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A FESTIVAL OF WORKS IN PROGRESS AND EMBRYONIC IDEAS FROM THE NEXT GENERATION OF THEATRE-MAKERS IN THE NORTH WEST

CO:LAB FESTIVAL 2018 SUBMISSIONS CALL OUT

Co:LAB is back!

After a fantastic inaugural festival last July which featured 11 brand new commissions from local artists, Co:LAB returns this July to showcase more embryonic ideas from the next generation of theatre-makers in the North West.

Co:LAB - or the Collision Laboratory - is a response to local artists who say that they need time, space and money to begin to explore ideas and collaborations, and a chance to test the work on a live audience. The Festival aims to showcase theatre made in non-traditional ways with unexpected creative collisions and collaborations.

If you’ve ever applied for a REACT, explored a new art form in a workshop or found a co-conspirator over a warm white wine at an Open Exchange mixer, we want to hear from you.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR:

• Submissions of interest from Open Exchange members who would like to present a piece of work in the building. Last year the majority of performances were in the Studio but we also had installation work in the Hall, the Theatre and backstage, so we’d welcome ideas for those spaces too.

• We’re not expecting all of the pieces to be finished, it’s a festival of embryonic ideas, so scratches and works-in-progress are welcomed.

• The theme of the festival is COLLISION and COLLABORATION, so all submissions should have those ideas at their heart. • Bold, experimental ideas are actively encouraged – this is a chance to think big, try things out and maybe even fail spectacularly.

WHAT WE ARE NOT LOOKING FOR:

• Scripts (but why not submit them to the Script Window in September?).

• One-man or one-woman shows (find some collaborators - put a call out on the Open Exchange Facebook group or through the newsletter).

• Any pieces of work which have already had a performance life elsewhere (except for REACT).

WHAT'S ON OFFER:

• Commissions of between £250 - £2,000 depending on the needs of the team/project and the scale of the work.

• Some free rehearsal space at the Exchange.

• Some technical support and assistance, and the use of the RET technical kits (although please be aware that there’ll be a number of events each day, so tech time will be limited).

KEY DATES

• Co:LAB Festival 2018: Friday 20 - Sunday 22 July 2018

• Application deadline: Friday 4 May 2018, 5pm

• Interviews: 16/18 May 2018. All shortlisted artists will be invited to the Theatre for a discussion.

• If selected, your team must be available for: interview 16/18 May 2018; perform on an allocated slot within the 3 days of the festival (20-22 July); week commencing 16 July, where technical rehearsals will be scheduled (exact timings TBC)

HOW TO APPLY

To apply for this opportunity, please download the Submission Form. Please save the form as an attachment with your full name in the file name (i.e. <Full Name> COLAB 2018 Submission Form) and email it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and also fill in our Equality and Diversity Monitoring Form (for each named member of your group) by 5pm on Friday 4 May.

DOWNLOAD LINKS

COLAB 2018 Application Form (.docx)

COLAB 2018 Application Form (.pdf)

COLAB 2018 Application Form (.docx, Screen Reader Friendly)

Equality and Diversity Monitoring Survey Link

Thank you for your interest in Co:LAB Festival 2018 – we look forward to hearing more about your work.

Co:Lab Festival Images

Survival

by Elmi Ali and Nuala Maguire

Citizen

by James Monaghan and Christine FitzGerald

Love Letters from Blackpool

Written and performed by Ruth E. Cockburn - with Claire Walmsley Griffiths, Phil Ellis, Daniel Wallace & Will Lenton

Shooting the Messenger

by Take Back Theatre Collective

Two Fat Gentlemen

by Charlotte Maxwell and Marcela Hervia

[Insert Slogan Here]

by YesYesNoNo and Conan the Librarian

Woke

Written and performed by Testament

Vent

Directed by Collette Murray, Composed by Michael Betteridge and created by The Ensemble (Alex McCoy, Andy Pilkington, Barney Cooper, Charlotte Ashton, Elka Lee-Green, Katherine McDermott, Leni Murphy, Nicola O'Keeffe, Ryan Clayton, Sarah Coyne and Steff Riches)

Power to the North

by Knaïve Theatre and Tim Foley

So Fey

by Amy Lawrence with Joe Whitmore, Vitaljia Glovackyte, Henrietta Phoebe Dunn, Nisa Cole & Lucie Browne Research Assistance: Tilda O’Grady & Jade Montserrat

“It was special - a game changer for the artists and a shift in the landscape of the city.” Piers Black-Hawkins, Ransack Theatre, Minus Touch

“Co:LAB is unquestionably one of the most exciting platforms for emerging artists in the UK and it is very exciting to be part of it. For us it is an opportunity to develop the immersive, game-based, science fiction ideas that we scratched for the REACT commission with Tim Foley. With the new title Power To The North we will be focusing on addressing the issues we found in our experiments last time, building on the successes, responding to the feedback we received and pushing ourselves further to create a wild, engaging, live and genuinely empowering theatrical experience. For us, it is incredible simply to have the opportunity to develop the idea, but to have the Royal Exchange guiding and seeing the development both times is invaluable!” Knaïve Theatre, Power to the North

“And thank you again for the opportunity to play and experiment. The tech team were just amazing as were you all. We felt so supported and encouraged and in a unique position of being able to experiment and fail quite dramatically without any concern. It really helped push our practice and we love what you are doing with Open Exchange!” Take Back Theatre, Shooting the Messenger

Open Exchange provides a series of developmental opportunities for emerging artists of all disciplines, rooted in the belief that collaboration creates great art and brilliant theatre doesn't always begin with a script. Sign up here for opportunities.