CALLOUT TO ARTISTS

CUMBERNAULD THEATRE COMPANY
UNDER 5s production

Cumbernauld Theatre Trust would like to hear from artists interested in proposing an idea for a new winter season production for young people, aged 5 and under, and their carers.

BACKGROUND

Cumbernauld Theatre at Lanternhouse is Scotland’s latest creative arts centre. Situated in the centre of Cumbernauld we create a programme of creative experiences that enhances lives, broadens perspectives and nurtures creative skills to build a more innovative and fairer Scotland.

Opening in late 2021, we are now entering our first full calendar year as a venue and as part of our programme we’re really interested in collaborating with and supporting Scotland’s vibrant young audience’s sector.

Our winter season offering for audiences is a great opportunity for this. Following the success of our 2021 winter programme, we’re now looking to hear from artists with a brilliant idea for an original piece of work for audiences aged five and under, that will take place in our Studio Theatre in December 2022.

What Are We Looking For

Creating live performance work for people in the first years of their life can be a truly joyful experience. For many of the people in the audience your production will be the first piece of live work they’ve ever seen. It’s a thrilling opportunity to create something full of life, wonder and imagination, for an important audience, at a key stage in their life.

To that end we’re really interested in hearing new ideas, that are full of inventiveness and colour, that sincerely considers the needs of this very special audience.

We would love to hear about projects that can include our local community in their creation, be that through research and development, a programme of workshops or training opportunities.

We welcome ideas from across the full spectrum of artforms, but are really interested in how you’re proposed piece will be open and accessible to audiences from different backgrounds and with potentially different needs.     

Language and Culture

As of 2018 around 9 ten percent of Cumbernauld’s school age population could speak more than one language and the local area features communities from a diverse range of cultural, religious and national backgrounds.

Winter season productions are frequently referred to as ‘Christmas Productions’ across the sector. We fully recognise just how important and established a tradition this is, the manner in which it resonates with large parts of our audience.

For this year’s production however, we’re really interested in hearing ideas which more directly explore themes that can be seen across the full range of experience in our local community.

We would love to hear ideas that explore different cultural traditions and values. Ideas which draw on the different perspectives that come with being a speaker of English as an additional language or as a bi-lingual or multi-lingual person. Ideas that explore common themes across a season categorised by family, festival, celebration and togetherness.

THE PROCESS STAGES

This year we are holding a two-stage process for our callout.

Stage One : An open call for expressions of interest from Artists with a day-to-day base in Scotland. To be submitted by 22^nd April 2022.

We understand that developing an idea can be a complex process, and so for this initial callout we are therefore asking for a simple expression of your idea. To help with shaping that we have put together 3 questions to shape your responses about your idea and your history.  

If a written questionnaire is the wrong fit for your idea, or doesn’t follow your particular expressive needs, please feel free to send us audio recordings, short videos or visually annotated expressions. We just ask that whatever form works for you, that you respond to the questions below as the guide for your application.  

1.     What can you tell us about your idea for a new winter season production for young people, aged 5 and under, and their carers?  

Please use the information contained in the project brief under ‘What are we Looking for?’ to help guide your answer. (350 words max) 

2.     We would love to know more about your background as an artist, and your interest in creating work for young audiences.  

What principles guide your work and what can you tell us about your past experience creating or collaborating on projects for young audiences? (350 words max)    

3.     How would you go about creating your idea?  

If you intend on working with collaborators, what kind of roles would you like them to deliver? How do you imagine you would approach the inclusion of our local communities in the creation of your idea? (350 words max) 

For the first stage of this process, we would ask you to send your expression of interest to Alex Bird by 22 April 2022 to:recruitment@cumbernauldtheatre.co.uk 

A panel made up of Cumbernauld Theatre’s Board, Staff and the Executive Producer for this project will the submitted expressions of interest and you will receive feedback on your proposal by 6 May 2022, alongside detail on whether we would like to invite your idea forward to Stage Two of the callout process.  

Stage Two : Shortlisted artists will be invited to discuss your idea with our team further and in more detail.

At this stage we would provide you with a fee to cover your preparation time and will work with you in advance of our discussion to provide the detail you need to present your idea.

We anticipate that these discussions will take place between 16 May and 19 May, with feedback and a final decision provided on your proposal by 20 May 2022.

The Selection Process

We completely understand that a key part of any open callout for the submitting artist is understanding how the decision-making process will be conducted, the aspects of your idea that we are interested in hearing about and how we will go about considering your proposal.

To that end, we are happy to share the criteria that we will apply when reviewing your idea.

We would strongly encourage you to think about these closely when preparing your expression of interest.

1. How well does your idea creatively speak to the themes we describe above in ‘What Are We Looking For?’
2. How closely does your idea consider the specific creative needs of young people in the early years of their life?
3. Do you have the necessary skills and capacity to deliver your idea? How does your previous work or experience demonstrate this to us?  
4. What specifically interests you about delivering this project? How does your own personal creative philosophy connect to the piece we are hoping to create with you?
5. How achievable is your idea? How realistic is your idea for how the piece will include/interact with our local communities?

Other Key Information

We’re not asking you to provide a budget with your initial expression of interest. We will discuss this at Stage 2 with shortlisted candidates. However, it will be important that you consider the budget required in the feasibility of your idea.

Further in-kind support is also available to help support your work. Studio space for your Research and Development and rehearsal time can be provided, alongside the use of in-house technical equipment.

A dedicated project Executive Producer will be available to support you throughout the entirety of your time with Cumbernauld Theatre at Lanternhouse. Finally, you’ll have the support of the venue’s dedicated Production team to help deliver the logistical and technical aspects of your piece.  

Callout summary at a glance

• A callout for expressions of interest, proposing a new idea for our upcoming winter 2022 production for audiences aged 0-5 years.
• An initial submission deadline of 22 April 2022
• A two-stage process, with successful expressions of interest invited to attend a further detailed discussion around your idea, with a fee provided to support your preparation time.
• In kind support provided in the shape of R&D/Rehearsal Space, technical equipment and production/creative team support.

THE CALLOUT AND APPLICATION PROCESS

For the first stage of this process and based on the guidance above, we would ask you follow the guidelines above and send your expression of interest to Alex Bird by 22 April 2022 to: recruitment@cumbernauldtheatre.co.uk 

A panel made up of Cumbernauld Theatre’s Board, Staff and the Executive Producer for this project will review the submitted expressions of interest. All submissions will receive feedback by 6 May 2022, alongside detail on whether we would like to invite your idea forward to Stage Two of the callout process.