Call for Proposals: A New Play!

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: A NEW PLAY 

A new national conversation is about to start. Through an innovative use of arts and technology, Canadians will be engaged in an evolving dialogue – both live and virtual – envisioning our nation’s next 150 years on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the conferences which led to the creation of our country. This is a call to write a play that will spark conversation about our hopes and fears for Canada in the next 150 years. 

9 Plays 
PEI’s acclaimed Watermark Theatre will commission nine short plays designed to spark conversations about the future of our country. The audiences’ responses will then be shared with the rest of the country through an interactive website in order to keep the dialogue going. 

2 Languages 
The plays, between 2 and 20 minutes long, will be written in either English or French. We will translate them into the other official language. They will be written in any style and could include music, movement or any form of imaginative expression. They will not be averse to laughter. They will be unusual, unexpected, challenging, accessible, entertaining. 

20 Communities 
Across Canada, 20 communities (Quebec City, St John’s, Iqaluit, Whitehorse, Yellowknife, Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Fredericton, Moncton, Halifax and Charlottetown) will each host three performances in a 150-seat theatre between January and May 2015. 

150 Community Builders 
Each theatre will identify and invite 150 people who represent the diversity of our nation to the first performance in that location. At the end of the tour, one person from each location will be selected by their community to travel to Charlottetown, where they will sit with the 19 other representatives around the table where the first conversation was held. There, a new conversation about Canada’s next 150 years will begin. 

APPLICATION
Watermark Theatre invites eligible playwrights to submit a three page proposal containing the following elements: 
A. A summary of your idea 
B. A plan for executing your idea. 
C. An estimate of both production requirements (scenery, projections, costumes, number of actors, actors with specific talents, etc.) and the length of your play

Please note, the proposal should be no more than three pages.

Unpublished writers, please include three examples of your work (no more than five pages each) and three references the committee may contact about your work. 

We invite you to visit our website for more information, and to download an application form: www.watermarktheatre.com.  Proposals on no more than three pages without an application form are also welcome. 

DEADLINE 
Please submit this proposal electronically by August 22, 2014 to Lynda Turnbull of Watermark Theatre: 
lynda@watermarktheatre.com 

IMPORTANT DATES 

Selected playwrights will be informed by September 5, 2014. Only selected playwrights will be contacted. The writing timeline will be: 
First draft due: November 17, 2014 
Second draft due (if required): December 22, 2014 
Rehearsal period: January 5 to February 7, 2015 
Playwrights will be welcome to attend rehearsals (location TBD).

NOTES

Eligibility 
To be considered for this opportunity, the playwright must: 
A. Be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada 
B. Be 16 years of age or over 
C. Provide three references and examples of their plays, or be a published or produced playwright 

Selection Criteria 
Plays will be selected based on the relevance of the material within the context of the organization’s mission and relative to the other plays commissioned. The selection of plays will be made by a committee of seven artists who represent Canada’s diversity in as many ways as possible, including but not limited to region, ethnicity, language and sexual orientation. These seven artists will be supported by a circle of advisors who support and enhance this diversity.The plays will be performed by no more than five actors. 

Remuneration 
All selected playwrights will receive a commission fee of $1500 and royalties of up to $500 for the performance of the play on tour. As no admission fee will be charged for the performances, a percentage of box office admission as a royalty will not be available. All rights remain the property of the creator after the tour.

Read more at http://www.affta.ab.ca/Arts-In-Alberta/Arts-Opportunities/Call-For-Proposals-A-New-Play