Call for Submissions: 2011 Toronto Festival of Clowns (June 2-5,2011)

Call for submissions:  2011 Toronto Festival of Clowns

The Toronto Festival of Clowns aims to bring together clowns and physical theatre artists of all disciplines and backgrounds and provide a common space to showcase their work. From June 2nd to 5th, 2011, some of the World’s best Clown and Physical performers will take over 6 Noble Street, the beautiful Pia Bauman School of Creative Movement.

Now entering their 6th year, the festival continues to encourage the risk and exploration of the clown, hosting new and established works that inspire and delight.  Past festivals have hosted some of North America’s top clowns, including Mark Andrada, David Craig (Napalm the Magnificent), Eric Davis (Red Bastard), Helen Donnelly (Foo), Michelle Smith and Dean Gilmour, Christian Laurin (Rutabagan), Rick Miller, Mysterion the Mind Reader, Sue Morrison, John Turner (Mump and Smoot), and Leah Cherniak.

They  are looking for 4 full-length productions with a maximum show length of 60 minutes. All forms and styles of clowning and physical theatre are encouraged to apply – Red nose, mask, bouffon, character pieces, acrobatics, et al. Please note that the festival is not tailored towards children.

How to Apply…

Your application should include the following:
1. Primary contact name, phone, snail and email addresses
2. The title of your piece, playwright, genre and running time
3. Performer/company names and bios
4. Short description of piece/Letter of intent (maximum 3 pages)
5. Photos Hard copies are great or digital files – send to festival@torontoclown.com
6. Video (optional)
7. Technical or other special requirements (we may be able to accommodate these with enough notice)
8. 2 cheques/money orders payable to Canada Clown:
a. a non-refundable $30 CDN administration fee
b. $150 production fee: This will ONLY be cashed if your show is accepted into the Festival – if your show is not accepted, the cheque will be destroyed

They  must receive your application on or before Monday January 17th, 2011 at 6:00 p.m. On or before January 31st you will be contacted regarding the status of your application. Should your show be accepted, you will be notified at this time of performance dates and times.

NOTE: If you withdraw from the festival after March 15th, you will lose 50% ($75) of your production fee. If you withdraw from the festival after May 1st, your $150 production fee will not be refunded.

To apply send your submission to:

Toronto Festival of Clowns
551 Concord Ave. #1
Toronto, ON, M6H 2R2

What you get…
• 2 performance dates and times over the duration of the festival
• A 3 hour tech time scheduled the week of the festival
• All performances in the ScotiaBank Studio Theatre. A 115 seat theatre, with back stage access and a back cross
• Basic festival lighting and sound capability
• 2 lighting specials per company
• One tech operator
• A green room
• Blanket festival publicity – the Festival has been featured in the Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, CBC, Andy Barrie in the morning, NOW Magazine and the Festival has also served as a scouting ground for Cirque du Soleil.
• 80% percent of the ticket money sold for your show. Single tickets will cost $10.

NOTE: You must PROVIDE YOUR OWN STAGE MANAGER for your production should you be accepted into the Festival.

If you have any questions please feel free to email:
festival@torontoclown.com