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One Yellow Rabbit’s High Performance Rodeo presents: 35 For 35 – Who Are You Now?
January 11 to February 14, 2021
Thirty-Five Artists of the Past, Present and Future of the High Performance Rodeo help us celebrate our 35th anniversary of the High Performance Rodeo.
Our High Performance Rodeo event, 35 For 35, has launched. Instagram videos, digital artifacts: Who Are You Now?
Please follow @HPRodeo on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Share with your friends. Engage. Let’s Rodeo.
Full lineup, artist info and archive of all the 35 For 35 artifacts can be found at www.hprodeo.ca
Audition Call – Men Express Their Feelings AUDIO PLAY by Sunny Drake
PRODUCTION NAME:
Men Express Their Feelings (AUDIO PLAY) by Sunny Drake
ROLE TO BE CAST:
BRAD – 17 years old. White Canadian-born*. The Captain of the Hockey Team
* Downstage is committed to inclusive casting. Even though the character is an able-bodied White Canadian-born, this is an audio play and therefore could be played by performers who self-identify as members of under-represented communities. If there are any accessibility obstacles preventing you from applying to audition please let us know and we will work with you to overcome them.
Men Express Their Feelings is a comedy about culture, hockey, relationships and sex. Two dads and their sons are sequestered to a hockey rink dressing room to sort out a misunderstanding. In 90 hilarious minutes, these guys get to know each other and themselves a whole lot better, while redefining what it means to WIN.
WORKSHOP DATES:
TBD – We aim to book 2-3 days/half days workshops in February and March, 2021
RECORDING DATE:
TBD – We aim to record the audio play in 1-2 days in late April or early May, 2021.
Email Community Relations Coordinator, Elsha Yeyesuswork for information about the project and for self tape details: [email protected].
Downstage works within Canadian Actors’ Equity ITA Agreement for live theatre productions. Due to the nature of the audio play requirements, we will consult with the appropriate professional performance associations and contracts will adhere to the norms being created for this kind of COVID-19 response programming.
Downstage is committed to a healthy working environment for all team members. We will follow COVID-19 guidelines to ensure everyone’s comfort and safety. Downstage is working with contingency plans that allow for various high quality recording scenarios as needed.
Blue Jeans Theatre is seeking a musical director/ composer for a residency opportunity in Calgary in May 2021. The show being developed is a collaboratively created musical by Shannon Murphy called Ella the Elk. This queer theatre-for-young-audiences project looks at the complications of puberty and gender identity through the eyes of an Albertan elk.
The musical director/ composer will lead the composition of the musical score of the show during a two-week period in May. We are seeking a confident team player to work closely with the actor/musicians and the Blue Jeans team for the creation of songs and musical components. Notation of the score will be required.
Payment will be by honourarium.
ABOUT US:
Blue Jeans Theatre is a queer theatre collective founded by Shannon Murphy and Kristy Benz. Our aim is to make theatre accessible to the public, to unite Calgarians through art, and to spread joy and acceptance.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
Submit to [email protected] with your resume and a sample of past work.
Blue Jean Theatre seeks to meet the 35//50 Initiative. Priority will be given to self-identifying LGBTQ2SIA+ and/or BIPOC applicants.
OffBook Acting studio presents another Remote Audition Workshop with Acting Consultant, Coach and Casting Associate – Tila Datta!
Feb 7 to Feb 14th 2021 – Online Format
After nearly two years of ongoing training we are presenting another remote audition workshop!
REGISTER NOW!! OUR LAST REMOTE AUDITION SESSION SOLD OUT IN UNDER 12 HOURS!!
With new Covid safety protocols in the film/tv industry, most roles are cast from Taped Audition ONLY. This presents a great opportunity for actors all across the country, not just the ones in Vancouver and Toronto.
This class is a great way to master your remote taped audition process and technique!
Tila has directed auditions sessions, shortlisted and cast roles for such shows as RIVERDALE, THE FLASH, THE GOOD DOCTOR, THE CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA, SUPERGIRL, ZOEY’S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST, and FIREFLY LANE and has extensive experience in casting as an associate working under casting directors Sean Cossey and JJ Ogilvy in Vancouver.
Tila has spent many years working closely with producers, showrunners, various studio and network executives and LA casting directors and has an excellent understanding of the ins and outs television industry in Canada. More recently, she has transitioned from casting into a career as a consultant and coach, working one on one with actors to help perfect auditions and demystify the casting process.
We will be running this a simulated remote session which you complete from your own home. You will audition as you would if taping for a real project and will use the following format which is spread out over the span of a week.
You will select the Sides/scenes from a database of actual current/past TV auditions
You will tape the audition at home (or any Covid Safe location) and compile into a submittable format (Vimeo, dropbox, youtube, etc)
Tila will review your audition with any notes and re-adjustments
You will re-tape with adjustments and Tila will review again with notes.
This will be followed with general notes given by Tila on how to up your acting and audition game!
Facilitated Steve Dhillon Leo (BC Film) Nominated Film, TV and Theatre actor
ACTRA/EQUITY/IASTE 891 Member Over 60 Film/TV/Commercial/Theatre projects -Vancouver International South Asian Film Festival Jury Member Edmonton Arts Council Artists Grants Jury Member
Recent work includes A Million Little Things, Hallmark Martha Vineyard Mysteries, The Flash, iZombie, and Local Alberta Production Pipe Nation
Has served as casting Coordinator and Assistant to Casting Directors Judy Lee, Bim Narine, Kris Woz, Aaron Craven and Clare Filipow.
**Please note: This is an intermediate to advanced class and resume/demo reel is required for registration
$125 gst. incl.
REGISTER: Please email us at [email protected] or contact through instagram @offbookactingstudio to register. Follow us on facebook and instagram to stay up to date on workshop, casting and industry info!
Who Are We Now? Essays From A New World is an initiative from Theatre Alberta that brings you editorial perspectives from a variety of Albertan artists about the rapidly changing world we live and work in. We hope you’ll find them useful as you process your own evolving reality.
it is not just to have a mestizo trans woman in power – Simone A. Medina Polo | January 27, 2021
At the beginning of October 2020, I took on the role of Festival Producer for the Nextfest Arts Company. Though it is most certainly exciting and a significant personal achievement, it is not without a context that intersects at the central question for this essay. In light of the resurgence of Black Lives Matter for anyone who is not a Black person, many organizations across this colonial state scrambled to assure themselves that this political moment did not destabilize their status quo – quite successfully so, I will add. For instance, MacEwan University made a textbook Black Lives Matter statement across social media without addressing the backlash from students and alumni who beg to differ out their corroborated lived experiences through the academic system (MacEwan University, 2020; CBC, 2021) – it is my observation that there have been proactive efforts by various individuals and collectives for more than four years, and all of these instances have been dismissed by administrators upholding the Ivory Tower and its crony processes (Paxsi, 2020; CBC, 2021).
In some instances, administrators in the arts (all of them women, interestingly enough) stepped down from their roles in order to make space for something different…
By and large, the situation in the arts and culture is not much different. In October 2020, the Art Gallery of Alberta experienced a moment of public embarrassment upon realizing that the curated exhibition of contemporary works for its biennial gala has not included a single Black artist in the 24 years of its production (Cummings, 2020). The AGA is not alone in this as the Canadian Human Rights Museum was also subject to a notable controversy surrounding extensive accounts of systematic racism and anti-2SLGBTQ+ attitudes by the administration (Pauls, 2020). In some instances, administrators in the arts (all of them women, interestingly enough) stepped down from their roles in order to make space for something different – for instance, in Edmonton, the former Artistic Producers for Azimuth Theatre decided to step down to make room for Sue Goberdhan and Morgan Yamada to step in. It is in this context that my mentor Maggie Barton Braid announced her departure from the Festival Producer role at Nextfest to make room for someone in these disenfranchised communities to step into a leadership role. And well, here I am.
My role at Nextfest is symptomatic of some fundamental issues that extend well-beyond this one organization and the arts – who is in a position of leadership and power is just a symptom of a more systematic root of causes; and treating the symptom alone will not resolve any of the deeply ingrained restlessness that characterizes the present time under capitalism, its (neo)colonial exploits and the co-optation of the lived oppressions that are profited upon every step of the way.
From a decolonial perspective, non-profits cannot be decolonized much like academia cannot be decolonized, or the colonial State apparatus, or the police and armed forces, or the RCMP.
Non-profit is an industrial complex (Rodríguez, 2016). This is perhaps most apparent in the non-profit industrial complex that concerns the well-being of those struggling with dispossession from a home, but it is nevertheless the case in the arts as they enter in conjunction with government funding bodies and corporate sponsorships – some of these latter of which are more openly implicated in the facilitation of exploitation, whereas the former like to pretend that the arms-length strategy assures anyone that funding is not compromised by a political hegemony. From a decolonial perspective, non-profits cannot be decolonized much like academia cannot be decolonized, or the colonial State apparatus, or the police and armed forces, or the RCMP. When looked at with sincerity and honesty, my current leadership role entails a certain degree of covering my hands in blood.
This is why I stress that it is not just a mestizo trans woman in power that will resolve the fundamental tension which we experience in various partial moments; and in these partialities, we mistake the symptom for the root of it all. And frankly, with an entire world slipping away from us in this perverse everydayness, I do not wish to partake on the gesture of disavowal that would try to set aside the implications of myself as an actor in these systems.
I am sure that white folks can afford a certain naivety around these systematic circumstances, and those who seem to know better prefer to hide behind those semblances through disavowal – one enjoys through the institution where and when one acts as if there is nothing to be acknowledged (Ahmed, 2012, 1-3; Fanon, 2008, 120-129; Zupančič, 2017, 54). As someone attuned to psychoanalytic theory and practice, I think Slavoj Žižek’s Lacanian theory of ideology comprehends this well:
“…fantasy is a means for an ideology to take its own failure into account in advance… The function of ideological fantasy is to mask this inconsistency, the fact that ‘Society doesn’t exist’, and thus to compensate us for the failed identification…” (Žižek, 2008, 142).
“…the principal illusion of the Enlightenment consists in the idea that we can preserve a simple distance from the external ‘machine’ of social customs, and thus keep the space of our inner reflection spotless, unblemished by the externality of customs.” (Žižek, 2008, 88).
The on-going disavowal of capitalism and its thorough assortment of intersectional exploits is quite common in the arts, as the capital industrialization of the arts tries to patch over any fundamental restlessness in order to smoothen the surfaces for capital flows and processes – we do this with extractivist dissections of Indigeneity and with neoliberal band-aids of representation of marginalized communities à la #GirlPower as if it were the material sustenance of daily bread (Klein and Simpson, 2013; Alvarado, 2018, 10-12; Menon, 2015, 1-24). And when these processes breakdown into a critical point, we see the aggressive fascist turnover – like the one we have seen since 2016 leading up to the Storming of the Capitol in early-2021; and we, in Canada, don’t get to distance ourselves from the U.S. as this colonial state is only lagging behind in the exact same process the U.S. is caught up in – as it doubles down on the claim that there is such a thing as civil, cohesive society that is in decadence and it must be protected from decadence (Zupančič, 2017, 25 and 31; Reich, 1970, 128; Fanon, 2008, 89-90). This is an active sacrifice of life which is not for the sake of anything other than the spirit of sacrifice itself as it gets at its perverse, accumulated surplus-enjoyment:
For Fascist ideology, the point is not the instrumental value of the sacrifice, it is the very form of sacrifice itself, ‘the spirit of sacrifice’, which is the cure against the liberal-decadent disease. It is also clear why Fascism was so terrified of psychoanalysis: psychoanalysis enables us to locate an obscene enjoyment at work in this formal act of sacrifice. (Žižek, 2008, 90).
I cannot afford that same naivety or disavowal over the very predicaments that have traumatized me and many others for centuries, and this on-going deferral of judgment defers a world that is able to sustain life into the cancellation of the future altogether (Fisher, 2012, 16; Žižek, 2008, 73). Institutionally, whether we are in the university or the non-profit, we are told that change takes time and that we should reserve our judgment as if to pretend that the issues are hand are ultimately undecidable and untimely – as if we had any time left for anyone to buy into this idle pretext. The question is not just combating the macropolitical and overt forms of fascism, but also to combat the micropolitical fascism that normalize themselves into our everyday way of being, not just materially but culturally too (Deleuze & Guattari, 2005, 214 and 215). The clock is ticking, the world is dissolving, but hey, at least brunch is back when COVID-19 clears up.
*drinks the hemlock* (Plato, 1993, 78 and 79)
Simone A. Medina Polo is a philosopher, interdisciplinary artist, and community organizer based out of Amiskwaciwâskahikan in Treaty 6 territory. Informed by her experience as an immigrant mestizo trans woman, her work in philosophy has centred around theories and practices of emancipation which translate over to her music as pseudo-antigone and in her role in many diverse communities.
Deleuze, Gilles and Felix Guattari. (2005). A Thousand Plateaus: Schizophrenia and Capitalism. Trans. Brian Massumi. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota.
Fanon, Frantz. (2008). Black Skin, White Masks. Trans. Richard Philcox. New York: Grove Press.
Fisher, Mark. (Fall 2012). “What is Hauntology?” in Film Quarterly, Vol. 66, No. 1. pp 16-24. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
MacEwan University [Facebook post; photo included]. (June 2, 2020). “At MacEwan University, we welcome everyone. We respect human rights, celebrate diversity and embrace equity and inclusion. We build human rights champions who influence our community both within and beyond the university’s walls. These last few days have been an unfortunate reminder of the reality racial discrimination plays in our lives. It is important that we support our community members and maintain a commitment to address racial discrimination in all its forms. We stand with those in peaceful protest as they shine a light on discrimination, hate and the need for change. There is no place for racism, discrimination or hate in our society or our communities. MacEwan promotes diversity and inclusion and works to ensure our campus is safe, and our staff and students are supported. We continue this important work every day.” Retrieved January 7, 2021.
The Leaders in Equality Award of Distinction (LEAD) Program is now accepting applications from students eager to make a difference in their communities.
The new program is supporting students who are working to reduce gender discrimination in their communities or who are studying in fields where their gender is traditionally under-represented. Each successful student will receive $2,500.
The scholarship program consists of two funding streams: the previously announced Women in STEM Award stream, which is open to women under 30 years of age pursuing studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics; and the Persons Case Scholarship stream, for anyone pursuing studies to advance gender equality.
“More than 100 years ago, women were critical in the building of Alberta – shaping its society and economy. The LEAD Program will assist women and gender-diverse Albertans to pursue fulfilling careers that help promote gender equality and change Alberta for the better. It is especially important at this time to support students in pursuing a broad range of careers as we work toward Alberta’s economic recovery.” ~ Leela Sharon Aheer, Minister of Culture, Multiculturalism and Status of Women
“The Leaders in Equality Award of Distinction scholarship supports students and empowers them to build the skills they need to find success in their chosen career. By providing more opportunities for under-represented Albertans to apply their talents in a wide range of pursuits – from science, technology and trades to the arts – we are helping to build the workforce of the future.” ~ Demetrios Nicolaides, Minister of Advanced Education
The Women in STEM award was announced in September 2020. Consolidating the funding with the Persons Case under one program streamlines the application process for students and reduces red tape.
The first intake deadline for the scholarship is Feb. 21. Those who are interested in applying can visit the program website to find the scholarship criteria and application information.
Quick facts
Total funding for the program is $225,000.
Up to 40 students will receive $2,500 each in the Persons Case Scholarship stream.
Up to 50 students will receive $2,500 each in the Women in STEM stream.
Le programme LEAD (Leaders in Equality Award of Distinction) accepte désormais les candidatures d’étudiants désireux de faire une différence dans leur communauté.
Le nouveau programme appuie les étudiants qui s’efforcent de réduire la discrimination sexuelle dans leur communauté ou qui étudient dans des domaines où leur sexe est traditionnellement sous-représenté. Chaque étudiant accepté recevra 2 500 dollars.
Le programme de bourses comprend deux volets de financement : le volet « Women in STEM Award », annoncé précédemment et destiné aux femmes de moins de 30 ans qui poursuivent des études en sciences, technologie, ingénierie et mathématiques, et le volet « Persons Case », pour les personnes qui poursuivent des études liées à l’avancement de l’égalité des sexes.
« Il y a plus d’un siècle, les femmes ont joué un rôle essentiel dans l’édification de l’Alberta en façonnant sa société et son économie. Le programme LEAD aidera les femmes et les Albertaines et Albertains de tous les sexes à mener des carrières enrichissantes qui contribueront à la promotion de l’égalité des sexes et à l’amélioration de l’Alberta. Il est particulièrement important en ce moment d’aider les étudiants à poursuivre un vaste éventail de carrières, alors que nous travaillons à la reprise économique de l’Alberta. » ~ Leela Sharon Aheer, ministre de la Culture, du Multiculturalisme et de la Condition féminine
« La bourse “Leaders in Equality Award of Distinction” appuie les étudiants et leur permet de développer les compétences dont ils ont besoin pour réussir dans la carrière qu’ils ont choisie. En offrant aux Albertaines et Albertains sous-représentés davantage de possibilités d’appliquer leurs talents dans un vaste éventail de domaines, allant des sciences, de la technologie et des métiers aux arts, nous contribuons à constituer la main-d’œuvre de demain. » ~ Demetrios Nicolaides, ministre de l’Enseignement postsecondaire
La bourse « Women in STEM » a été annoncée en septembre 2020. En consolidant cette bourse et le volet « Persons Case » au sein d’un même programme, nous rationalisons le processus de mise en candidature des étudiants et réduisons les formalités administratives.
La première date limite de réception des demandes est fixée au 21 février 2021. Les personnes intéressées peuvent consulter le site Web du programme (en anglais seulement) pour connaître les critères d’attribution des bourses et obtenir des renseignements sur la procédure de demande.
En bref
Le financement total offert dans le cadre de ce programme est de 225 000 dollars.
Quarante étudiants seront admissibles à un montant de 2 500 dollars dans le cadre du volet « Persons Case ».
Cinquante étudiants pourront recevoir 2 500 dollars dans le cadre du volet « Women in STEM ».
until the next breath a Catalyst Theatre Production Presented by National Arts Centre English Theatre’s Grand Acts of Theatre
breath. it begins and ends our lives, and in-between, it sustains us, as we reach out to connect – to touch, and be touched, by others.
but what happens in the face of a virus that isolates us, deprives us of touch, and threatens to steal our breath away?
in this pause between inhalation and exhalation – afloat between what was and what will be – how do we take our next breath? how do we live? how do we thrive?
50 performers join Catalyst Theatre on a musical journey that invites audience members to breathe through fear and uncertainty and dance into the beautiful unknown.
Jupiter Theatre is always looking to grow and to make new connections. We are currently seeking new collaborations with designers, stage management, and technical theatre practitioners for 2021 and beyond. We want to make relationships and connections in the Calgary theatre community! This is an opportunity for us to meet emerging and established talent that are interested in working with Jupiter Theatre in the future.
We are specifically looking for the following collaborators for various projects in spring and summer 2021 and are seeking submissions of interest for meetings:
Assistant Stage Manager
Costume Designer
Fight Director
Head of Properties
Intimacy Coach
Sound Designer
Stage Manager
Artists outside of these disciplines (set designers, projection/video designer, lighting designer, etc.) are welcome to submit as well. We understand that many artists are multi-disciplinary, so please include in your email to us which discipline(s) you work in/you are interested in. At this time, we are not engaging members of CAEA or ADC, but we are still interested in meeting union members and encourage them to apply so we can meet and build a relationship for possible future collaborations.
The meetings will be held online via video call or by phone with artistic producer Andrew G. Cooper. Meetings may also include artistic associate Constantine X. Anastasakis and/or technical and production manager Skylar Desjardin as appropriate.
Performers/actors: hang tight! We are going to be releasing audition announcements for 2021 soon!
DEADLINE TO SUBMIT: Sunday, February 7, 2021 at 11:59 PM
MEETINGS WILL BE HELD ON: February 8 – 20, 2021. Times will be scheduled with the submitters availability in mind and may include daytime afternoons, evenings, and Saturdays.
SUBMISSION INFORMATION: We want to meet you! To submit for a meeting, please email a resume/CV as a .pdf to artistic producer Andrew G. Cooper at [email protected] with the subject line “COLLABORATOR SUBMISSION”.
Jupiter Theatre encourages submissions from diverse individuals of all backgrounds, regardless of race, colour, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity. We welcome submitters to inform us of their pronouns if they wish, and to include details about how their identity informs their practice and needs as they feel comfortable.
In accordance with our Anti-Racism/Anti-Oppression Declaration and our Response to the 35//50 Initiative, we are actively seeking submissions from IBPOC individuals. With our ongoing commitment to inclusivity and accessibility as part of our mandate, we also strongly encourage submissions from the LGBTQ2+ and disabled communities. At this time, we are only accepting submissions from Calgary-based individuals.
All applicants are encouraged to submit under as many categories as they feel are appropriate. If you are a theatre practitioner who does not feel that they fit into any of the categories outlined in this posting, please contact [email protected] to discuss how we can best get a sense of who you are and what you do. Please also reach out to us if any of these guidelines or the submission process provide a barrier to you and we are happy to discuss alternate ways of submitting and/or meeting with you.
COMPANY INFORMATION: Jupiter Theatre is an independent theatre company in Calgary, AB. Jupiter Theatre creates original works of Canadian theatre that are visual, physical, and moving. We share powerful stories that explore the human condition and challenge audiences with contemporary social issues through visceral and innovative productions.
Jupiter Theatre would like to recognize the lands on which we work, explore, and create: Jupiter Theatre calls Treaty 7 Territory our home, which is the traditional territory of the Blackfoot Confederacy (comprising the Siksika, Piikani, and Kainai First Nations), the Tsuut’ina First Nation, and the Stoney Nakoda (including the Chiniki, Bearspaw, and Wesley First Nations). The City of Calgary is also home to Métis Nation of Alberta, Region III.
More information about the company can be found on our website at www.theatrejupiter.com.
Sound the Alarm: Music/Theatre (STA) is looking for exciting and diverse voices for our inaugural 5-episode series of audio-dramas that will feature 5 independent stories by 5 unique writers with 5 different casts and designers.
Please note: Our first episode is currently in production and is written by playwright Gary Mok. Therefore, we will be looking for an additional 4 artists.
Each episode will:
Have its own playwright, director and cast.
Will be a unique story told by a Canadian writer
Merge sound design, text-based performance, and music to create a compelling story and audio narrative that ‘sounds an alarm’ on our environmental and sociological challenges and its effects on human experience.
Each playwright will work with our dramaturg assigned to the series as a whole.
Particulars:
Artists must be legally able work in Canada.
It is a priority of STA to create a platform of artists and cultural voices that represent our diverse communities. We will be prioritizing writers from marginalized communities, including Indigenous artists, people of colour, and diverse gender identifications.
Depending on the scripts chosen, we will ensure cultural protocols are integrated as well as including additional creative team members (such as designers and casts) that align with the cultural narrative of each particular script.
This contract will be paid at or above professional standard.
As the series is planned to host 5 episodes, we will be featuring 5 different writers.
Each episode and script will:
Be 25 minutes in length
Be an audio-drama (no visual mediums integrated) Be developed in collaboration with dramaturg Joanna Garfinkel, who will support all drafts for the purposes of consistency in style, quality and messaging.
Be aimed to adult audiences and cannot include profanity, overtly sexual, or violent/hateful content or themes.
Include elements of sound/music to help shape and inform the narrative
Our goal is to create a unique immersive audio listening experience. Depending on how each story progresses, we would like to incorporate binaural sound techniques to aid in this immersive goal. This is however, not a requirement and is dependent on the artistic needs of each story itself. For a better understanding of what binaural recording is, take a look at this video, and it is suggested you wear your earphones.
Timeline:
We will be accepting submissions until February 21, 2021
We will announce our chosen writers likely by April 1.
Scripts will be developed through approximately three drafts, with the final draft due by July 15, 2021.
Production will commence in August with the release of the series beginning late October or early November.
samples of existing work of a one-two page story pitch that: > speaks to the series focus which is to ‘sound an alarm’ on our environmental and sociological challenges and its effects on human experience. > lays out the themes you wish to explore and how they relate to the ‘alarm’ of the series. > includes a statement indicating how you cultural and personally identify (such as race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or however else you feel comfortable stating and publicly speaking to)
Our first (pilot) episode is called Lost Soul Animal Rescue and is written by playwright Gary Mok. For this 25-minute audio experience, Gary has chosen to centre the story around the tradition of Chinese ghost stories which normally expound on the importance of filial piety (duty to your ancestors). In this particular creation, he has added a twist on that concept by using animal “ghosts” to question our duty to nature instead. The story is set in Vancouver.
Playwrights Guild of Canada (PGC) presents a new play reading series Craft Bites to be streamed online beginning on Monday, January 25, 2021.
Craft Bites is an online reading series, exploring the talents of Canadian playwrights and theatre artists. Each of the live events in the series features a cooperative session wherein two playwrights meet through a Zoom meeting to each perform a short reading of their work for an audience. Following the readings, the playwrights engage in a conversation about their written work and theatre practice. The web series highlights Canada-wide talent, featuring playwrights Lucia Frangione, Frances Koncan, Beau Dixon, and many more. Craft Bites connects interested and creative individuals from varied backgrounds in a collaborative and interactive play reading experience.
This web series builds on the success of previous projects presented by Playwrights Guild of Canada such as the Playwright to Playwright series, A Pinch of Creativity, and several International Webinars. Funding for Craft Bites is provided by the Canada Council for the Arts through the PlayConnect Program.
Craft Bites will be streamed over Zoom for free. Visit www.playwrightsguild.ca/craftbites for details and the links to register as a viewer.
Call for Board Members: Common Ground Arts Society big news from your fav tiny but mighty arts org getting it done on passion and grit
We’re recruiting new board members! To apply, please e-mail [email protected]. Deadline to apply: February 28, 2021, or until all positions are filled.
No matter who you are, what you look like, how or who you love, where you’re from, how you got here, how you identify, how or if you honour whatever higher power, or how you move through this world, you belong here.
We believe in creating safe(r) spaces that allow for creative risk. We commit to sustaining a safe(r) space by respecting, and even boldly loving, everyone who contributes to it. We acknowledge that in order to truly fulfill that commitment, we must work with community and for community.
If you’re interested in working hard, playing hard, serving community, supporting great art, and developing a healthy forward-thinking board that reflects and supports Edmonton’s diverse arts communities, please reach out. We want to hear from you.
We’re whole-heartedly committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, accessible board with directors varying in age, ability, experience, identity, and gender.
Common Ground Arts Society (CGAS) is a registered charitable organization. We radically invite artists of all disciplines at all stages of their career to wildly experiment with process and craft. We believe in people and process over product: come as you are; create from where you’re at; learn, fail, try again, fail better; tend to your whole self; share art, share kindness, share in community. Mentorship and learning is at the core of everything we do: we’re still learning, we’ll never stop learning, and we want to share in those lessons with you. As the producers of Found Festival, Edmonton’s only found space arts festival, CGAS brings art out of galleries, theatres, and concert halls and directly into the community. We curate creative collisions between audiences and artists. We instigate curious happenings. We foster dialogue about space, place, and all the meaningful moments between.
Active Development of our Board of Directors
We are developing an inclusive board that represents our local community. By 2025, we aim to shift our board makeup to welcome 35% or more members who are Indigenous, Black or People of Colour, and 50% or more members who are women and non-binary people. We welcome individuals who live with disability, people in different age groups, folks who are queer as all heck, and those with an array of lived experiences.
CGAS’s Board of Directors is a vibrant team who work in tandem with contract staff in a variety of areas including but not limited to fundraising, governance, policy, sponsorship and community building. Directors are elected by CGAS membership at the Annual General Meeting each year. We aim to create a Board of Directors to help CGAS dream big, make waves, and smash goals.
Expectations – Board Members:
Should have a passion for art;
Will attend monthly Board meetings;
Serve a two-year term;
Are volunteers and therefore do not receive compensation, but may be reimbursed for reasonable and authorized expenses while undertaking duties of CGAS;
Will volunteer for Found Festival;
Will support all other CGAS events including but not limited to shows, workshops, fundraising events, and silent auctions; and
Will work with at least one (or more!) Committee(s).
Skills
All skills are welcome. Previous board experience is an asset but not necessary. We are currently looking for individuals with skills beyond the arts, including but not limited to:
Interest in cultivating community and connection;
Legal skills;
Business, accounting, or savvy financial skills;
Fundraising or a keen interest in fundraising;
Social media influencing;
Hospitality, small business, and
Technology/web/vr/gaming.
If you are interested or would like more information, please e-mail [email protected]. Deadline to apply: February 28, 2021, or until all positions are filled.
Theatre Alberta recently collaborated with national and provincial arts service organizations across a range of artistic disciplines on the National Arts and Culture Impact Survey (NACIS). The survey was designed to capture a snapshot in time of arts organizations, artists, and arts workers across Canada. It was open for responses from November 3 to 23, 2020.
The recently released results paint an overall picture of high stress levels endured by organizations and individuals, short-term economic and psychological fall-out, the value and reach of key government interventions, an impressive level of resourcefulness and creativity, and longer-term questions about the sustainability and appeal of careers in the sector after this seismic shock.
In total, 1,273 individuals and 728 organizations from across Canada completed the survey, for a total of 2,001 responses. The survey was designed to capture a snapshot in time of arts organizations, artists, and arts workers across Canada. PRA Inc., an independent research firm with offices in Winnipeg and Ottawa, was retained to administer and report on the survey.
The NACIS was co-commissioned by a group of national and provincial arts service organizations representing a range of artistic disciplines across Canada:
Alberta Craft Council Alberta Dance Alliance Alberta Magazine Publishers Association Alberta Media Arts Alliance Society Alberta Media Production Industries Association Alberta Music Arts Touring Alliance of Alberta Atlantic Presenters Association Association des groupes en arts visuels francophones (AGAVF) Book Publishers Association of Alberta Canadian Dance Assembly (CDA) Canadian Live Music Association (CLMA) CAPACOA CARFAC Dance Ontario Dance Umbrella of Ontario
Independent Media Arts Alliance (IMAA) Fédération culturelle canadienne-française (FCCF) Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance (GVPTA) Ontario Association of Art Galleries (OAAG) Ontario Culture Days Ontario Presents The Association for Opera in Canada (formerly Opera.ca) Orchestras Canada Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT) Playwrights Guild of Canada Regroupement artistique francophone de l’Alberta (RAFA) Theatre Alberta Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA) WorkInCulture Writers’ Guild of Alberta
Cyber Insurance: Coverage Against Hacks, Modern Theft & Ransomware
Cyberthreats are always evolving as criminals take advantage of online behaviour and trends. As many theatre companies increase their online activities and have employees working remotely, it’s important to stay on guard against the risk of cyber attacks.
WHAT IS CYBER LIABILITY INSURANCE?
Cyber liability insurance goes by many names these days: Cyber Insurance; Cyber Security, Cyber Risk, Hack Insurance and others. However, the intent of all of these policies remains the same: a cyber insurance policy is an insurance product used to protect your business from data breaches on your computer system(s), potentially exposing client information.
Cyber liability insurance for theatre companies is designed to protect them from certain losses associated with data breaches and hacks. After a breach, there are costs companies could incur, including (but not limited to):
notifying patrons that their information has been stolen
paying for PR/crisis communications to explain what happened
paying to restore or recover any stolen data/hacked accounts
paying to conduct an investigation to determine what happened
losing money from business interruption
HOW CAN CYBER INSURANCE HELP THEATRE COMPANIES?
Cyber liability insurance can help with expenses associated with managing a data breach, such as incident response, crisis communications, and data recovery expenses. Front Row’s cyber insurance policy includes comprehensive coverage with limit options up to $1,000,000.
Theatre Alberta members are eligible to receive $25 off fees for Cyber Liability policies! Simply use the code THEATABLG when applying for your policy online.
ABOUT FRONT ROW INSURANCE BROKERS
Front Row Insurance Brokers is Canada’s leading arts and entertainment insurance brokerage. We provide live performance coverage to members of the theatre, arts and dance community across the country as well as Board Liability coverage, property, and event insurance. We also excel in providing low-cost online insurance solutions to creative people who are conscious of their bottom-line and need the best possible coverage for their workshops, rehearsals, or short-term productions.
Live Performance for the Virtual Stage Tuesday, February 23, 1:00-3:00pm
Limited Participation – Book early!
Live Performance for the Virtual Stage is a two hour online workshop designed to provide technical information and inspiration for creating live online entertainment using the resources you have available. The workshop is for individuals or groups who usually create art for live performance and are interested in learning how to transfer live performance to an online medium. This includes theatre makers, dancers, solo performance artists, variety artists, magicians, etc. It is also designed to cater to a wide range of budgets, technical know-how, and equipment. To register for this free session, email [email protected].
Celebrating 25 years in support of your voice over community, VoiceSpot offers classes for everyone from raw beginners to those who have plenty of experience and wish to extend their skills and brush up on the basics.
If you’re just starting out in voice over, why not start with our Level 1 class for a great introduction to the industry?
Level 1 – The Voice Over Adventure with Scott Roberts Saturdays and Sundays, January 23rd to February 6th Start Time: 12pm Mountain time www.voicespotwcs.com
For those who have experience, you can brush up on your existing voice over skills and take the next logical step in your voice over career with Level 2, open to those who have taken our Level 1 class OR those who have a performance background.
Level 2 – Performance for Microphone with Doug de Nance Tuesdays and Thursdays, February 9th to 25th Start Time: 6pm Mountain time www.voicespotwcs.com
Interested in extending your skillset into Audiobooks? We have classes to teach you the basics of audiobook narration, as well as the business side of that industry. Our first full class starts in April, but why not get a taster of it before then with one of our Audiobook Performance Workouts?
Audiobooks Performance Workout with Dawn Harvey Friday February 19th Start time: 5pm Mountain time www.voicespotwcs.com
For other classes, including further Level 1s and 2s, Levels 3 and 4, Audiobooks and Voice Gyms, see our full Class Schedule.
Come have some fun!
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VoiceSpot – Since 1996 “25 Years – Building Your Voice Over Community” (403) 277-6767 Calgary (780) 628-2930 Edmonton [email protected] www.voicespotwcs.com Be Yourself, Be Real, Be Extraordinary!
