this coffeehouse here in my neighborhood that will again go unnamed for now, but where I know the owner and have actually discussed such an idea with him in the past. And under our idea of an appropriate show for each appropriate venue, this show would be one dedicated to more literary topics and personalities, with a three-part plan in place for the actual show - first a discussion between me and the featured guest, ala Charlie Rose or "Inside the Actor's Studio," then a period where the guest reads literary work aloud, either their own or work they're a fan of, then a break, and then 15 to 20 minutes of questions and answers with the audience, again moderated by me and with the questions written down on index cards. And so this series would again feature those involved with the literary world, but for whom a slam would be a wildly inappropriate venue - novelists, for example, short-story writers, essayists and columnists (hint hint, Eric Zorn, who actually wrote last week to say that he'd be interested in the hypothetical show idea I recently proposed here), literary critics (hint hint, Jessa Crispin), editors of popular websites (hint hint, Andrew Huff and Rachelle Bowden - and how cool would it be, by the way, to get both of them on the same stage one night?), etc. And again, such events would cost $3 to the general public, and be free to Members and Fellows, and with UAC books and merchandise being sold in the back, and with a chance to immediately become a paying member on any night you attend. (UPDATE: Just talked with the owner, who is in fact all excited about the idea, and who gave me permission to mention him publicly; it is in fact the delightful Dollop Coffeehouse, here at Buena and Clarendon in the Uptown neighborhood.)

Oh, but it doesn't end there, either - in fact, I even have a third show in mind as well, at a local bookstore which will again go unnamed, but where again I am a friend of the owner, and in the past have not only performed there, not only have books of mine there for sale, but have also organized and hosted past events. And this particular series would play into what this particular bookstore is already famous for, which are themed invitational showcases, featuring anywhere from three to ten performers all tied to a specific medium or topic; so an entire showcase of just bloggers, for example, a showcase of just postmodern erotica writers, a showcase of just humorous political essayists. And then because of this particular bookstore's guidelines, all events there would be free, and no money guaranteed upfront to featured performers; instead we would pass around a donation jar, and split the total amount raised between ourselves and the people being featured.

So, maybe not the same accomplishments as the full center - but this would at least allow us to produce 60 to 70 very popular, very fun events within the next year; and to generate nearly $5,000 in revenue, if all went well (almost every penny of which would be put right back into the hands of working artists), and to get the center's brand in front of, what, a thousand people locally, and tens of thousands online, and to hopefully make fans who will eventually turn into paying members, and to generate favorable press and the like. And today's entry doesn't even begin to scratch the surface, of course, because we haven't even talked about the website yet; but I'm just about out of space today, so that'll have to wait until tomorrow.