SPARK 2024 Artist Call Out

SPARK: Protest of the Everyday – Artist applications open

Are you an early career, emerging artist? Do you want to explore a completely new idea or art form? Is it your first time performing or are you new to the arts but have never had the opportunity to take it to the next step?

SPARK is a festival of exciting new performances presented by early career artists at Tobacco Factory Theatres. Produced by the emerging producers of TFT’s BLUEPRINT programme; this year’s theme for SPARK is ‘Protest of the Everyday.’ 

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Protest of the Everyday

Whether it’s a pride march, a silent vigil, a toddler tantrum or the act of rest in our busy world; protest takes on many different forms and we want to celebrate it. We’re looking for work that explores the theme of protest – big or small, joyful or defiant; we are excited to see the different interpretations of this prompt!

We will be programming 10 scratch pieces from early career artists in Bristol. We are looking for pieces up to 20 minutes in length, and welcome a variety of performance styles including: dance, poetry, performance art, short films, comedy, theatre, and movement.

This is a unique opportunity for an early career artist to share a scratch/work-in-progress piece, join a community of other early career artists in Bristol and receive feedback from a loving audience.

We will be offering spaces in both the Factory and Spielman Theatres (technical information on these spaces can be found here), as well as the theatre bar stage, with the potential to use any other spaces you feel would suit your piece. Past SPARK festivals have presented work everywhere from dressing rooms to the bathrooms; if you’ve got an exciting idea about where your work could be performed, we’d love to hear about it!

We’re keen to hear from emerging artists with ideas that relate to the theme of ‘Protest of the Everyday’ that would sit well alongside other new work in a night of experimental expression and feedback.

If you’re part of an established company or have applied for programmes such as PROTOTYPE, this opportunity might not be for you as you may be more experienced than the artists we are hoping to programme for SPARK. 

This opportunity is for Bristol based artists only. 

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What do you get?

All programmed acts will receive:

• £50 performance fee
• A performance slot within Tobacco Factory Theatres in a well attended event (138 audience in 2023, not including performers)
• Technical support from Tobacco Factory Theatres during your performance.
• All acts will have an hour with an experienced theatre maker to develop the work in any way that feels useful. These theatre makers will be  Lizzie Wiggs (daytime 8th January) or Stephanie Kempson (daytime 9th January). You will be able to note your preferences for which date on the application form and your slot will be confirmed in your acceptance email if successful. Unfortunately these dates and timings are not flexible.
• All acts will all be filmed (whether live or at tech rehearsal) with copies available to the artists.
• All acts will get feedback from the SPARK audience.
• Travel (within Bristol) and a hot meal will be covered on the day of the event.
• A 1 hour technical rehearsal in your performance space on the day of SPARK.

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Dates and Logistics:

SPARK will take place on the 11th of February 2024 at Tobacco Factory Theatres, Raleigh Road, Bristol, BS3 1TF

While you will be responsible for your own rehearsal time there will be some meetings with the Blueprint producing team which can be done remotely, and you will be expected to attend a technical rehearsal in person on the day or in the run up to SPARK. 

SPARK is produced by Tobacco Factory Theatre’s BLUEPRINT programme. This is a training programme for producers, so the individuals on it are still learning their craft and may still be a little rough around the edges. We say this not to scare you off but merely to be clear that there will be emerging artists on both sides of the table. Our aim is for it to be a space to learn and grow together whilst creating an exciting space for new work.

There may be some opportunities for the BLUEPRINT cohort to offer additional support to selected artists in areas such as dramaturgy, marketing or directorial support. This will be discussed with successful acts after the selection process is complete.

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How to apply:

Please either complete this Google form here or download this Word Document here and send it to blueprint@tobaccofactorytheatres.com 

Each applicant must also download and complete our TFAT Equal Opportunities Form from the yellow box on this page and send it to artists@tobaccofactorytheatres.com

If you would prefer to create a video submission, please answer the questions from the form and send as a video link (eg. Youtube / Vimeo) to blueprint@tobaccofactorytheatres.com Please aim to keep the total length of this video to 10 minutes maximum. We will be making our decisions based on what you say, rather than the filming quality, so we ask you to film this on your phone or webcam.

Deadline for all submissions is 5pm on Monday 4th December 2023.

If you would like to get further information, chat through your application, or discuss any access needs, please get in touch with us via email at blueprint@tobaccofactorytheatres.com