EDIT: The master list of participants and their given words can be found here: [link]

---

EVERYBODY LISTEN UP.

I want to work on a big, fat, happy, collaborative project with all of you people. It’s called The 9pft Project and anyone who draws his or her own characters can sign up. If you are even vaguely interested now, please bear with me until I’m done explaining the idea. It might sound weird at first but I think it’s exciting.

There is a song that inspires me. It’s called “Nine People’s Favorite Thing”. It’s from a Broadway musical I haven’t seen called [title of show]. The video clip on YouTube is really cute – what they did is got a bunch of their friends to take a photograph of each of themselves holding up a card with one word from the lyrics of the song. They put these photos together in order and made a video out of it, so that the lyric cards go along with the song as it’s being sung.

The video’s here: [link]

I want to work with you guys on our own special version of that video. Each participant is going to draw a picture of one or a few of their own, original characters with a sign saying one lyric. I’ll smush them together and put the song on top and voila…! Collaborative love.

I need 600 people, including myself, to take part. I don’t want artists doubling up on pictures. Put as many of your own characters in a single picture if you like, but it has to be a single picture! I want to give a chance for inclusion to as many artists as I can. (Actually, I’d recommend – only recommend, mind – a maximum of like five or four characters per picture, otherwise it’s going to be hard to see – especially in a few cases where it’s going to be split-screened.) You can draw your character(s) anywhere, doing anything, as long as you keep it more or less PG – nothing they wouldn’t be allowed to show you on The Simpsons.

You can get creative with your word if you want, and work it into the picture in some way other than a sign, as long as it’s readable and instantly noticeable. If there are issues with American vs. UK English, (eg. with “favourite” ) write the word however you feel comfortable writing it!

BUT WAIT! HERE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT DETAIL! More than anything else, please don’t worry whether or not you’re as good an artist as anyone else! Sure, honestly, the quality of artworks in this clip is gonna vary a lot - hell, my ten-year old brother is doing a pic! -- but not caring about that is a lot of the point of this exercise! So please, if you like to draw then get in on this thing. You’ll be a part of something fun and very special.

Comment or note me to take part. I’ll tell you which word you’ll be drawing your characters with. I’m clearly not gonna get 599 people commenting here just off the bat, so why not tell your friends and watchers to contact me if they want a go? You don’t even have to be a dA user to get involved. And, heck, if I still don’t rally up enough people, I’ll seek artists out! I want to get this project out there really, really badly.

Please don’t complain about your word or your screen time in the video. That’s something none of us can help while still making the aforesaid a fair decision. I’ll be giving people words in the order I get requests to take part.

Remember that I'm not rejecting any submissions as long as they have the lyric and your own characters both included. Polished or not I would love to see your art there. Please don't put any other people's characters in. Your own fan-made characters are fine though.

In the end, a few people will probably ask to join too late, and will be left out… I’m sorry in advance to those people! I don’t want to make anyone feel left out at all. The credits will mention the names of anyone who requests to join too late, up until the point when I announce on this journal that entries are definitely closed.

The 9pft Project is important to me. The first time I heard the song I practically cried. It embodies so much of what every creative medium is about, and if you want to go even further, it’s a metaphor for our own lives, too. So if doing your own thing is important to you, please consider having a go or telling artists you know to have a go. (:

When the project is finished, I’ll send it to the folks from [title of show]. I would love to hear what they have to say when they find out their song has had an influence on so many people’s creative endeavours!

Here are the lyrics, as transcribed from the video. I’ll bolden one word at a time to signify that that word has been taken.

We can either follow our instinct
Or take advice from every joker
We can either be distinct
Or wind up merely mediocre
But not me
Not me

When we set out to write this musical
We said we’d write a show that we want to see
We knew we’d never please everyone
Remember that day at Gristedes
You said to me
You said to me

I’d rather be
Nine people’s favourite thing
Than a hundred people’s ninth favourite thing
Nine people’s favourite thing
Than a hundred people’s ninth favourite thing

Yeah you’re right Jeffy let’s not compromise
Let’s keep making something we’ve never seen
A risk was taken with On The Town and look what happened
Betty and Adolph burst onto the scene
A shout out to Comden and Green

And when Bock and Harnick were writing Tenderloin
They were taking a risk to write a show about whores
When Kander and Ebb were working on The Rink
I’d like to think at some point
John looked at Fred and said

I’d rather be
Nine people’s favourite thing
Than a hundred people’s ninth favourite thing
Nine people’s favourite thing
Than a hundred people’s ninth favourite thing

When you handed me the first draft of the show
I’ll admit I was a little bit what the f**k
But I’m not giving up on you guys
Until all of us have learned to knit
On the bus and truck
On the bus and truck

And who says four chairs and a keyboard
Can’t make a Broadway musical
We’re enough with only that keyboard
We’re okay with only four chairs
We’ll be fine with only four chairs
We’ll rock hard with only four chairs

Aah aah
Ooh ooooh aaaah aah
Aah aah
Ooooh aaaah aaaah

I am eight years old in Ohio
It is time for the annual Church bazaar
There is a cake baking contest
I am going to be the big star

But I don’t want to make a German chocolate
And a seven layer I’ll never complete
So I show up with pride this morning
With a tray of Rice Krispie treats

And they try to push them aside
Say that they are too strange to compete
And sure
Most of the judges award the red velvet
But one picks the Rice Krispie treats
Let our show be the Rice Krispie treat

I’d rather be
Nine people’s favourite thing
Than a hundred people’s ninth favourite thing
Nine people’s favourite thing
Than a hundred people’s ninth favourite thing

Those nine people will tell nine people
Then we’ll have eighteen people loving the show
Then eighteen people could grow into
525,600 people
All loving our show

And maybe someday if we’re lucky enough
We’ll all be in the studio recording the show
And ten years from now when we play the cast album
This track on the CD
Will remind us why

We’d rather be
Nine (nine, nine, nine) people’s (people’s) favourite (favourite, favourite, favourite) thing (thing, thing)
Than (than) a (a) hundred (hundred, hundred, hundred) people’s (people, people’s, people’s) ninth favourite (favourite, favourite) thing (aaah)
Nine (nine, nine) people’s (people’s) favourite (aaah, favourite) thing (thing) than (than) a (a) hundred (hundred) people’s (people’s) ninth (ninth, hundred, hundred, ninth, people’s, people’s) favourite (favourite, favourite, favourite) thing (thing, thing, thing)

So the decision’s made and we’re on our way
And we may lose or maybe we might
Be nine people’s favourite thing
Nine people’s favourite
When we open tonight
Tonight (tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight)


Clubs