The Next Stage Theatre Festival is now accepting applications for its 2009 festival which will run from January 7 to 18 at the Factory Mainspace and Studio Theatres. The application deadline is May 25, 2008 at 11:59 pm. More information and application forms are available at www.nextstagefestival.com [1].
The Next Stage Theatre Festival is produced by the Fringe of Toronto Theatre Festival and aims to complement the summer Fringe by providing another performance opportunity to promising artists. The inaugural Next Stage Festival in 2008 was a great success, selling over 4,500 tickets and drawing lively crowds to its heated outdoor beer tent despite the bitter cold of January.
Unlike the summer Fringe, the Next Stage is a curated event. In 2009, eight companies (not including any site-specific productions that may be accepted) will be chosen to participate based on the merits of a finished script and past artistic successes.
Participant Criteria
To be eligible for The Next Stage Theatre Festival, applicants must have previously produced an artistically successful production in a Canadian Association of Fringe® Festivals’ member festival.
The Festival is interested in projects from emerging and established theatre artists who are developing new work and/or exploring new artistic avenues. Preference will be given to artists who have received artistic or critical success with a previous production and could use this performance opportunity to maintain their artistic momentum. We welcome applications from artists who are exploring new creative frontiers and/or who are creating in one or more of a variety of genres such as theatre, musicals, opera, movement etc.
The Next Stage Theatre Festival has been made possible by assistance from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. For more information please visit our website at www.nextstagefestival.com [2] or call 416-966-1062.
THE TORONTO FRINGE FESTIVAL OFFICE
#208 - 344 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON M5S 3A7
Tel: (416) 966-1062 Fax: (416) 966-5072 E-mail:
info@nextstagefestival.com [3]
Contact: Cindy Rozeboom