Do you tell history off the page? Do you want to share untold narratives on the stage? We’re looking for dancers, storytellers, musicians, comedians, filmmakers, playwrights, actors, animators, composers, puppeteers, students, historians, poets and maybe YOU! Submit your proposal to staginghistories@gmail.com by July 4th.

DEADLINE EXTENDED to July 4th

Submission Guidelines: Staging Our Histories 2016 

Staging Our Histories presents live events that celebrate the convergence of history, memory and performance. Featuring the work of diverse artists, we offer a platform for dialogue between performers and the public regarding the ways we understand history, beyond the page. Staging Our Histories will select 5 – 10 original performances to be part of our 2016 festival (October 13-16) in Goderich, Ontario. We are looking for pieces across multiple performance styles that highlight surprising or ignored histories, and community relationships to the past. Both individuals and groups/troupes are invited to submit.

Performances or multimedia pieces must
– Present original work (script, choreography, etc.) created by the individual or group submitting
– Be relevant to the theme of this year’s festival: ‘Unharvested Histories’
– Run 5 to 20 minutes**

Professional and emerging artists are welcome to submit proposals. Performers are encouraged to be reflexive and critically aware of the narratives they create, or to reflect on the process of narrating histories itself.

Proposals can be submitted in written (max 1.5 pages) or video/audio (5 mins max) formats. In your proposal, please outline the subject matter and logistics of your idea, your performance style of choice, and the technical equipment/support you would require. To help us make our selections, please also attach your piece (poem, video, script, etc.) if possible, or a detailed breakdown/description (in the case of choreography etc., if not filmed). Please include the names and contact details of all of your members if you are submitting as a group.

In 2016, Staging Our Histories is partnering with the Livery Theatre, the Huron Arts and Heritage Network and the Huron County Museum to host live performances and film screenings in Goderich, Huron County. For this year’s event, we encourage artists and performers to submit original work with ties to southwestern Ontario and/or works that address lesser-heard perspectives on rural history or communities and cultural groups in rural or remote Canada.

Please send your auditions / proposals to staginghistories@gmail.com by midnight on July 4th, 2016.

**If your performance is better served by a shorter or longer running time, please indicate this and explain why in your proposal. Performers are welcome to present an excerpt or selection from a larger work.

Questions? Between now & the July 4th due date, please feel free to contact us with your questions, or to send informal proposals for feedback. We look forward to taking your stories to the stage!