Expanding the possibilities
of performance
SummerWorks Performance Festival
August 1-11, 2024
Applications for the 2024 SummerWorks Performance Festival are now OPEN!
SummerWorks expands the possibilities of performance. Approaching its 34th year, the SummerWorks Performance Festival is widely recognized as one of the most vital and necessary platforms for launching new performance work in the country.
We are currently seeking proposals within our Presentations, Lab, and Public Works programming streams for the Festival’s next iteration:
August 1 – 11, 2024, in Toronto, Canada
Proposals are encouraged from established and emerging creators working across all disciplines and artistic traditions. In-person, digital, and hybrid performance projects will be considered.
Scroll down to uncover more detailed information about each Call for Submissions, learn about our different programming streams, and apply!
NO APPLICATION FEE.
GUARANTEED ARTIST FEES.
Submission Deadline: OCTOBER 27, 2023 at 11:59 PM EST
Photo credits:
- Matthew ‘Snoopy’ Cuff in Ballroom, Too (SummerWorks 2023). Photo by Greg Wong (above)
- Ellie Moon, Adam Lazarus, and Tim Walker in Graham Isador’s TRUCK (SummerWorks 2023). Photo by Jae Yang (further below)
SummerWorks Presentations programming includes new fully-developed projects that will be ready for presentation in August 2024.
We are intrigued to receive proposals from artists who are creating works that engage with the urgent and complex questions of our time; that celebrate curiosity, wonder, and adventure; and that expand the possibilities of what performance can be.
Works for in-person theatre, gallery, outdoor, and non-traditional settings are welcome, as are proposals for online, site-specific, and immersive contexts.
Proposed works should have some previous development and/or presentation history.
Projects curated from this call will be provided a guaranteed fee of $1,000 CAD to $5,000 CAD (depending on the scale of the project and number of performances).
LEARN MORE // APPLY HERE
SummerWorks Lab programming brings forward projects that benefit from being shared with an audience at a crucial stage of development, as well as experiments that engage the Festival platform as a laboratory to test new ideas. The SummerWorks Lab is a place for exploration, experimentation, and process.
Specifically for 2024, we are interested in collaborative projects from artists working across different performance disciplines, and also, projects experimenting with film, music/sound, and new technologies.
As well, projects that will benefit from audience participation or feedback during the Festival, leading to further future development, are strongly encouraged.
Works for in-person theatre, gallery, outdoor, and non-traditional settings are welcome, as are proposals for online, site-specific, and immersive contexts.
Projects curated from this call will be provided a guaranteed fee of $1,000 CAD to $5,000 CAD (depending on the scale of the project).
LEARN MORE // APPLY HERE
Our SummerWorks Public Works programming brings artists and audiences together to reimagine possibilities in public space.
In 2024, we invite creators to consider: How are our bodies impacted by the surrounding environment – the city’s landscapes, waterways, and architecture? What is our sensorial relationship to public space and how can this be realized through performance? What is the role of the public in making, transforming, and reclaiming space?
Proposals for in-person, digital, and hybrid performance projects are welcome. Proposals for works designed for outdoors, site-specific or site-responsive contexts, and immersive environments are strongly encouraged.
Projects curated from this call will be provided a guaranteed fee of $1,000 CAD to $5,000 CAD (depending on the scale of the project and number of performances).
These performances will be offered free to the public and should be designed with accessibility in mind.
LEARN MORE // APPLY HERE
ACCESSIBILITY
Ralitsa Rodriguez in Gender Reveal Party (SummerWorks 2019). Photo by Henry Chan.
SummerWorks is committed to continually increasing accessibility for our artists and audiences. This includes extending accessibility practices throughout the entirety of artistic and administrative processes.
We strive to go beyond the bare minimum standard of accessibility practices in the performing arts and to support artists, programmers, and partner organizations in considering how access can be incorporated throughout all aspects of a production and throughout all stages, from development to presentation. It is our expectation that the artists we work with will also strive to put accessibility practices at the forefront of the creative process and implementation of their work.
EQUITY & DIVERSITY
Reece's Pieces 2.0 (SummerWorks 2019) Photo by Andrew Williamson
SummerWorks is committed to equity and diversity, both through our program of activities and as an employer. Our practices and procedures aim to reflect the varied needs, expectations, and cultures of all members of our community. We make every effort to ensure that no member of the community receives less favourable treatment in our recruitment process or when accessing our services, on the grounds of gender identity, disability, race, religion or belief, age, or sexual orientation.
We warmly encourage submissions from folks from equity-deserving groups, including those who identify as Indigenous, Black, People of Colour, Trans, Nonbinary, Queer, Disabled, and intersections of those identities.