Call for Artists – Provocation Series

at Sage Theatre’s 2018 IGNITE! Festival, June 5-10, 2018

 
The Swallow-a-Bicycle Theatre (SaB) Provocation Series invites artists to escape the theatre, engage the public realm and ask bold questions about art and society!
The Provocation Series seeks artists and/or collectives who want to expand their artistic practice and challenge the boundaries of what performance can be. Participating artists will work in the area surrounding the main IGNITE! Festival venues – Pumphouse Theatre and West Village Theatre – in the community of Sunalta. Successful applicants will have their original work presented as part of the 2018 IGNITE! Festival with the support of Swallow-a-Bicycle Theatre, and will receive honorariums of $100 per group along with a festival pass for each participating artist.
“Performances” in the Provocation Series can take many forms, and we encourage applicants to let your imaginations run wild. What if a performance isn’t bound to time (i.e. a 10-minute or 2-hour performance), a narrative arc, or to reciting / repeating / representing? What bold questions can be posed when working in the Pumphouse Park, or on the streets of Sunalta? In your application, you can – if you choose – pitch a concept, but we are mostly interested in hearing about your creative practice and why the Provocation Series caught your eye.
Artists in the Provocation Series will participate in workshops facilitated by three “influencer artists” (including Mark Hopkins, Kevin Jesuino and a third guest artist). These workshops will provide perspectives and tools that participating artists can use to shape and inspire the development of your project. Some of the things we’re psyched about, and that will be explored in the workshops, include:

• Socially-engaged & community-based art practices;
• Site-specific performance;
• Post-dramatic theatre;
• Activist art

… and other forms of boundary-pushing, shit-disturbing creativity.
Following the workshops, mentors from Swallow-a-Bicycle Theatre will be available to support the participating artists’ creation processes, and all artists will gather together to share glimpses into their projects’ development and receive feedback from their peers. Applicants must be available for the following dates:

• Sunday, March 18, 2018 – 1:00-5:00 pm (workshop)
• Sunday, March 25, 2018 – 1:00-5:00 pm (workshop)
• Friday, March 30, 2018 – 1:00-5:00 pm (workshop)
• Wednesday, April 25, 2018 – 6:00-10:00 pm
• Thursday, May 10, 2018 – 6:00-10:00 pm
• Sunday, June 3, 2018 – TBD
• Monday, June 4, 2018 – TBD
• June 5-10, 2018 – IGNITE! Festival

To submit fill out the online form here. Application deadline: February 23, 2018.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@swallowabicycle.com or 403.710.0093.
About the Ignite! Festival of Emerging Artists
IGNITE! is a festival dedicated to supporting, mentoring and presenting early career artists of all disciplines. IGNITE! allows artists to embrace risks in a supportive environment while providing resources, a bridge to the professional arts community, and meaningful opportunities for collaboration and community building with their peers.
The festival accepts applications from artists of all disciplines. Artists of colour, indigenous artists and/or artists from LGBTQ+ communities are heartily encouraged to apply to all streams of the festival.
Other opportunities
The IGNITE! Festival has a number of other series including Interdisciplinary, Dance, Club, Improv and Theatre. Please visit sagetheatre.com for full details. Artists are welcome to apply for more than one festival series.