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.

Submission needs:

Please submit via admin@soundthealarm.ca:

• your resume
  • 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.

For more information, head to our website at www.soundthealarm.ca