her•o•ine (hěr'ō-ĭn) n.
- A woman noted for courage and daring action.
- A woman noted for special achievement in a particular field.
- The principal female character in a novel, poem, or dramatic
presentation.
Are you an emerging female artist who would like to be able to wear
many hats? Fancy yourself a Jill-of-all-trades? Would you like to see the
project you’ve dreamed be produced with the help of Urban Curvz,
Downstage, and a team of professional mentors from the Calgary theatre
community?
Urban Curvz and Downstage present Heroines, a series of works
co-produced with emerging female artists. This opportunity will guide the
selected emerging artist through all elements of production so that she
comes out of the process with the knowledge, confidence and abilities she
needs to self-produce. From grant writing to curtain call our team will
work closely with the artists to hone practical skills for self-producing.
“It is the mandate of the series to foster a new generation of
empowered females who know how to produce their own projects. The focus
of the series will be on the process of producing and the professional
development of the emerging artists selected.” - Jessica
Dollard, Artistic Director, Urban Curvz
The top priority of Heroines is to first find emerging females
who are interested in producing their own projects. We’re not producing
your project for you! We are going to guide you through all elements of
production and provide you and your project’s participants with access to
mentors.
Here is how it will work:
- Please see the submission guidelines below and submit your proposal.
- If selected, you and the members of your team will be taken through
a series of workshops with the mentors to give you the knowledge and
information you need to produce your show.
- All emerging artists will benefit from the practical hands-on
guidance of a team of mentors chosen from within the working theatre
professionals in this community. The mentors will fall into these
categories: Vanessa Porteous will be the Director/Dramaturge Mentor,
Kate Newby will be the Acting mentor, there will be a Design Mentor, the
Urban Curvz and Downstage team who will be Production Mentors.
- Urban Curvz and Downstage will provide the infrastructure you need
to ensure your production comes to fruition! This will include access to
the mentors, constant guidance, support, and the space. Please note that
all selected projects will submit two mandatory grant applications: one
to the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and one to Calgary Arts
Development. Although we will not provide the funding for your project,
we will guide you through the processes of fund development.
- Three different projects will be selected for the series, all of
which will see three separate runs in birds and stone. The first show in
the series will run October 5th - 18th, the second will be March 1st -
14th, and the final show in the series will be June 7th - 20th. Please
indicate clearly on your submission if there is a date that is better
for you and your team. We will try to accommodate schedule requests but
can make no promises.
Criteria:
- All applicants must be female.
- First and foremost, all applicants must have a project they want to
see produced and have a desire to acquire the skills and knowledge that
comes with self-producing.
- The projects: can be self-written, can be a new work by a female
playwright you know, or be a collective collaboration in process. The
project CANNOT be from an existing script/work where acquiring rights
from an outside party will be necessary. Please note that scripts that
support and fall loosely within the Urban Curvz Theatre mandate to tell
women’s stories are ideal submissions. Please see our website for a full
description of our mandate at
www.urbancurvz.com/about_us.htm.
- The director, actors and designers on these projects need to be made
up of emerging artists. Equity members may apply as producers,
playwrights or designers without any question. If Equity Members wish to
apply as Directors, Stage Managers or Actors then there are guidelines
that Equity has set out. Equity would likely approve an application by
one of their Artists to do one of the following with Heroines:
- If the majority of the group is non-Equity and they want to
include one or more Equity members, they could apply to engage them
under Guest Artist. The Guest Artist fees would apply, but pro-rating
of rehearsal is always a possibility.
- If the principal member(s) of the group are Equity, but they are
NOT hiring any other Equity members, they could self-engage under
Guest Artist. This means that they pay their dues and benefits in
advance, but Equity never sees the actual cheque they pay themselves
for the fees.
- If the majority of the group is Equity, they could apply to
produce under the INDIE (Independent Artists Projects Policy). This is
a much more complicated process, and would require a lot more
mentoring support simply to get the application done.
- And if the majority of the group is Equity and they have lots of
grant money, they could even produce under the ITA.
- The Producer, Playwright and Director on all projects must
be female. In regards to all other roles within the project, gender is
irrelevant.
WHAT WE NEED:
- A full copy of your project in script form or a very thorough
description of a piece you are creating.
- A production and cast list. Please note that although the
submissions committee will entertain projects that may be lacking in one
or two members of their artistic team, priority will be given to
projects with complete teams already committed to the project.
- A budget for your project (This does not need to be finalized, we
will use it as a starting point.)
- A complete and thorough history of the piece (if the piece has seen
other productions/incarnations/workshops please include all production
and press details.)
- Your CV.
- A Cover Letter.
PLEASE SUBMIT ALL OF THE ABOVE BY JUNE 2, 2008 by 4
PM
(In an effort to save trees, it is preferable to receive all materials
in electronic form by e-mail to
jessica@urbancurvz.com)
If necessary, snail-mail submissions can be
addressed to:
Urban Curvz Theatre
36044 Lakeview RPO
Calgary, AB T3E 7C6
*ALL INQUIRIES AND QUESTIONS CAN BE DIRECTED TO THE
ABOVE E-MAIL ADDRESS |
